Boosting Brain Health Nationwide
October 31, 2008
New York, NY

Diet.  Exercise.  Novelty.  Complexity.  Socialization.  These five simple categories form the pillars of brain health, as this year’s Fit for Life librarians found out at a three-day training last month.

Participants at the September Fit For Life training in NYC

Participants, representing 17 urban libraries and their community partners, gathered in New York City to hear cutting-edge research findings on brain health, to kick off the newest segment of a successful multi-year program developed by LFF and MetLife Foundation.  Previous Fit for Life libraries focused on physical health for teens and their families.  This new round of Fit for Life programs is building upon those successes to add a focus on brain health and to extend programming to patrons from infancy through senior adulthood.

September’s training was offered to those librarians and community partners who had won spaces and grants in this segment of Fit for Life through a competitive grant process.  Following the training, the librarians returned to their libraries nationwide to refine their plans to reach patrons – thousands with direct programming, and an additional several million through public awareness campaigns.  Fit for Life programs will run from January – January 2009.

Healthy food is just one of the five 'pillars of brain health' promoted by the Fit for Life program

Participants also learned tips from scientists, marketers, librarians, and LFF staff on optimizing their patrons’ experience of Fit for Life.  Sessions included:

1. Panel: Keys to Brain Health Across the Lifespan (associates of the Dana Alliance on Brain Initiative)
2. Beyond the Library Walls: Outreach and Partnerships (Hagar Shirman, LFF)
3. Media Skills Boot Camp (Nina Sonenberg, LFF)
4. A Special Word on Reaching Teens (Matt Catapano, MTV)

To enjoy as well as discuss more active lifestyles, participants joined a walking tour of Chelsea, courtesy of NYC Open Spaces Coalition, and tried the physically active Wii and Wii Fit gaming console with the help of intern Keane Maloney.

Interested in learning more?  Visit Fit for Life Libraries and The Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives. And stay tuned for program highlights in the months to come!

LFF Program Manager Hagar Shirman named ALA Emerging Leader
October 14, 2008
New York, NY

Hagar Shirman, LFF Program Manager, honored with ALA award

LFF is delighted and proud that our own Hagar Shirman, Program Manager for Health Access and EqualAccess, has been named an ALA 2009 Emerging Leader!

Hagar will join other 2009 Emerging Leaders at the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Denver for a daylong session to kick off the program.

Based in Boston at the Massachussetts Board of Library Commissioners, Hagar is overseeing expansion of LFF's Health Access and continuing to work with EqualAccess libraries throughout MA. Prior to her arrival at LFF last winter, Hagar was a certified trainer in Massachusetts for Webjunction's Spanish Language Outreach program. We congratulate her on this honor!

To read the full press release from MBLC, click here.

Upcoming Lifelong Access Events:

APPLY NOW!
NEW ENGLAND: On December 1st and 2nd in Newton, Massachusetts, specialists in the fields of aging, work, intergenerational programming and healthy aging will join Lifelong Access Fellows at a special Institute for New England’s library leaders. Spaces are still available!

Up to 30 participants will be selected on a competitive basis. The deadline for submitting an application is November 14, 2008.

For the application, please visit lifelonglibraries.org.