The US Embassy in Bucharest opened a new American Corner in Romania on December 7, at the Astra Library in Sibiu. The new space, which promotes the shared cultural and democratic values of the United States of America and Romania, was jointly inaugurated by Timothy Gerhardson, Public Affairs Counselor, and Astra Library Director Razvan Pop.

The new center in Sibiu is the tenth such space part of the American Corners program in Romania. The others are located in Bacau, Baia Mare, Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Constanta, Craiova, Iasi, Timisoara, and Targu Mures.    

“With over 160 years of experience and more than one million documents to read, the Astra Sibiu County Library is the perfect partner for our Embassy,” said Timothy Gerhardson, Public Affairs Counselor.

“One of our main goals is to prepare the next generation of Romanian students and professionals to be competitive in the global marketplace. Additionally, we seek to promote intellectual freedom, good governance, and the rule of law. Our commitment to Romania through this American Corner is to exemplify a fundamental principle of democracy: the right to free access to information. This is what friends do.”

Since 2011, Astra Sibiu County Library has hosted an American Shelf (Raft American), which provided a collection of volumes, reference titles, classic and contemporary American literature, English language teaching methodology, and resources for learning English. On May 26, 2022, the US Embassy and the Astra Sibiu County Library signed a partnership agreement regarding the establishment of the American Corner Sibiu.

The American Corners program in Romania started in 2005, and currently, ten such spaces are active in the country. The global network numbers over 600 centers in more than 150 countries. The interested public has free access to the offered resources, services and programs in all these centres.

According to the Embassy, the program aims to promote understanding and cooperation between the US and Romania, providing diverse information about the United States on a number of topics that will contribute to the development of communication and cultural exchanges between the two countries. In addition to providing access to reliable and up-to-date information about the US through print and electronic resources, American Corner centers organize interactive cultural, educational and English language learning programs.

Additional information about the American Corners network in Romania is available here.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Facebook/American Corner Sibiu)