The Library Dads are bonding through books

It’s noon on a steamy Saturday in July, and the modern-style, burnt-orange shard that is South Fulton’s Wolf Creek Library is squirming with joyous activity. A DJ spins Barry White as kids dance and “popcorn” in a bounce house. Volunteers dish out some 500 books from corporate donors. And all across the library, about 100 fathers chase high-spirited tots, help them through a scavenger hunt, or sit quietly with them for the main attraction: story time with an open book.

Welcome to the one-year birthday party for The Library Dads. What a year it’s been.

Before the local nonprofit was the subject of a five-minute segment on the Today show, before Al Roker called it “amazing,” before it graced the pages of Black Enterprise magazine and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s UATL, before rapper Killer Mike and NBA player DeMar DeRozan were sharing the group’s message on social media, it began with a simple impulse: A dad yearned to connect, by way of literacy, with his child—and with as many other fathers as possible.

South Fulton native Khari Arnold, the managing editor for NBA.com and a bookworm since boyhood, made an Instagram reel in summer 2024 to document his journeys to the local library with his then one-year-old daughter, where her vocabulary exploded as she fell in love with books alongside her dad. Itching for inspiration, he searched for “library dad” online but found nothing. An idea sparked.

Arnold summoned a half-dozen pals with toddlers to meet him at their local library (Wolf Creek, which is now the group’s home base) for a reading session to promote literacy, brotherly bonding, and community building. The Library Dads’ core leadership group was born.

Soon, propelled by word of mouth and social media, their Library Link-ups, hosted two Saturdays per month, had outgrown the story-time room. They branched out the events to satellite locations at other libraries, such as East Atlanta and Northwest Library at Scotts Crossing. Broadcast media came calling. The group’s social media following ballooned after a post promoting a 50-day reading challenge for dads. One key to success: The Link-ups are open to all father figures (stepdads, grandpas, coaches, mentors) with kids younger than age 12. So far, hundreds of men have participated.

“When we first started, it was primarily a Black dads’ space, just by location,” says Marquis Baker, vice president of The Library Dads and a former classmate of Arnold’s at Howard University; over time, the group has become more diverse, and he adds that the group has always been open to all fathers, regardless of race or ethnicity. Arnold says the group is grateful to serve a primarily Black audience, as The Library Dads believes in addressing the reading and education disparities that disproportionately affect Black children.

Avid fans of The Library Dads include Brookhaven resident Mang Ndukwe, 10, who describes Link-ups as “super fun.” He leans toward nonfiction; a book he recently selected from the library is about the earth’s composition. His dad, Ike Ndukwe, one of the group’s volunteers, adds, “Especially for some of the guys that are new dads, your lifestyle changes. This is something you can enjoy, being out, and it’s safe for your children, meeting other people, talking with guys about their careers and things.”

Arnold hopes The Library Dads will become a national program and household name in the coming years, helping to close the literacy rate gap for Black children while welcoming all. He’s putting in the work—the birthday party took a six-hour bite out of Saturday for Arnold and his small army of volunteers—and feels the first chapter is just beginning. “I think the highest form of compensation is fulfillment, and a day like today, it’s fulfilling,” says Arnold, wearing a Library Dads cap and T-shirt. “Am I tired? Absolutely. Was it worth it? No question.”

This article appears in our November 2025 issue.

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