Through a generous partnership with PKP Tender Hearts Foundation, six Nepali World Languages Bags and a few titles in English reflecting Nepalese culture have been added to the Fairfax County Public Library (FCPL) collection. These bags are starting their journey at Chantilly Regional Library due to its proximity to Brookfield Elementary School, which per Fairfax County demographics, has the highest concentration of elementary students where Nepali is spoken at home.

"The Fairfax County Public Library holds a special place in my heart for its dedication to accessibility and equity. To be able to contribute to that same mission with our newly added Nepalese culture books brings a sense of pride and gratitude for our community I didn't know was possible," says Prabha Bhattarai, Founder and President of Tender Hearts Foundations. "I am a firm believer that books are just one door to promoting our country and culture, and I am thrilled that we are continuing to preserve and celebrate Nepal by providing exactly that."

The target audience for these items is children and early readers. Each bag contains several books that adults can read to and with children. In addition to Nepali, FCPL offers additional World Languages Bags in Chinese, Arabic, Urdu and Tamil. The library’s collection contains many children and adult books in Spanish, Korean and Vietnamese as well.

All World Languages Bags can be sent to any library branch location by searching and placing a hold through FCPL’s catalog.

Here’s how to place a hold on a World Languages Bag in the library’s catalog:

1. Type in “picture book bag” on the search bar next to “Keyword search” at the top of the page. Then click the search icon.
2. The picture books will populate the page. Choose the language you are interested in under “subjects” on the left side of the screen.
3. Select “PLACE HOLD” to the right of the picture book bag you want.
4. Follow the directions to enter your user information, password and the library branch where you’d like to pick up the book bag.

If you need additional assistance, please ask at a library information desk where staff will be happy to connect you with the World Languages Bags in your preferred language.