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By Robert Falkoff / MLB.com

Michael Tucker (left) and Sharon Robinson speak to students Tuesday. (Royals)

"For what team did Roberto Clemente play his entire career?"

Several hands shot up instantly and the youngster who was called on got it right.

"Pittsburgh Pirates," the student confidently responded.

There was no need for that fifth-grader to head for the library to find the right answer to the Clemente question. But for questions that draw an, "I don't know," the library is the ultimate destination for knowledge and Major League Baseball is encouraging youngsters to be there.

That point was driven home Tuesday as Major League Baseball and the Royals teamed up to promote the "Join The Major Leagues @ Your Library" program.

The students from Hyman Brand took part in a fun-time baseball quiz session, complete with prizes, at the Kansas City Public Library. Leading the session were Tucker, a Royals outfielder, and Sharon Robinson, the vice president of educational programming for Major League Baseball and daughter of the late Baseball Hall of Famer and barrier breaker Jackie Robinson.

"Baseball and libraries are two of our oldest institutions and here we are in partnership together," Robinson said. "It's wonderful."

Tucker and Robinson discussed the importance of literacy skills and understanding how to use the vast resources available at libraries. Then came the baseball question-and-answer session, which gave the kids a preview of the program's library contest. The nationwide, online baseball trivia competition challenges participants to utilize the myriad resources available at the library to answer four questions of increasing difficulty -- one for each base on a baseball diamond.

Contestants who hit a home run by answering every question correctly are entered into a national drawing. The grand-prize winner receives a pair of tickets to a 2003 World Series game. Twelve first-prize contest winners will receives packages that include a copy of the book "Jackie's Nine: Jackie Robinson's Values to Live By," by Sharon Robinson, a "Join The Major Leagues @ Your Library" T-shirt and a Jackie Robinson READ poster.

"Most kids, if you ask them questions, are a little apprehensive at first," Tucker said. "But if you make it a little more competitive, they really get involved and have fun with it, as we saw here today. This program shows that learning and finding different ways to learn can really be an enjoyable experience."

The library staff at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, in Cooperstown, N.Y., developed this year's baseball trivia questions in consultation with American Library Association members. Questions are divided into four "playbooks" corresponding to different age groups (10-and-under, 11-13, 14-17 and 18-and-older) and are organized by increasing difficulty to test a variety of information skill levels.

Another major component of this year's "Join The Major Leagues @ Your Library" program is an outreach to the Latino community. Aspects of this outreach include a new Spanish-language website that features a bibliography of Spanish-language baseball books and films and a number of springtime local events promoting the program, including the Kansas City presentation.

In addition to the contest, Major League Baseball and the ALA will once again sponsor the Library Promotion Contest -- a competition for the best local promotion tied to the program. The winning library will receive a weekend prize package that includes tickets to the 2003 All-Star Game in Chicago and an event at their library hosted by Sharon Robinson.

A separate ceremony to commemorate the "Join The Major Leagues @ Your Library" program was scheduled to take place at Kauffman Stadium prior to Tuesday's Royals-Red Sox game.

Robert Falkoff is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.