Some highlights from the last several months ----

Resumption of USIA support along with private funding has made possible both the continuation of Sabre programs in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union and expansion of book donation programs to new countries and regions.

• With the support of the Dusky Foundation and in collaboration with Harvard University and MIT librarians, Sabre is developing a program for Bosnia & Herzegovina. Project Director Tania Vitvitsky will be traveling to Mostar and Sarajevo this month to assess needs and establish contacts with prospective partner organizations.

• Sabre is sending its first shipment to Romania early next month containing mostly children's books and elementary school materials. The Peace Corps and local organizations will coordinate distribution. First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, who was struck by the lack of such materials during her visit to Romania earlier this year, recognized Sabre's efforts at a White House even October 21.

• Following her visit to Bosnia, Tania Vitvitsky traveled to the West Bank to explore the feasibility of developing programs in the Middle East.

• In September, Sabre shpped a 40-foot sea container to southern Brazil. The chipment contained 14,800 volumes of elementary, collage and professional texts.

• Sabre sent a 20-foot container of elementary, college and professional books to Ghana in August with funding from Books for Africa.

• Sabre shipped approximately 17,000 new books to the island nation of Grenada in June. This Caribbean shipment, a first for Sabre, has been made possible with support from the Baldwin Foundation.

• Plans for a small-scale program for Cuba are being finalized. Sabre expects to provide 300 English university-level and Spanish-language children's books on a monthly basis for distribution in Cuba through the Washington office of Freedom House.

• With a planning and travel grant from an anonymous donor, Book Program Manager Colin McCullough will visit "historically black" universities in South Africa in September. The follow-up grant proposal focuses on law libraries.

• The Richard Gere Foundation has awarded Sabre a grant for a book donation program to support Tibetan refugee schools in India.

Support for Sabre's WWW and Gopher sites has been provided by public and private funds.

For comments, corrections or additions, please contact Rebecca Schneider, Reference Librarian