Williamsburg Regional Library Teams with Danish Libraries for Sister Libraries Project

The Williamsburg Regional Library, among the first libraries selected nationally to participate in the Sister Libraries: A White House Millennium Council Project program, has joined forces with not one, but two sister libraries in Denmark. The libraries are Haderslev Bibliotek in Haderslev and Taarnby Bibliotek in Kastrup. Both facilities share similar children’s program and collection priorities with the Williamsburg Regional Library. Haderslev librarian Brita Hecker recently wrote Youth Service Director Noreen Bernstein, "We at Haderslev Bibliotek are excited to be in this project and think it can be a challenge for all of us." During a recent trip abroad, Mrs. Bernstein had the opportunity to visit both sister libraries. She discussed with the Danish librarians, programs, library systems and plans for Sister Library projects in 2000. Bernstein stated "I hope the Sister Library project will help us to encourage children to explore the world and to discover that people from different places are really not so different. I think our children will find that they have many things in common with Danish children, including some of the books they read. We think the program will be fun and we are excited to be part of this new initiative." For more information visit the Williamsburg Regional Library’s Sister Libraries web pages at /depts/YS/sister/sister.html.

Sister Libraries is a major initiative of the U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science and Sister Cities International. The goal is for public and school libraries in the United States to pair with others worldwide, focusing initially on programs specifically planned for children and teenagers. Sister Libraries participants will create a mosaic of opportunities for young people around the world to communicate with and learn about each other's lives and cultures.