– The first time we drove across the border at Idre we had no idea where to go.There were only a few buildings.You can park by the road barrier, people said.Were not going to see anyone we thought, but within five minutes we had 15-20 people on the bus. In the middle of the mountains! It brought tears to my eyes, says Ann Johansson, project leader and librarian on the library bus, that because of the project now also services theSwedish side of the border. The culture bus, as it is described today brings literary manna to the people in the southern Sami region.This is an extremely sparsely populated area and the nearest library is very far away.The project has meant an increased busload with the addition of a south-Sami section and there are now books about Sami culture in three languages, including south-Sami. This new section is of high value to the Sami in this region enabling them to share the joint heritage but also interesting to other residents in the area. In the culture bus are also staged lectures, plays and other cultural events on a Sami theme. – Probably the best lecture weve had was the one about south-Sami costumes. The audience even included a designer from London. But the funniest show was the clown Alfie, alias Ylva Gustavsson,who really managed to captivate all ages. She acted a jukebox and the audience was invited to suggest songs. She performed very strange versions and brought the ladies of the sewing circle to tears.The children loved it.The lending of books has surged, like the number of new borrowers but the bus is not just a cultural Mecca in the backwaters. It also helps to bridge the differences between the Sami and non-Sami population in the area. People meet on the bus, perhaps have a talk and are tempted by the special assortment of books on the shelves to learn more about the culture of this minority.– The mobile library means such a lot to the Sami.They experience such a lot of sneering in their everyday life but now they represent something that people find fruitful. After all its because of the Sami that we come in our book bus.