Librarian loses her locks on a bet

BY YALDAZ SADAKOVA

Wednesday, September 3, 2008 7:35 PM EDT

Reading is fun and one place you can find lots of fun is the library. To spread this message, every year Queens librarians place crazy bets on the number of books kids can read during the summer; if the kids win, the librarians perform a stunt.

One of the librarians who lost a bet was Sueli Zaquem, who had 13 inches of her straight brown hair chopped off on Thursday, August 28.

Zaquem, who works at the Hollis branch, challenged kids to double the number of books they read last summer, 490. The kids met the challenge, finishing over 1,000 books, most of which were their own choice, Zaquem said.

“I can’t believe you cut your hair,” was the response she got from the more than 100 summer readers who were present while a co-worker chopped her hair off in the library, said Zaquem, who now has a bob.

“We just put [her hair] in a pony tail and cut it,” said Keenia Holliday, customer service supervisor at the library, who cut Zaquem’s hair.

Afterwards, Zaquem put the pony tail in a bag and mailed it as a donation to Locks of Love, an organization that provides hair to low-income children suffering from long-term medical hair loss.

“I wanted to give something to society. I know exactly what it means to have no money,” explained Zaquem, who grew up in poverty in her native Brazil.

The next day, a Woodhaven librarian also had a stunt for his readers - he had them plunge him in deep cold water.

And on September 4 a Whitestone librarian’s readers will cover her with Silly String on the library’s steps.

The tradition of extreme summer reading challenges has been in place at different branches of Queens Library for three years, said Joanne King, associate director of marketing and communications at Queens Library. “We have to seem fresh and vital to the community, especially the children,” King said. “Libraries are not stuffy old dusty places.”

Extreme challenges have helped double the number of participants in the library’s summer reading program, King said. This year, 53,000 Queens kids enrolled in it, out of 200,000 participants citywide, King explained.

“Children who read over the summer retain more learning and do better when school resumes than children who don’t read,” King said. Besides, summer reading can help develop the habit of reading for pleasure, King added.

As for Zaquem, she said she’s already thinking about her stunt next year.