{"id":104570,"date":"2025-07-30T10:32:12","date_gmt":"2025-07-30T10:32:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/104570\/"},"modified":"2025-07-30T10:32:12","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T10:32:12","slug":"the-library-dads-lead-fatherhood-and-literacy-movement-across-atlanta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/104570\/","title":{"rendered":"The Library Dads lead fatherhood and literacy movement across Atlanta"},"content":{"rendered":"

An Atlanta father’s library visit with his daughter sparked The Library Dads, a growing movement using books to bond fathers while boosting children’s literacy.<\/p>\n

ATLANTA \u2014 Two years ago, an Atlanta man sat on the floor of a local library, gently cradling his newborn daughter.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She was just four months old, but already, this dad was searching for something the two could bond over together. Something that was just theirs.<\/p>\n

Khari Arnold, founder of The Library Dads<\/a>, soon found himself returning to the library each week, tucked into a reading routine. Arnold started to notice a difference not just in their relationship, but in his daughter Ariah\u2019s development. Doctors said her vocabulary was over 20 times larger than that of her peers by 18 months old.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen they\u2019re in that infancy stage, it\u2019s a lot easier for the moms to find their thing naturally,\u201d said Arnold. \u201cBut I needed to find my thing, and it was going to be reading.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their father-daughter tradition became the foundation for The Library Dads, an Atlanta-based nonprofit redefining early literacy while empowering men through fatherhood. Founded by Arnold, the group draws dozens of dads across metro Atlanta and is grounded in three pillars: bonding, books, and brotherhood.<\/p>\n


\nHow The Library Dads began <\/p>\n

After a full year of library visits, a realization took root within Arnold \u2013 more fathers should have access to this kind of experience. While Ariah grew faster cognitively, it was their bonding that kept Arnold coming back week after week.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was more like an epiphany,\u201d said Arnold. \u201cIt dawned on me that this should be bigger than my daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Arnold immediately went public, launching The Library Dads<\/a> on Instagram. The first meet-up was on July 20 last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI could have easily left that \u2018s\u2019 off and made it just about Ariah and I,\u201d emphasized Arnold. \u201cIt might have influenced a few people, but I\u2019m trying to impact directly.\u201d<\/p>\n


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\nThe power of reading for relationship and cognitive development <\/p>\n

For Arnold, his time with Ariah leaves a personal imprint as each book forms a new memory. One story in particular, \u201cLittle Bitty Friends,\u201d shows a man giving a child a hug on the final page. Without fail, his daughter turns and looks at him expectantly, waiting for Arnold\u2019s real-life hug to mirror the one on the page. Before long, Ariah started smiling before they even got to the page, already anticipating what was to come.<\/p>\n

Those small moments \u2013 the hug at the end of a story, the funny bark Arnold reenacted for the dog in \u201cMy First Words\u201d \u2013 built early foundations of love.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cShe is jubilant, laughing, so happy and joyful,\u201d said Arnold. \u201cWhat more can you ask for when it comes to bonding with your kids?\u201d<\/p>\n

Winton Sharpe, treasurer of The Library Dads, first met Arnold at Westlake High School in Atlanta. Flash forward to today, Sharpe noticed similar positive growth after consistent reading with his two-and-a-half-year-old son, Kayden.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven sometimes if they don\u2019t respond to the words that you\u2019re saying, they\u2019re still soaking it in,\u201d said Sharpe. \u201cMy son is already saying four- or five-syllable words. He can stumble his way through \u2018excavators\u2019 and different things like that.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n \"\"<\/p>\n

For every dad, Arnold encourages time spent reading to go beyond bi-monthly meetings. Being a Library Dad is a mindset and lifestyle of positive change.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe level which our kids are reading is a crisis,\u201d said Arnold. \u201cMore corporations, more organizations, more individuals should be focusing on that because of how critical the ability to read is.\u201d<\/p>\n

He recommends countless resources for being a Library Dad, including audiobooks in the car, free apps like Hoopla and Libby, or playing YouTube channels with video read-alouds.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Atlanta-Fulton Public Library Foundation echoes this sentiment, noting that only 41% of metro Atlanta 3rd graders are proficient in reading. They emphasize that low literacy is a multi-generational problem.<\/p>\n

\u201cLiteracy is one of the most powerful tools for addressing social inequality,\u201d writes the foundation on its website<\/a>. \u201cLiteracy is the cornerstone of both individual achievement and the broader success of Atlanta.\u201d<\/p>\n

Early educational milestones are predictors of lifelong academic achievement, and reading in particular is one of the most valuable skills developed in childhood, according to a National Library of Medicine study<\/a>.<\/p>\n


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\nInside a Library Dads event <\/p>\n

The Library Dads host \u201clibrary link-ups\u201d one to two times a month at Fulton County locations, including Wolf Creek Library and East Point Library. Link-ups feature curated times for dads to read aloud to their kids, book giveaways, and space for men to share fatherhood experiences.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to say, \u2018You can\u2019t do it alone,\u2019 because some people might hear that and think, \u2018Well, I have a spouse, so I\u2019m not doing it alone,\u2019\u201d said Arnold. \u201cWhat we mean is, you need someone who can actually relate to your seat, to your journey, to what you\u2019re going through as a dad.\u201d<\/p>\n

Activities are catered to kids ages 0 to 12 years old, according to The Library Dads\u2019 website<\/a>. All father figures are encouraged to attend, including stepdads, grandfathers, and other positive male figures.\u00a0<\/p>\n

To celebrate one year of The Library Dads, the nonprofit hosted its largest meeting yet on July 19 \u2013 the Ultimate Library Link-Up. One hundred Atlanta-area dads turned out with their kids, bringing the total attendance to around 200.<\/p>\n

Recent meetups supplied dads with books of their own, encouraging them to go beyond reading aloud to their kids by modeling lifelong reading.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen a child looks up and they see dad reading, they\u2019re going to associate that with something they should do,\u201d said Arnold. \u201cNot just now, but also when they become an adult.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nWhat\u2019s next for The Library Dads <\/p>\n

The nonprofit hopes to expand across Atlanta and nationwide. As of now, they operate primarily in Fulton County, but Arnold has his eyes on a few counties in metro Atlanta for sustainable expansion in early 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe aren\u2019t going to skip steps,\u201d said Arnold. \u201cI think we will be doing everyone a disservice if we did.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those fathers interested in joining can follow The Library Dads\u2019 Instagram<\/a>, website<\/a>, and Eventbrite<\/a>. They are taking a month off in August to recharge during the back-to-school season, but plan to announce link-up dates for September soon. Supporters of the nonprofit can also donate books by emailing them here.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t feel like you have to do this alone,\u201d said Sharpe. \u201cDon\u2019t be afraid to put yourself out there and join different groups. This fatherhood journey is a lot more fun together than it is alone.\u201d<\/p>\n