Welcome to the November 2017 Let’s Move in Libraries newsletter. This project focuses on how public libraries create opportunities for individuals of all ages and abilities to move and to be physically active.

On November 8, 2017, public librarians Rick Samuelson and Josh Berk shared their experiences checking out objects – the ‘library of things’ concept – that promote being active outdoors. Rick discussed the Nature Exploration Kits and Birding Backpacks at Henrico County Public Library (Virginia). Josh discussed Bike Bethlehem, a collaboration involving the Bethlehem Area Public Library (Pennsylvania). Go directly to Josh’s presentation to learn how to check out bicycles at your library. Watch Rick’s presentation to learn nature exploration kits and backpacks can be used at your library. The project’s webinar archive has the full recording of this and past webinars on how to support physical activity through public libraries.

The next free webinar will be held on March 7, 2018, at 1 p.m. Eastern Time, and will feature staff from the Be Well at Nashville Public Library initiative and other special guests. Check back soon for more details!

Do you have a program or initiative from your library that you would like to share with others? Please email me! We would love to highlight your experiences.

The Let’s Move in Libraries project website is getting a facelift! Get a sneak peek at the new collection of resources on movement-based programs in public libraries by going to the project’s Zotero group. Here you will find over 300 webpages, articles, and presentations on movement-based programs in public libraries. Have you done a presentation at a conference related to this topic? Please consider sending your slides to us! We would love to feature them in this collection.

If you have not visited the site in a while, please also take a look at the map of movement-based programs offered in public libraries throughout North America. If anything is missing just fill out the form at the bottom of any page and we will get it fixed right away! Let’s celebrate all that we do in our public libraries to support healthy, active communities!

We have also started to create a list of public libraries outside of the U.S. and Canada that support movement and physical activity. Take a look and add missing information!

Here are some recent additions to the map:

Piedmont Public Library in Oklahoma now offers Seated Full Body Workshops.

Bibliothèque publique Fay Tidd Public Library in Oromocto, New Brunswick offers bicycle repair and PiYo kits that can be checked out.

The Stark County District Library in Canton, Ohio, participates in a bike sharing network that enables individuals to check out a bicycle from the library, as well as from other locations throughout the local area.

 Resources that may help your library develop movement-based programs

• • The Public Library Association will award up to fifty (50) stipends to librarians, including library support staff and paraprofessionals, at libraries in the U.S. and U.S. territories to support attending a full-day preconference of the Public Library Association’s biennial meeting, Stand Up for Health: Health and Wellness Services for Your Community, scheduled for Tuesday, March 20, 2018. Applicants from public libraries will be given priority consideration. Applications are due November 19.
  • The Public Library Association conference (March 20-24, 2018) will also feature a session on “Libraries Taking the Lane: Using Bikes to Connect Communities,” which will feature public librarians from throughout the U.S. talking about how to incorporate bicycles and bicycling into programs and services. The conference will also feature a session on employee wellness initiatives that include physical, fiscal, and mental health components.

Here is a round-up of recent library literature on movement-based programs:

• • The Chicago Tribune reveals that the new Barack Obama Presidential Library in will include a public library, a basketball court, a dance studio, and a room for yoga classes.
  • The Let’s Move in Libraries project was highlighted on Active for Life: Raising Physically Literate Kids, a Canadian not-for-profit social enterprise focused on increasing physical literacy.
  • Jenn Carson published a blog post on the Programming Librarian on how to develop an outdoor water party as part of summer reading initiatives.
  • The Atlantic Provinces Library Association call for proposals for its 2018 conferenceasks for submissions on “innovation, leading change, physical literacy, actions to defend libraries and their services, or social justice.”

If your library’s programs get any coverage in the media (or if you have a press release), please let us know! We would love to highlight what you do in a future newsletter, on the project website, and on social media. These stories are important to collect and to collect!

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 Subscribe to the Let’s Move in Libraries newsletter for monthly editions of success stories, educational opportunities, and food for thought that will deepen the impact of movement-based programs and services in public libraries. Also follow the project on Facebook and Twitter to stay up-to-date. The Let’s Move in Libraries project focuses on how public libraries create opportunities for individuals of all ages and abilities to engage in healthy physical activity.