SARATOGA SPRINGS — Imagine walking on the moon. The Mohawk Valley, Southern Adirondack, and Upper Hudson Library systems believe that together, the communities of the Capital Region can go the distance. To make it happen, the three library systems have secured a grant for the Library Moon Walk from the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, according to a news release.
The library systems is encouraging people in the Capital Region to get moving and embrace healthy lifestyles. As part of the initiative, people can track how much they’ve moved on the website, librarymoonwalk.sals.edu. In addition to moving more, libraries in ten counties — Albany, Rensselaer, Fulton, Montgomery, Schoharie, Schenectady, Hamilton, Saratoga, Warren, and Washington — are hosting a variety of health-related programming, and helping people access authoritative health information from the National Library of Medicine through the Medlineplus.gov website.
“Public libraries have an important role to play in helping people lead healthy lives,” said Lois Gordon, Outreach and Adult Services coordinator for the Mohawk Valley Library System. “We’re here to make it easy for people to improve their health, through movement, information, and resources.”
“We’ve partnered with community-based health organizations to provide high-quality programs in libraries throughout the Capital Region,” said Deanna DiCarlo, manager, Adult and Outreach Services of the Upper Hudson Library System. “Public libraries are available to everyone in our region — we want to help our communities thrive.”
The Library Moon Walk will run through April 30, 2019. To log one’s steps, minutes or miles (along with their zip code, visit librarymoonwalk.sals.edu).
“Everyone is invited to take part,” said Erica Freudenberger, Outreach & Engagement Consultant at the Southern Adirondack Library System. “We know that together, we can make it to the moon — and beyond.”
The Library Moon Walk initiative is funded by the National Network of Libraries of Medicine awarded to the Mohawk Valley, Southern Adirondack, and Upper Hudson Library Systems. The initiative is designed to provide authoritative consumer health information to people from the Adirondacks to Albany, including health-related programming through public libraries. In addition, it aims to improve the health of communities in the Capital Region through the Library Moon Walk Challenge.
For more information about the Library Moon Walk initiative, contact Gordon, at Mohawk Valley Library System, (518) 355-2010, Ext. 233; Freudenberger at Southern Adirondack Library System, (518) 584-7300, Ext. 22; or DiCarlo at Upper Hudson Library System, (518) 437-9880, Ext. 225.
