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This is Daliyah Arana, a little girl who loves books more than anything. She’s 4 years old and has already read more than 1,000 books.
So to recognize her amazing achievement, she was asked to the the Library of Congress’ first ever Librarian for a Day.
She’s already acted as an honorary librarian at her local library, having read nearly lots of their books since she started reading age two. Her first book was a picture book called Ann’s Big Muffin.
When Daliyah was 3, her mom Haleema signed the youngster up for the 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten Program to keep track of her daughter’s reading.
Haleema later wrote to the Library of Congress to tell them about Daliyah’s love of books.
“I thought, why not enhance her experience and get her in the largest library in the world?” said Haleema, “I sent an email explaining her accomplishments, she’s already been on the local news. They responded right away and invited us all.”
The visit was a dream come true for Daliyah (although had parents had to explain just how much of a big deal it was), because she adores libraries.
During her two-hour visit, Daliyah met the 14th Librarian of Congress, Dr. Carla Hayden, who let her sit at her desk while they chatted about books (naturally).
Dr. Hayden then took Daliyah on a tour of the entire building, including the children’s section — although Daliyah was more impressed with the underground tunnels that connect the library’s buildings.
And since the success of her visit, the Library of Congress has said that Daliyah won’t be the last librarian for a day — they want to encourage all young scholars to walk in Daliyah’s footsteps.
And Daliyah’s mom couldn’t be prouder.
“It just feels good to know we’ve made history and that we’ll have an impact on a lot of kids’ lives,” she said.