With more than 650 spaces in 150 countries around the world, American Spaces are venues that provide a welcoming environment where visitors can connect and learn about the United States through a variety of programs, lectures, books, films or magazines. They are often located in embassies, schools, libraries and other partner institutions around the world. There are currently seven such spaces in Croatia and they are located in Osijek, Rijeka, Vukovar, Zadar, Zagreb, Karlovac and Koprivnica. Membership is free and open to all.

Thanks to the financial support of the US Embassy in Croatia, the „Fran Galović“ Public Library in Koprivnica is included in this program from 2024. AAS Koprivnica „The Factory“ is located in Makerspace on the first floor of the library.

Given that it is located in Makerspace, equipment currently available for use to AAS visitors of all ages is: 3D printers, smart TV, PlayStation 4 and VR glasses, micro:bit and BOSON accessory sets, mBot, AQ:bit, micro:Maqueen, Makey Makey, Dash and Dot robots, LEGO robotic sets, Sphero BOLT robot, computers, laptops and tablets. AAS provides accurate, current, audience-appropriate information about the United States and visitors can expect occasional interactive programs on a range of topics, from developing career skills to learning English. A small collection of materials in English will soon be available for use and loan. eLibraryUSA – a digital library with access to databases that include numerous scientific researches, journals of various topics, scientific articles, e-books, multimedia content and more – is available for AAS visitors.

As a part of the program, the librarians that work in the Mobile Library Service have formed English language learning kits to support kindergartens that are starting to implement English language learning programs in their curricula. The kits contain 1 Interactive pen and English learning book, 1 workbook, 1 English-Croatian picture dictionary, 2 picture books in English, promotional materials and a list of links to useful teaching materials available on the Internet. We would lend the sets to kindergartens for a period of one month and rotate them periodically between groups.

You can find more information about American Spaces at: https://hr.usembassy.gov/hr/education-exchanges-hr/american-spaces-hr/.

eLibraryUSA is a new service for our users as part of AAS Koprivnica. It’s a digital collection of trusted information resources from the United States with quality newspapers, magazines, journals, books, and award-winning films and videos:

• EBSCO Academic Search Premier
• JSTOR
• ProQuest Dissertations and Theses
• PressReader
• Flipster
• Kanopy
• Bookflix

eLibraryUSA is free to use for visitors of American Spaces, and anyone interested can send their name, surname, and e-mail address to aamcornerkc@gmail.com. By submitting your information, you confirm that you agree to the terms of use of the eLibraryUSA digital database. After your application is approved, you will go through a necessary tutorial to log into the system and use digital materials.