Persistent NJ fifth grader adds new feature at Newark Airport: children's lending library

Colleen Wilson, NorthJersey.com
Updated ·5 min read

As soon as Sia Malholtra spotted the A-frame bookcase and painted blue sky and clouds down a long corridor at Terminal A in Newark Liberty International Airport on Monday, she picked up the pace.

The 11-year-old from Livingston broke off from her parents and airport escort as soon as she saw the project she had spent the last three years developing. Sia spent a few moments glancing at the newly constructed “Children’s Lending Library” wall and bookshelf — then started rearranging and stocking the shelves with donated books she had brought through airport security.

“I’m feeling so excited. I’m so happy that this is finally coming to life,” Sia said at the opening of the lending library, an idea she brought to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and helped the agency bring to fruition.

Sia Malhotra, of Livingston, is shown at the Children's Lending Library, at Newark Liberty International Airport. Malhotra, who is 11 years-old, came up with the idea when she was 8. The library officially opened, Monday, February 19, 2024. However, approximately 500 books have gone through the shelves since the soft launch in December.
Sia Malhotra, of Livingston, is shown at the Children's Lending Library, at Newark Liberty International Airport. Malhotra, who is 11 years-old, came up with the idea when she was 8. The library officially opened, Monday, February 19, 2024. However, approximately 500 books have gone through the shelves since the soft launch in December.

Sia tends to travel with five to 10 books on trips she takes with her parents. So, when she saw a library at the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport during a family trip to Alaska in 2021, she was floored.

“I remember seeing a library and I’m like, ‘Oh, my goodness, Alaska has this and we don’t?’ Like, hello, we need a library at our airport,” Sia recalled.

Story continues below photo gallery.

After they returned from the trip, the then-8-year-old, who attends Mount Pleasant Elementary School, couldn’t shake the idea, said her mom, Nishu Malholtra.

“In her mind, it was still a lingering idea, like, ‘Why we don’t have it?’ Then she asked me about it: ‘Can we have this library in New Jersey? How can we do that?’” Nishu Malholtra said. “I just told her you have to email somebody." She told her daughter to go to the Port Authority website to find people to email.

Sia Malholtra did her research and emailed at least five people — with her parents cc’d — before getting a response.

Sia Malhotra, of Livingston, speaks to the media at the Children's Lending Library, at Newark Liberty International Airport. Malhotra, who is 11 years-old, came up with the idea when she was 8. The library officially opened, Monday, February 19, 2024. However, approximately 500 books have gone through the shelves since the soft launch in December.
Sia Malhotra, of Livingston, speaks to the media at the Children's Lending Library, at Newark Liberty International Airport. Malhotra, who is 11 years-old, came up with the idea when she was 8. The library officially opened, Monday, February 19, 2024. However, approximately 500 books have gone through the shelves since the soft launch in December.

Cristina Kiley, who was then a customer experience liaison for the airport, remembered reading the email and thinking this could be her daughter, who was just a few years older than Sia.

“Look at this kid and what she’s trying to do,” Kiley remembered thinking. “I knew that other airports had a free library, so I was like, 'this would be great all around.' I reached out to her, made contact with the family, heard a little bit more about them, just asked some questions, just to make sure I kind of understood her full situation, and then we just started to run with that.”

More: Tired of winter? These are the cheapest round-trip flights from Newark Liberty

Help from her local Home Depot

Kiley became the point person. She got a team of people at the Port Authority interested and involved, brought on board the terminal operator, Munich Airport International, and communicated with the Malholtra family about specifications for the bookshelf.

Sia and her parents went to their local Home Depot store in East Hanover and pitched the manager her idea. The store donated the materials and helped her construct the shelf. Sia painted it and started collecting hundreds of books — including more than 100 from her own collection.

Originally, the plan for the library was to house it in the old Terminal A, but that was in the process of being moved to the Gates 29 to 34 area of the new Terminal A, which opened in January 2023, so they had to wait a little longer than expected.

“She was very persistent,” Kiley said. “I’d get on the phone with her, and … she’d be like, ‘Can you tell me when the library is going to be open?’ and I’m like, 'Yeah, soon, stick with me, kid' — and they did. They were incredibly patient.”

More: Modern cable car system will replace AirTrain at Newark Liberty Airport

500 books have circulated through

While they waited to get everything off the ground, Sia Malholtra collected more books from friends and family, started a nonprofit and made a website dedicated to her book donation effort, called Lets Read Today.

The bookshelf made a quiet debut at Terminal A in December, and since then some 500 books have circulated through the terminal, which last year served about 15 million passengers.

Sia Malhotra, of Livingston, organizes books at the Children's Lending Library, at Newark Liberty International Airport. Malhotra, who is 11 years-old, came up with the idea when she was 8. The library officially opened, Monday, February 19, 2024. However, approximately 500 books have gone through the shelves since the soft launch in December.
Sia Malhotra, of Livingston, organizes books at the Children's Lending Library, at Newark Liberty International Airport. Malhotra, who is 11 years-old, came up with the idea when she was 8. The library officially opened, Monday, February 19, 2024. However, approximately 500 books have gone through the shelves since the soft launch in December.

Port Authority and Munich Airport International officials hope to lift some of the book donation burden off the 11-year-old’s shoulders and get corporate partners involved, such as the airlines or airport retailers. Eventually, a few clear bins will be prominently placed in the skywalk and other locations to let travelers donate books.

For Sia Malholtra — who aspires to become a surgeon while maintaining a foothold in the world of book donations — this is just the beginning. Her goal is to expand the idea to the other terminals at Newark Liberty and to La Guardia, JFK and beyond.

“I would like to kind of organize or be in an organization of donating books to other people around the world, because some underprivileged people aren’t able to read and reading is something everyone should do,” she said.

“We all are one big community, and we should all be working together, and I think reading is something where you could just really like go into your imagination," Sia said. "And it’s really good for you.”

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ fifth grader creates lending library at Newark Airport