MAY 2026 NEWSLETTER

The May 2026 newsletter of Let’s Move in Libraries includes:

  • Getting ready for I Partner with My Public Library Awards
  • Stories about Bike Month with the library
  • A call to join Let’s Move in Libraries Advisory Board
  • News about the Public Library Community Partnership Coalition
  • How and why to join our monthly Birds of a Feather online conversation

Our featured photos this month celebrates one of the ten 2025 I Partner with My Public Library Awards: Plenty! Farm & Food Bank, nominated by Jessie Peterman Memorial Library.

This public library in Floyd, Virginia (population 448) partners with Plenty! to host the Floyd Free Fridge, a visible daily food-access point that opened on June 24, 2022 and extends fresh food access when the pantry is closed. The library provides the site and public visibility while Plenty! manages food sourcing and distribution.

The relationship is ongoing and mission-aligned. Each organization sticks to its strengths (the library as a community hub and Plenty! as a food provider), while collaborating on programs and outreach that are mutually beneficial and impactful in the community.

Learn more about this inspiring partnership at the 2025 I Partner with My Public Library Awards webpage.

How to get ready for the 2026 I Partner with My Public Library Awards

Does your library do great things with community partners? Get ready to share your story in the Fourth Annual I Partner with My Public Library Awards. The call for nominations opens June 1, 2026.

To help you get ready for the June 1, 2026, opening of the call for nominations, we’re sharing the form below, which you can use to start preparing your nomination.

As in previous years, a team of volunteer reviewers makes these awards possible. Awards reviewers will spend approximately 3-5 hours reviewing nominations and filling out an online form based on that review. Learn more and serve as a reviewer! You can both submit a nomination and serve as a reviewer: We’ll make sure you don’t review your own nomination!

2026 Award Nomination Form

Part 1. Your library, Your Partner, and Your Community.

  1. Name and location of your library
  2. Brief description of population served by your library
  3. Name of partner you’re nominating
  4. Your name, title, and contact email

Part 2. The Partnership (Suggested word limit: 150 words per question, except Question 3 which may run up to 250 words. The total nomination should be under 1,500 words)

  1. How did the partnership get started, and how long has it been in existence – or, if it was a project-based collaboration, how long did the project run?
  2. What community need or needs does the partnership address?
  3. Please share one specific story, moment, or interaction that illustrates the impact of this partnership on the people you serve.
  4. What evidence do you have of impact? If possible, please include at least one specific number — attendance figures, people served, funds raised, resources provided, or any other metric that captures what this partnership has accomplished.
  5. How has this partnership benefited both your library and your partner organization? What does each side bring to the relationship, and what does each side gain?
  6. How would you describe the working relationship between your library and the partner?
  7. If you think this model could work in other communities, what would a librarian need to do to activate it?
  8. Is there anything else you’d like us to know? You are also welcome to submit photos, links to media coverage, or other supporting materials.

Also check out the launch of the new “Stories of Partnerships” webpage. Over the last three years, we have received so many amazing nominations, but we’re only able to award 10 partners a year. This Stories of Partnerships webpage serves to showcase many of the other amazing stories we’ve received over the years.

Stories about Bike Month with the library

Did you know that National Bike Month in the United States is May? And that National Bike Month in Canada is June?

Let’s Move in Libraries has been monitoring what public libraries have planned for 2026, and we’re thrilled to share some of these stories.

What we love about these examples is that in every case they involve a public library teaming up with at least one community partner!

Let us know what you’re doing in your community! We’d love to feature you in a future newsletter, and on our webpage.

In Texas, the Bryan + College Station Public Library System announced that “The National Bike Month events kick off at Ringer Library on Saturday, May 2nd at 2PM! Are you interested in grocery shopping on your bike? Get started by attending this workshop. Learn about the different types of bags you can use to attach to your bike to go shopping.” This and other Bike Month programming is a collaboration with Aggieland Cycling.

In North Dakota, Bismarck Veterans Memorial Public Library announced that on May 18, all are welcome to gather at the library for “a fun, active evening together. Families and community members are encouraged to join the library, Bismarck-Burleigh Public Health, the Bismarck PD, and Sanford for an evening bike ride to the Capitol. Meet at the Library Plaza at 6pm for safety rules and expectations. BPD Safety Escort will lead the group at 6:10pm to the Capitol and back. Riders of all ages are welcome. Helmets are encouraged to keep everyone safe, especially children.”

In California, Pasadena Public Library announced that on May 30 they’re hosting a Family Bike Festival: “Celebrate biking at this family-friendly festival featuring a bike safety check, bike and helmet decorating, a short family ride and activities for all ages.” This is a partnership with the City of Pasadena Department of Transportation, Day One, and the Pasadena Complete Streets Coalition. The library and its partners are also screening Klunkerz, a documentary on the origins of mountain biking, followed by a live Q&A with the film’s director, William Savage, on May 21.

What are you and your partners doing for Bike Month? Let us know!

A call to join the Let’s Move in Libraries Advisory Board

Let’s Move in Libraries is pivoting outward. For the past decade, we’ve helped library workers build health-promoting programs. Now we’re flipping the lens — building a campaign that reaches potential community partners and positions public libraries as critical collaborators. Our working tagline: Your library is in this with you. We’re launching with three partnership tracks — Nature & Parks (Place), Leisure & Recreation (Fun), and Placemaking & Transportation (Connectivity) — chosen because of our long-standing commitment to these topics. The campaign will include partnership stories, practical tools, and resources designed to help community organizations connect with their local public library.

We’re seeking three to four new advisory board members who bring deep experience with community partnerships, whether from within libraries or beyond them. This is a volunteer role with a modest time commitment (roughly quarterly virtual meetings), but real influence: you’ll be shaping a campaign at its most formative stage, with intensive development planned for Spring 2027. If you’re interested, fill out this short form. We look forward to hearing from you!

If you have questions, please contact Noah Lenstra.

How and why to join the Public Library Community Partnership Coalition

We’re thrilled to invite you to join the Public Library Community Partnership Coalition. This group launched in February 2025, and over the past year members have been meeting online to build infrastructure and connections.

Join us in shaping the future of community partnerships involving public libraries! In March 2026, the PLCPC officially launched its webpage.

During the first year of its existence, the PLCPC has grown to include over 180 individuals, and we’re just getting started. We invite you to join this growing group.

At the webpage, you’ll find information on how to join the group, how to attend a meeting, and how to access and share a broad range of resources related to community partnerships and public libraries.

Our next meeting is online on May 19 at 2 pm Eastern. Hope to see you there!

How to join our monthly Birds of a Feather online conversations

Want to join a community of public library workers and partners interested in the topics celebrated by Let’s Move in Libraries?

Have a burning question you’d like to ask other librarians?

Join us in our monthly Birds of a Feather conversation series.

Beginning in February 2023, we host a monthly one-hour Birds of a Feather online conversation. Join us May 20, 2026 at 12 pm Eastern / 9 am Pacific for the next installment in this series of inspiring, engaging, open and lively conversations.

What is a Birds of a Feather conversation? It’s an opportunity for individuals with shared interests to gather together (birds of a feather flock together) to share resources, inspire one another, and generally build community.

These events are never recorded so that all participants can share freely. Join us!

Here are some of the resources shared during our April conversation:

Food Related Resources

Food as Medicine Page on Let’s Move in Libraries

Sign-up to join the Food as Medicine in Public Libraries pilot

Programs to check out at ALA Annual Conference in Chicago in June:

ALA What’s Cooking Stage program. Sun, 6/28 @ 12:30: Culture Remix: Food literacy programming for Children, Teens,  and Families

How do you run high-impact food programs with no kitchen, just a sink? Discover how food culture literacy programs bring multigenerational families, teens, and digital-only users into the library through tasting, storytelling, and easy food-making. From Summer Lunch activations to Flavor Remix pop-ups, this session includes Awesome Sauce demo, guided tasting, and take-home zine activity. Moderated by award-winning children’s author, food ethnographer, and TED speaker June Jo Lee.

Panelists:

Joy Hariprasad, New York Public Library

Sara Jensen, King County Library System

Francesca de Vera, San Diego Public Library

Patty Wong, Santa Clara City Library (past ALA President 2021-2022)

Moderator:

June Jo Lee, Food Ethnographer, co-founder READERS to EATERS, co-author of Kimchi Taco Time (Fall 2026), Sandor Katz and the Tiny Wild, Chef Roy Choi and the Street Food Remix

At ALA. Sunday, 6/28 @ 11:30.  Kimchi, Krautchi & Kimchi Taco Time: Bringing Books to Life through Food   What happens when storytime gets spicy? Join us for a high-energy author talk that turns reading into tasting, mixing, and brave first bites, inspired by new book, Kimchi Taco Time. (Oct 2026) Mix. Dip. Wrap. Roll! Share stories across cultures and generations. All you need at the library is a kitchen sink. Featuring a live kimchi and krautchi demo, guided tasting, and a collectible recipe mini-zine.

Espresso bar @ Seattle Central Library

Healthier Meals, On the Go | Farmer’s Fridge

Walking Book Club Related Resources

Walking Book Club at the Gail Borden Public Library

East Cobb Library Walking Book Club

Waiver of liability for the Roaming Readers Walking Club program conducted by the Eureka Public Library District.

Rural Libraries and Walking Study: Oregon Walking Groups and Civic Projects.

Step It Up: Walking Group Implementation Toolkit

Mobile Health Vehicles and Resources Brought to Public Libraries

Vision to Learn at Cobb County Library returns in Summer 2026

Winship Cancer Institute launches mobile prostate cancer screening program to tackle disparities, improve access

Launched in February 2025, Driving Health Forward is a fast-growing national campaign of organizations and individuals dedicated to promoting healthcare system change to grow the mobile healthcare sector.  The campaign advocates for the expansion of mobile healthcare as an essential, high-quality, and cost-effective approach to improve access to care, reduce health disparities and build a more resilient healthcare system.

Mobile Health Map, Harvard Medical School – Mobile Health Map is a network of mobile clinics working together to advance health equity. By uniting local resources with national best practices, we innovate, evaluate, and communicate our impact…There are an estimated 3,600 mobile clinics in the U.S. with 10 million visits each year. By making health care accessible for both rural and urban communities, mobile clinics ensure that everyone has access to lifesaving preventive, primary care, and specialty services. As trusted providers of quality health care, mobile clinics reach marginalized communities and advance health equity.

Family Van Shows How Mobile Health Clinics Can Save Lives, Money

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