FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM AUGUST 31, 2017 • KIDS & EDUCATION • THE QUEENS COURIER 53
kids & education
Photo via Twitter/@QueensLibrary
Girls Who Code donates 800
new books to Queens Library
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
A nonprofi t is inviting the borough’s
young women and girls to be the tech
leaders of tomorrow.
At the Queens Library’s Central branch
in Jamaica, nonprofi t group Girls Who
Code donated 800 copies of its newest
book, “Girls Who Code: Learn to Code
and Change the World,” to be added to
library shelves borough-wide.
Th e book, which was offi cially released
on Aug. 22, is the fi rst of 13 books the
nonprofi t is slated to release about computer
science and coding with publisher
Penguin Books. A fi ction book, “Th e
Friendship Code,” was also released that
same day.
Author and nonprofi t founder Reshma
Saujani hopes the series of books, which
will feature a combination of real-life
coding examples, relatable characters and
profi les of women in tech, will inspire a
new generation of young ladies to learn
to code.
“We know we can reach so many more
girls, which is why we’re so grateful that
AT&T has graciously donated books to
the Queens Library,” Saujani said. “Th eir
donation allows thousands of girls without
access to computers or computer science
to explore coding. Nationally, 16
percent of our free aft er-school clubs are
hosted in libraries, and that’s where many
of our girls go to get access to the internet
and computers. Together, we’re bridging
the opportunity gap and changing the
culture to help girls access the jobs of the
future.”
Queens Library President and CEO
Dennis M. Walcott thanked the nonprofit
for their thoughtful donation and support.
“Th ere is a growing demand throughout
our system for coding classes and
instructional materials, so the timing of
the arrival of ‘Learn to Code and Change
the World’ on our shelves couldn’t be better,”
Walcott said.
Women represent one of the single
largest untapped sources of talent in the
technology fi eld, according to the nonprofi
t. While there were 500,000 computer
jobs in the United States in 2016, only
7,000 women nationwide graduated with
a computer science degree. Further, in
1995, women made up almost 40 percent
of the computing workforce. Today, that
number is less than 25 percent.
Girls Who Code works to close the
gender gap in technology through its
summer immersion programs, clubs and
education and will reach 40,000 girls in
every state this year. To learn how bring
a coding club to your local school or get
involved in a program, visit their website.
New “Girls Who Code” books on display at Queens Library.