NEW YORK (AP)  -- The kids won a bet to read twice as many books as last summer so a New York City librarian did what she promised -- she cut off her hair.

Sueli Zaqem made the bet with the children in her summer reading program at the Hollis, Queens, library.

The youngsters made her proud, reading 1,000 books compared to 490 last year.

The children cheered Thursday as a colleague snipped off 13 inches of the librarian's long black hair. Zaqem says she is donating her tresses to Locks of Love, which provides hairpieces to children suffering from hair loss due to illness.

Zaqem says she challenged the kids because she wanted to be role a model and inspire them to someday get involved in charitable work.