Tuesday's Topic: Pen Pal Programs

When I was working at my first library out in Long Island, we did a pen pal program. Basically, how it worked was my supervisor, the Head of Children's Services coordinated with another Head of Children's Services through a listserv (maybe Pubyac?) from Canada and we created pen pal match sheets with questions about their favorite things. Then, on our end on Long Island, we matched the children by age, gender and interests. We gave them a packet with an envelope with a stamp, some stationary, pencil, pen pal door sign (they can color it in), stickers, directions about writing an international letter and postage.

Well, I would like to do this program again in my library in Queens, Ny but on a smaller scale. I was thinking this fall, with the part time librarian, we could pair up with a library in Queens and have the kids write one another, using similar criteria like I did in the Long Island library. I would give them a similar packet. The positive part is at the end, we can either meet the other library in person or on Skype.

Has anyone else done this type of program? If so, how did you do it and how did you pair up with a library?