PA Forward Commons

A series of four sessions to help guide our older adults about transitioning to this life stage. See attached flier for details on each session.

In honor of Hobbit Day 9/22, our YA librarian organized a DYI Hobbit Doors event for teens and adults to make their own hobbit door to hang on their door or bookshelf. Multi-generational turnout with creativity and connection and literary love aflowing.

This link: https://www.yiddishbookcenter.org/language-literature-culture/stories-exile-reading-groups/about has info about the genesis of the program and the 3 books that generated the start of the program. However, we included several other workshops and programs along with the series all meeting the theme. We had a live production of A Bintel Brief performed by Theatre Ariel, a virtual tour of the Yiddish Book Center, and a presentation on the history of antisemitism. Books for the reading groups and presentations were provided to the patrons free of charge from the Yiddish Book Center.

We are partnering with Community Life, a local organization focused on senior quality of life, to present a program on senior in-home care. Community Life will be on hand to discuss locating and paying for in-home care for a loved one. They will also be discussing how to navigate the Medicare system. Afterwards they will be on hand to answer questions and set up one-on-one assistance appointments at the library.

Students, faculty, and staff were invited on a guided tour of booths featuring different tips and tools to develop mental wellness. These included a joke jar, academic resources, a virtual reality guided meditation app, group and individual games, and an anonymous ‘write your problems’ station. Two yoga sessions were offered at different times during the event, led by a certified instructor.

This workshop runs a few times a semester. It covers three areas of college-level academic work: effective writing style, researching with the academic library, and the APA/MLA/Chicago citation styles. Students are invited to drop in with any questions or concerns they have with their coursework. The workshop’s unofficial title is “let me answer your weird citation questions” because so many students arrive with obscure issues in APA Style.

Students are invited to attend a presentation on basic banking, covering topics of opening an account, deposits, checks, and more. They get to ask questions and speak with local experts about their banking concerns.

Children & families were invited to this very special storytime we held for Indigenous People’s day. We read several books about Indigenous people and then did a special “Three Sisters” collage craft

Young patrons were invited to write a note to their favorite book characters and drop it in a special post office box (made from a big cardboard box). The children’s librarians wrote replies and posted them on a bulletin board, where patrons could look for them.

Attendees are invited to check out a library cookbook, make an item from it to share, and offer their review of the cookbook. Club meetings can be themed (around a healthy snack or drink, honey, Valentine’s Day, etc.