The thirteenth International Book Fair for Children and Youth will be held at the International Exhibitions Center “Moldexpo” during April 1 – 4, 2009, Info-Prim Neo reports. The opening will take place on April 1, starting at 10.00. The program of the fair includes presentations of the participating publishing houses, book launches, exhibitions of book illustrations in the original, a symposium on book-related problems and child reading titled “Modernization of Services in Children’s Libraries”, a Moldova-U.S. vide conference themed “Information Culture: Programs for Children and Parents” and a forum of the children-laureates of the contest of manuscript books. The children of preschool and early school age will be presented with the surprise-book “Sfredelus” by Aureliu Busuioc, who was awarded the Book of the Year prize at the previous edition of the fair. A jury composed of personalities from the world of culture, representatives of creation unions, libraries and the reading public will offer the prizes of the fair. The organizers include: the National Section of the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Ministry of Education and Youth, the National Children’s Library “Ion Creangă”, the National Commission of the Republic of Moldova for UNESCO, the Chisinau City Hall, the Writers’ Union, the Union of Plastic Artists, the Union of Editors of Moldova, “Moldexpo”, the Association of Librarians, the Book Distribution Company “Pro Noi”. The International Book Fair for Children and Youth in Chisinau was launched in April 1997. It is one of the most important cultural events that took place in Moldova during the last years. It aims to support the publication and distribution of books for children and youth, promote books of high artistic value and support those that help produce publications for children. During 2001-2008, the fair had been held at the National Puppet Theater “Licurici”.