Thank you to the 363 public libraries that during June and July 2017 added additional information to the Let’s Move in Libraries directory of public libraries in the U.S. and Canadathat offer programs that create opportunities for individuals of all ages and abilities to move and to be active. Please continue to add information to this directory so that it can be kept up-to-date as a representation of how physical activity and public libraries come together.

Congratulations to the raffle winners, which include staff from:

The Allegany County Library System (Maryland), which as part of its Summer Reading Club offers different moving activities every Wednesday throughout the summer for children and adults alike.

The Prince Memorial Library (Cumberland, Maine), which regularly offers Kids Yoga for Pre-K through first grade. The library also hosts programs offered by the Cumberland/North Yarmouth Recreation Department, including adult Yoga, Tai Chi, and Mommy & Me Music & Movement for ages 2 ½ to 6 years old.

The Andrews Public Library, part of the Nantahala Regional Library System (North Carolina), which offers weekly Tai Chi on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 9:30 and Yoga on Saturday mornings at 9:30.

The Fayetteville Public Library (Arkansas), which offers (and has offered for several years) free beginner to intermediate level yoga classes for adults every Monday evening with about 40 people attending each session. The library has also livestreamed a holiday season decompression yoga series for adults who were unable to attend or that might not be comfortable attending in person.  The library also periodically hosts and livestreams a Yoga for Kids series. Each January, the library offers a Get Fit series of programs with varied exercise classes.  The idea is to allow people to try a variety of classes with no financial investment and hopefully find one that they wish to pursue independently. Some classes have included Crossfit, dancing, and Barre.  The library also occasionally features dancing as part of its monthly TRY FPL series focusing on hands-on, active participation programming. Through circulation, the library also checks out fishing poles and tools of all sorts, which include a large selection of gardening tools. The library is also exploring ways to circulate kayaks and other outdoor activity equipment.

Thanks again to everyone who participated! Please continue to add information to the Let’s Move in Libraries directory of public libraries in the U.S. and Canada, and to use it as a source of information.

If you would like to learn more about how to start and sustain movement-based programs in your library, please consider attending an upcoming free webinar on this topic. On Wednesday, August 16, 2017, at 1 p.m. Eastern Time, Jenn Carson, MSLIS, CYT, CCYT, the Director of the LP Fisher Public Library in Woodstock, New Brunswick; and Gwen GeigerWolfe, MPH, MLS, part-time Information Services librarian at Lawrence Public Library (Kansas) who specializes in health will participate in a free webinar on their experiences with movement-based programs in public libraries. Click here to register!

The Let’s Move in Libraries project is focused on understanding how public libraries create opportunities for individuals of all ages and abilities to move and be active.

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