FEBRUARY 2018 NEWSLETTER

Welcome to the February 2018 newsletter of Let’s Move in Libraries. This project focuses on how public libraries create opportunities for individuals of all ages and abilities to engage in healthy physical activity. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to stay up-to-date with what public libraries throughout North America are doing to get their communities moving.

Free Continuing Education Opportunities 

Get Your Community Moving: Physical Literacy Programs for All AgesOn February 23, Jenn Carson, Library Director, L.P. Fisher Public Library, Woodstock, New Brunswick, Canada (Population served: 5200) and Noah Lenstra, Assistant Professor, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, will present on how to “Get Your Community Moving: Physical Literacy Programs for All Ages” at the free, online event Big Talk from Small Libraries: Small Libraries Doing Big Things. All are welcome to participate. This event is sponsored by The Nebraska Library Commission and the Association for Rural & Small Libraries. Click here to register.

Physical Activity and Health Programs in Public Libraries. The quarterly Let’s Move in Libraries webinar will be held March 7, 2018, and will feature library staff who lead Be Well at NPL (Nashville Public Library) and Sonoma County Public Library’s Healthy Living at Your Library. Learn how to get people moving as part of your library’s health services. The webinar is free. Sign up here.

Program Models on the American Library Association’s Programming LibrarianThe ALA’s Public Programs Office recently published a number of program models focusd on public libraries increasing physical activity in their communities. These include:

Does your library have a successful movement-based program? Consider sharing it with the Programming Librarian. Consider also sharing it in the Let’s Move in Libraries Online Community. Let’s share and build on our successes!

Let your garden grow

Did you know that gardening is a great form of physical activity? It’s true! According to the Cooperative Extension System, “gardening is a great way to not only enjoy some fresh air, but to get some exercise and increase your physical activity, too!” Now that Spring is right around the corner, people are getting ready to start gardens large and small. What can your library do to help them? Some libraries actually have community gardens on site. Others facilitate seed exchanges and seed libraries. Still others hold Farmer’s Markets at the library. And many, many libraries partner with Master Gardeners or community garden groups to hold “how-to” programs at the library. Have a great gardening program at your library? We’d love to hear from you!

What are you planning for Summer Reading? 

We would love to hear about any movement-based programs your libraries have in the works for summer reading. Tweet us @LetsMoveLibrary, share with us on Facebook, or drop us a line.

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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.