Getting Active and Making Healthier Choices at Your Library
“Chasing my toddler up and down the aisles at the library has to count as exercise,” a young mom joked recently. While running is discouraged, the library does provide some unexpected opportunities for healthy lifestyles.
Do you know your own vital health statistics? Use the LifeClinic Health Station and the digital scale at the library to keep tabs on your health.
Did you know that you could monitor your blood pressure, pulse, weight and BMI at the library? Knowing your personal health measurements is a great starting place for learning about healthier choices. Browse books and DVDs arranged by health topic, plus free pamphlets are available throughout the Health Information Neighborhood. The library offers bestselling health books like Being mortal: medicine and what matters in the end by Atul Gawande as well as many popular diet and nutrition books.
A Health Bag on the topic of Multiple Sclerosis sits alongside books for checkout. For those recently diagnosed or anyone looking for a quick selection of recommended titles on a topic, check out the Health Bags at the library.
“I love the health bags! I've checked out 2-3 of them now,” library customer Holly Mace shared. Each health bag contains 3-5 recommended books on a health topic and some include a DVD or audiobook. Healthy lifestyle topics include Nutrition, Yoga, Anti-Aging, and Walking, and bags are also available for those recently diagnosed with Migraines, ADHD, Celiac Disease, Diabetes, and more.
Fitness Kits in the Health Information Neighborhood offer a chance to change up your home workout routine and try out exercise equipment before you buy it.
If you are interested in trying something new in your home fitness routine beyond checking out an exercise DVD, the library makes it easy with Fitness Kits available in the Health Information Neighborhood. Each includes equipment like kettlebells, weighted balls, and resistance bands that check out along with an exercise DVD to demonstrate the routines. The best part is that they check out for 21 days, so you are motivated to get started using them right away!
Beyond the Health Information Neighborhood, you will want to browse the shelves of the Cooking and Lawn & Garden Neighborhoods, where you will find books on how to grow and prepare healthy foods. In the Sports Neighborhood, learn how to improve at recreational sports like running, basketball and soccer. Plus read inspiring stories about the athletes who compete and excel in physical activities.
The real secrets to healthier choices are shelved in the Media Center, according to Michelle Stottlemire, who said, “I check out a variety of health and cooking books, but the biggest incentive for me is entertainment - videos to binge-watch on the treadmill and audiobooks to listen to while gardening.”
When you combine your library card and your computer, tablet or smartphone in your pursuit of health and wellness, the library is your resource for downloadable books, movies and music. Just visit tscpl.org and click the Download it! Button.
- Overdrive ebooks and audiobooks offer you a great selection of reading on healthy living or download something entertaining to enjoy while you exercise.
- Hoopla gives you access to exercise videos by fitness gurus like Jillian Michaels, new audiobooks, and great music -- all with free streaming and downloading. Remember, all it takes is your library card!
Your trip to the library might be visiting a Bookmobile at one of 20 locations around Shawnee County. But be sure and plan a trip to the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library at 1515 SW 10th Avenue. While you are here, eat a fruit plate at the Millennium Café, shop for healthy cookbooks in the Chandler Booktique or use a Topeka Metro Bike to take a spin around town. The library will help you get active and make healthier choices. Learn more at tscpl.org.
