Sno Island Regional Library- Edmonds Library/ Edmonds, WA 

•The li brary Vvi ll organize a program of cultural exchange Vvith the Hekinan, Japan 

Library. They Vvi ll feature stories from Japanese teenagers and storytel ling Vvith 

American teenage fdklore. 

Washington School Library/ Mount Vernon, WA 

•Named as an example d a family school invdved Vvith service learning and care for 

t he whde child Vvi ll compare and share historic information about t heir school Vvith 

an ether schod in a small community t hat serves generations d fami li es . 

Marathon County Public Library/ Wausau, WI 

•Col laborations betv..,een various agencies and institutions and a grant from IM LS Vvi ll 

bring t he exhibition, Do\Ml Under and O!er Here: Children's Book Illustration 

from Australia and American to t he Leigh YaVvkey Woodson Art Museum. The 

exhibition Vvi ll be t he point d reference to draw children and adults to t he world d 

children's book illustration and to t he j oys and wonders dreading. Children and 

families Vvi ll have a direct t ie to children in Australia Vvith a Sister Li brary con nection. 

Sister Li braries is the dficial W hite H ouse Millennium Council Prc:ject dthe United States 

National Commission on Librari es and Information Science (N CLIS). 

The Commission advises t he President and t he Congress on the li brary and information 

needs d t he nation and t he pdicies and plans necessary to meet t hose needs. N CLI S 

coordinates library and information science activit ies Vvith federal, state, and local 

govern ments and Vvith ether public and privat e organizations. It conducts studies, surveys 

and analyses, and it promotes ether research and development activit ies t hat Vvi ll extend and 

improve t he nation's library and information handling capability as essent ial links in national 

and international communications and cooperative networks. 

N CLI S is a permanent, independent agency d t he federal government. 

For addit ional information about t Sister Libraries: A W hite H ouse Millennium Council 

Prqect, contact: 

- NCLIS 

United States National Commission on Libraries and Information Science 

1110 Vermont Avenue, NW, Suite 820 

Washington, DC 20005-3552 

Telephone: 202/606-9200 

Fax: 202/606-9203 

E-Mail: Sisterlibraries@nclis.gov 

Sister Li bran es 

A WHITE HOUSE 

MILLENNIUM COUNCIL PROJECT 

PROJECT SUMMARIES FROM SELECTED SISTER LIBRARIES 

June 1999 

Birmingham Public Library/ Birmingham, AL 

•Celebrating Italian fdktales and culture in all 20 locations Vvi ll be the focus d t he 

Birmingham Public Library. Storytellers from each li brary Vvi ll take listeners on an 

imaginary j ou rney to Italy. At t he concl usion d each program, a sampling d Italian 

food Vvi ll be available. The children d Birmingham Vvi ll net only learn about t he 

cult ure, but Vvi ll have a good t ime learning as Vvell. 

Central Arkansas Library System/ Little Rock 

• • •Th rough t he computer lab, children could develop pen pals t hrough e-mail about 

information in t he international curriculum in their schods 

Cupertino Public Library/ Cupertino, CA 

•Children's libra rians Vvi ll present a program d American fdk literature for schoolage 

children and provide a workshop for t hem to write about/Illustrate t heir favorite 

stories. The library Vvi ll feature Tall Tales and Brier Rabbit stories. The cdlection d 

written works Vvi ll be sent to Ta cm The children in Ta crn Vvi ll be encouraged to 

write, in Engli sh or Mandarin , about favorite fdk literature from Chinese cult ure and 

send t o Cupertino for display during Children's Book Week. 

San Diego Public Library/ Public School Consortia/ San Diego, CA 

•A consortia d elementary, middle and high schools as Vvell as t he Preuss schod at 

UCSD and t he Children's Museum charter schod Vvi ll work together to research, 

create, and prcd uce a book to exchange Vvith t heir Sister city. Students Vvi ll decide 

what is in the books and groups Vvi ll personalize books Vvith their O\Ml observations 

and creativity. 

Sidwell Friends/ Washington, DC 

•Having a well-established Chinese Studies program, students and staff wi ll be able 

to share materials and make suggestions for purchases d new mat erials for t heir 

Sister Li brary in Shanghai. Keypals wi ll all ow students to practice t heir 

Chinese/English link all via email. A group from Sid well visits China each summer it 

wi ll be possible to arrange a visit for an actual face-to-face encounter. 
Broward County Library/ Fort Lauderdale, FL 

•Developing a small world vveb r:age fcr each library's Webster vvhere information 

relating to childrenfi;eens can be pcsted is one aspect cf their varied activities 

designed fcr the prcgram. 

DeKalb County Public Library/ Decatur, GA 

•Teens wll be encouraged to design the prcgram t hat best fits for them. Varied 

segments cf the population wi ll be invited to meet fcr prcgranns featuring multicultural and bi-lingual storytellers, multi-cultural crafts and conversation groups. 

Peach Public Libraries/ Fort Valley, GA 

• • •Children wi ll exchange local histories, have virtual t ours cf respective communities 

and simultaneous prcgranns wth on-line evaluation and comparisons. 

Carbondale Public Library/ Carbonbdale, IL 

• • •Currently praviding library tours for groups cf educators and business delegat es 

from Nakajo, Jar=an, the library w ll now encourage t hat a libranan be included as 

r=art cf t he delegation t o visit. To continue to promete t he r:artnership, Carbondale 

Public Library w ll host a Jar:anese tea ceremony, Jar:anese music prcgranns, 

prcgranns highlighting japrnese hdidays and celebrations. Prcgranns w ll be 

videetaped t o exchange w t h their Sister Library. A "r=artners in reading club" wi ll be 

started. 

Johnson County Pubic Library Shawnee, KS 

• • •Plans include sponsoring a storyteller or dramatic prcgram highlighting the stories cf 

the Irish who settled in Kansas and hdd the prcgram in Listovvel Park, named after 

the Irish settlers cf Sha 'Mlee Kansas. 

West Bloomfield Township Public Library/ West Bloomfield, Ml 

• • •A" teen read-in", or a virtual b=k discussion group where Sister Library 

r=art icir=ants will read and discuss the same books, exchange b=ks from local 

authors and share lists cf favorite authors w ll be just a few activities in this 

community. 

Bozeman Public Library/ Bozeman, MT 

•Children wi ll write letters telling abcut Montana their honnes, t heir schod and t heir 

library. Each schod will be asked to give five items to be included in a bcx to 

exchange wth their Sister Library. 

Cumberland County Public Library and Information Cent er/ 

Fayetteville, NC 

• • •Already wth plans in the schod library t o host a Cadets Teaching Prcgram where 

students praviding prcgranns for elementary students to learn about their Sister city, 

the library 'A-ill develop a pen r=al program and a Culture O ub for r=atrons cffering 

diverse prcgramnring fcr the entire fanrily. 

Helen Morgan School/ Sparta, NJ 

•Students 'A-ill use a mailing list to share information and opinions on books and then 

they w ll manipulat e the data, draw conclusions, fcrm hypetheses and report back 

to the Sister Library. The library has an " open Library" pd icy. 

Queens/ Jamaica NY 

•Connecting children and schods (G\.LSP) where outreach librarians work with 

connecting students (k-8) and their r:arents wth local neighborhood libraries 

•KidsWorld Queens, r:artnership wth 20 cultural institutions in Queens that serve 

youth Digital video teleconferencing vvhere interactive video teleconferenced 

meetings betvveenchildren and teens - have conversations, ask questions and 

experience wi.tch ethers prcgranns 

Whit e Plains Library/ White Plains, NY 

•Prcgram objectives include prometing communication and understanding betvveen 

children cf different cultural backgrounds through gldbal dialcgue, and praviding 

children wit h fun and safe online international penr:als, C'iBER PEN PALS. 

Washoe County Library System / Reno , NV 

• • •As one cf ten libraries in the country t o receive a panning grant from De'v'vitt 

Wallace Reader's Digest Fund to address t he library's rde in exr:anding and 

enriching services fcr young people and improving their educational and career 

development, Washoe County w ll use information from t his grant to implement 

activities into an active Sister Libranes program. They have an on-gang Library 

Youth Council, and plan a Spanish D ial-a-story, tutcring and st orytelling. 

St. Ursula's Academy/ Cincinnati, OH 

•SUA's existing library club w ll r:artner w th t he Sister library to include students in 

ccffee houses, events during the schod year that allow students to read original or 

ether's poetry, prose and performance arts in a small relaxed group setting. Email 

Internet Chat sessions and ether distance learning techndcgies wll be 

inccrporated. Students may t ravel to t he Sister Gty t o meet student w t h vvhom 

they communicate. 

Toledo-Lucas County Public Library/ Toledo, OH 

• T dedo, wth six existing Sister Gty relationships and additional five developing 

ones, w ll use an internat ional Sister Gties theme for the year 2000 Summer 

Reading Oub. They will plan programs wth an international theme for children and 

teens and utilize community resources and local people with ethnic backgrounds. 

They w ll send Book Buddy, the library's mascet t o all T dedo Sister G ties during 

the Summer Reading club. 

Shaler North Hills Library/ Glenshaw, PA 

•The Book Bugs Oub, grades 4 -8) communicates about literature and share 

thoughts about books, videotapes and computers. Sharing w th the community and 

hosting international prcgranns fcr fanrilies are also r:art cf this program. 

Fort Worth Public Library/ Fort Worth, TX 

• • •Fort Worth has already initiated a p let prcject this year wth Fort W orth Sister 

Cities to encourage children and yout h to learn more about their six sister cities. 

Already approximately I IO youth have r=articir=ated as pen r:als with youth in one cl 

their sister cities. 

Virginia Beach Public Library/ Virginia Beach, VA 

• • •Plans are underv..ay fcr activities during Children's B=k W eek focusing on 

children's authors. Teen vdunteers w ll cffer suggestions t hat w ll help Miyazaki 

Public Library start its O'Ml teen vdunteer prcgram.