The La Grange Park Public Library has been a "twin" of the Parkes Shire Library since 1988, when then secretary of State Jim Edgar promoted a "sister library" program between Illinois and Australia. Eighty La Grange Park residents became pen pals with library users from Parkes Shire, and the staffs of the two libraries have remained in contact, even though that program ended after one year. La Grange Park is a village of 13,295 residents, located in the near western suburbs of Chicago. It is a "bedroom" community established in 1892, nestled in the Salt Creek Forest Preserve, next door to the internationally-known Brookfield Zoo.
The Parkes Shire Library serves a rural area of New South Wales, 226 miles west of Sydney. With 12,000 residents, the town is similar in size to La Grange Park, however, unlike the urban suburb, Parkes Shire is a farming district that produced primarily wheat, wool, fat lambs, cattle and pigs. It is a major wheat storage center and is home to a large farm equipment manufacturing plant. One of the world's most powerful radio telescopes also operates near there. The 2000 Warner Brothers movie "The Dish" takes place in Parkes.