MARCH 2021 NEWSLETTER

Welcome to the March 2021 edition of the Let’s Move in Libraries newsletter. So far, 2021 has been exciting and overwhelming! This month’s newsletter is shorter than usual. We plan to be back with more original content in future months! This month’s featured image comes from the recently released book “Michelle’s Garden: How the First Lady Planted Seeds of Change.” Inspired by former U.S. First Lady’s vision – the Let’s Move campaign (2010-2016) that led to Let’s Move in Libraries – this book tells the story of Obama’s effort to “grow the largest kitchen garden ever at the White House. This wouldn’t be easy, since she’d never gardened before: Where should she start? What tools did she need? What would she plant? Everyone needs help when they’re learning something for the first time, even the first lady of the United States. So she gathered the help of local students, the White House staff, and even President Barack Obama. Together, they wouldn’t just grow a garden—they would inspire a nation!”

This story is being repeated in public libraries across the world, where librarians are rolling up their sleeves alongside community members to change the culture of health. Check out this book and get inspired to re-imagine how you and your library support health.

Pitching Public Health to Public Libraries: Finding Common Ground

We all know that it takes a village to create healthy communities. Join us to discuss how public libraries and public health departments can work together next Tuesday, March 9. Let’s Move in Libraries director Noah Lenstra joins U.S. Public Library Association Deputy Director Scott Allen in this interactive webinar. Learn and more and sign up on the website of the Network of the National Library of Medicine, which is hosting the event.

Blossom: A free virtual symposium for library staff focused on their health and wellness

Join Let’s Move in Libraries Advisors Bobbi Newman and Jenn Carson for “this free virtual symposium for library staff focused on their health and wellness from the Network of the National Library of Medicine to be held March 24, 25, 26, 2021. You can sign up now. BLOSSOM stands for “Building Life-Long Opportunities for Strength, Self-Care, Outlook, Morale and Mindfulness.”

Learn more about this initiative in Bobbi Newman’s new blog series for OCLC/WebJunction on “A Holistic Approach to Library Staff Health and Wellness” and also check out Jenn Carson’s amazing website!

Strengthening Communities: Food Access at Your Library

We’re thrilled to see our friends from South Carolina presenting on Strengthening Communities: Food Access at Your Library in a free OCLC/WebJunction webinar on March 24, 2021. Click here to learn more and to sign up!

Let’s Move in Libraries in the News

We’ve been thrilled to see the initiative pop up all over in the news during the past month.

The National Education Association featured our StoryWalk resource page in their article “9 Ideas for (Virtually) Celebrating NEA’s Read Across America,” published February 10, 2021. Did you do a StoryWalk to celebrate Read Across America day? Let us know!

The New Jersey Library Association also highlighted our StoryWalk resources in their Winter Professional Development Newsletter.

The American Library Association featured Dr. Lenstra’s Healthy Living at the Library book in their most recent magazine, sent to all 58,000 members around the world! Check out the article online: “Engagement at a Distance.”
We are featured in the new article “Scrappy rural librarians find the gaps and fill them” published on March 1, 2021. Learn how librarians in Illinois worked to create infrastructure to support bicycling, and so much more, in this great piece of journalism.
The Go Charlie Cart initiative featured our work supporting culinary literacy in libraries in their members’ newsletter. Check it out and consider signing up! It’s full of great resources.

About Let’s Move in Libraries!

In our June 2020 newsletter, we announced a permanent expansion in the scope of Let’s Move in Libraries. Our project was inspired by Former First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative, which focused on supporting Healthy Eating and Active Living (HEAL) among Americans.

Let us know if there are other innovative things you’re doing that we haven’t featured! We want to shine a light on all the ways librarians are getting the word out on the power of movement and healthy living in library programming. You are always invited to reach out and share with us. Please also reminder to share with us any news on programs you may be offering. We always love hearing from you! Tag us on social media or email news directly through our website. You can also share your story using this structured form. We’d love to hear from you!

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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.