Livingston’s Sia Malhotra recently spearheaded the project of creating a children’s lending library in Terminal A of Newark International Airport. The library officially opened last month.The idea was born when Sia, 11, stopped by a similar lending library in an Alaska airport.“When we landed inAnchorage, Sia saw a library there and she loves to read so she was very much in awe of it,” said Nishu Malhotra, Sia’s mother.From there, she developed the concept, began emailing with PortAuthority, and made her dream a reality.On a trip to the Home Depot in East Hanover, Sia spoke with the manager, explained her idea, and they said they would build the physical library for her.From its conception to opening to the public, the project took over three years. Getting the proper approvals and dealing with airport security protocols took time, but Sia never got discouraged.The library has attracted a lot of positive attention since its debut, and Township Council member Ketan Buhptani recognized her hard work at Monday’s meeting.Now that her lending library is operational in Newark Airport’s Terminal A, Sia is setting her sights on duplicating her success.“The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey manages a few other airports, so she’s in conversations with them to expand to other terminals in Newark and then other airports as well,” her mother said.To get involved in the project, donate books, or read some of Sia’s book reviews, go to letsreadtoday. com.
