Nathalie Dima and Caroline Fry started conducting story times in French for preschoolers as a way to help their own children communicate in the women's native language. Soon, they found many parents from all language backgrounds participating.

"We sort of sensed that it would be popular," Ms. Dima, of Mt. Lebanon said. "Foreign languages are really hot right now."

A program of French story times is being led by Ms. Dima and Ms. Fry at the Mt. Lebanon Public Library. The free half-hour sessions began last Friday and will continue through Nov. 21 at 10 a.m. in the Children's Story Room. The new offering reflects an expanding focus on international programming designed to meet increasing community demand.

During the first session, Ms. Dima read the French version of "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carle to an enthusiastic audience.

"We covered very basic words, without translating immediately, to get them immersed," she explained.

The program is geared toward families that do not speak French at home.

"We're not expecting anyone to be fluent," Ms. Dima said.

Her three children speak French, Romanian and English. Her husband, Cristian, is a native of Romania and speaks to the children primarily in Romanian.

"During the day, they speak French because I am at home," she said.

The children speak English in school and in the community.

Ms. Dima knows the value of immersion in language. When her in-laws visit from Romania, her children speak Romanian every day for several weeks during the visit.

"My kids make a lot of progress during that time," she said.

Ms. Dima and Ms. Fry initially held programs at the Squirrel Hill Library to encourage their own children to speak French outside their homes. When both families moved to the South Hills, they brought the story times with them.

The first session at the Mt. Lebanon Library was well-received, said librarian Judy Sutton, with more than 30 parents and children ranging in age from 2 to 5 years attending.

"They seemed to have a really fun time," she said.

Ms. Dima is already looking forward to next week when she plans to read, "The Very Hungry Bear," also by Mr. Carle. Pre-school children learn language very quickly, according to Ms. Dima.

"They are like little sponges. It comes so easily to them,'' she said.

"I think the population of Mt. Lebanon has changed. Now there are many people for whom English is not the first language," Ms. Sutton said.

As a result, international programming at the library has increased. The library will offer a series of Chinese story times for preschoolers on Tuesday mornings beginning Oct. 7.

The library also offers adult foreign language classes focusing on Spanish, Italian, Slovak and others

Mt. Lebanon Public Library Director Cynthia Richey agrees that an influx of immigrants has affected library class offerings.

"One of the things we try to do is promote cross-cultural understanding," she said.

The library has also increased its collection of foreign-language materials.

"Ms. Dima traveled to France and brought back 40 books for us," Ms. Sutton said.

She says the library also boasts numerous materials in other languages such as Russian, Chinese, Arabic and others.

Ms. Sutton said the library also works in conjunction with the Mt. Lebanon Public Schools' English as a Second Language Department to host an annual Nationality Night. This year the event is Oct. 27, when families are invited to explore the library and learn about resources offered.

Ms. Richey had another opportunity to share Mt. Lebanon library resources with an international audience last Friday when six librarians visited from the Ukraine.

The Ukrainian delegation was brought to the United States through a federal program called "Open World." Founded in 1999, the program provides 10-day exchange trips for civic leaders to encourage mutual understanding and education about U.S. private and nonprofit sectors, along with the democratic process

Ms. Richey said the visitors were eager to learn about the role the Mt. Lebanon library plays in the community.

"They were also keenly interested in programs that provide library services through technology [and] how tax dollars support the library. They were fascinated that people freely donate money so the library can achieve its goals," Ms. Richey said.

The Ukrainian and American librarians also discovered similarities in their work, such as "getting people to return things on time," Ms. Richey said with a chuckle.

Ms. Richey hopes the visit will begin an ongoing relationship between the Ukrainian and Mt. Lebanon libraries. She sees the potential for valuable sharing of materials and information in the future.

"With technology we can also share via podcast or vodcast," she said. She speculated there may come a time when Ukrainian story times could be transmitted in this way so that audiences in both countries could share the experience.

For more on French Storytime or other international programs, contact Ms. Sutton at the library at 412-531-1913 or e-mail suttonj@einetwork.net.