U.S. Embassy inaugurates a new American Corner in Sibiu

On December 7, the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest opened a new American Corner in Astra Library in Sibiu which promotes the common cultural and democratic values of the United States of America and Romania.  This is the 10th center which is part of the American Corners program, besides those in the cities of Bacau, Baia Mare, Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Constanta, Craiova, Iasi, Timisoara and Targu Mures.

The new space was jointly inaugurated by Timothy Gerhardson, Public Affairs Counselor, and Astra library Director, Razvan Pop.  Local officials were present as well.   

“I am delighted to be here with you all today at this world class library, to open the American Corner Sibiu. 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.  

He added that the American Corner Sibiu aimed at reinforcing our friendship and mutual understanding. “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 hosted an American Shelf, which provided a collection of volumes, reference titles, classic and contemporary American literature, English language teaching methodology, resources for learning English. On May 26, 2022, the U.S. 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. Currently, there are 10 active American Corner centers, which are part of the global network of over 600 centers in over 150 countries. The program aims to promote understanding and cooperation between the United States of America and Romania, providing accurate and 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 U.S. through print and electronic resources, American Corner centers organize interactive cultural, educational and English language learning programs.  

The American Corners offer a welcoming and inspiring environment, trained staff, and the modern technologies needed to connect with Romanians, both in person and virtually, supporting the U.S. Government policies, for a better understanding of the American history and cultural values.  

In all these centers the interested public has free access to the offered resources, services and programs.