[Swiss-Lib] International Library Pen Pal Club Invitation

[Heike Ehrlicher Bibliosuisse]

Dear members of our network,
We are pleased to share an interesting idea from the USA, which enables libraries to facilitate international exchanges for their visitors.
Anyone interested in supporting the global networking of library users is kindly asked to contact Erica Newman directly.



International Library Pen Pal Club 🌎✉️

Our program has expanded quickly, and we are now especially hoping to connect with more libraries outside the United States.

We currently have more than 300 participating libraries, representing 36 U.S. states and 4 countries, with thousands of patrons taking part.

Because of your role supporting library cooperation in Switzerland, I’m hoping you might be willing to share this invitation with public libraries in your network that may be interested in joining.

The idea behind the program is simple and flexible. Pen pals exchange letters through their participating libraries rather than sharing personal home addresses. Each participant receives the mailing address of their pen pal’s library and mails their own letters directly to that location, addressed c/o their pen pal.

For example:

We’re excited to let you know that your pen pal match has been made! 🎉

Your pen pal is Addison May, age 8, from Arkansas, USA.

Mailing Instructions:

Danville K-6 Library
c/o Addison May
PO Box 939
Danville, AR 72833
USA

For international matches, the same system applies. The participant mails the letter to the partner library in the appropriate country, using the library as the safe receiving location.

I maintain a master Google Sheet containing all participating libraries and patrons. Participating libraries can add and update their own information, and I handle the matching.

Google Sheet:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1aLmB-Ic5Cvm9dbiBmPVPzke8TiWXU8Gk7xRacCutmoY/edit?usp=sharing

We also have a Facebook group where participating libraries can communicate, share ideas, celebrate letters received, and watch the program continue to grow:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/3012785308912907

We would be thrilled to welcome public libraries from Switzerland into our growing international pen pal community.

Thank you for considering sharing this with libraries in your network. Something as simple as a handwritten letter can create meaningful connections across borders. 💌🌍


Warm regards,
Erica Newman
Library Assistant
Shepard-Pruden Memorial Library
106 W. Water St.
Edenton, NC 27932
enewman at pettigrewlibraries.org<mailto:enewman at pettigrewlibraries.org>


biblio}suisse
Heike Ehrlicher, Direktorin – Directrice – Direttrice
Bleichemattstrasse 42 | 5000 Aarau |
M +41 76 417 39 80 | T +41 62 – 552 08 52 |
www.bibliosuisse.ch<http://www.bibliosuisse.ch>


[image.png]

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/swiss-lib/attachments/20261109/c32f344f/attachment.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image.png
Type: image/png
Size: 1583645 bytes
Desc: image.png
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/swiss-lib/attachments/20261109/c32f344f/attachment.png>