Walking Librarian program earns Health Literacy award

Karen Sourbier believes in “taking the library out of the building.”

On Wednesday, Oct. 19, the adult program specialist at Waynesboro’s Alexander Hamilton Memorial Free Library started the day at Ebbert Spring Archaeological Preserve and Heritage Park near Greencastle.

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That was the latest destination for the Walking Librarian program she leads the third Wednesday of each month at a different location in the area.

The day before, Sourbier was in Harrisburg where the Walking Librarian program received the 2022 PA Health Literacy of the Year Award at the Pennsylvania Library Association’s annual conference.

Health literacy was one of five awards presented for the first time this year for adult programming through the association’s PA Forward initiative. PA Forward promotes five areas of literacy: basic; information; civic and social; health; and financial.

The monthly Walking Librarian outings promote physical and mental well-being as participants walk, soak up nature, take photos and have fun, Sourbier said.

A reception to celebrate the award with Sourbier and library staff will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. Monday, Nov. 7, in the library at 45 E. Main St. It will include refreshments and an exhibit of photos taken by Walking Librarian participants.

What do you do with the Walking Librarian?

“Welcome to this warm day,” Sourbier greeted participants bundled up at Ebbert Spring as the first cold blast of the season embraced the 12-acre park at 12633 Molly Pitcher Highway. Opened in 2019 by The Archaeological Conservancy, the site features some of the most important archaeological, historic and natural resources in south-central Pennsylvania.

“I haven’t been here since I was a kid and I’m 70 years old,” said Susie Angle of Greencastle, who remembered riding her bike out to the spring with her four brothers when she was a child. “It’s nice to see it, especially since I haven’t seen it in years.”

It was her first experience with the Walking Librarian, while the mother-daughter team Charlotte Tennis and Maria Helman of Waynesboro — Sourbier’s aunt and cousin — are “walkers from way back.”

“Once a month we get together and visit in nature,” Helman said, adding the walks sometimes take her to nearby places she’s never seen before like Antietam Meadow Park and Pat O’Connor Nature Park, both in Washington Township.

The number of people varies from month to month, ranging from three or four up to 15. Destinations have included Renfrew Park in Waynesboro, the Conococheague Institute in Welsh Run, Tayamentasachta Environmental Center in Greencastle and the Franklin County Eco Park and Izaak Walton League, both of Chambersburg.

The walk seemed to be all uphill at Monterey Pass Battlefield Park in Blue Ridge Summit, while a pretty, 19-degree day at Mont Alto State Park made for nice photos of ice on the water, Sourbier recalled.

At Ebbert Spring, Sourbier handed out a list for the photo challenge: berries; moss growing on a rock or tree; reflection in the water; yellow leaf; red leaves; lacy leaves; flower; architectural detail; large leaf; some kind of nut; pinecone; seed or seed pod; cloud formations; colorful weed; vines; something you think nobody else sees; sun’s rays through the leaves; two different kinds of insects; water plants.

She offered advice on taking pictures on a cloudy day and noted “sometimes closer is better,” before the walkers headed off on their own to explore the trails, fields, buildings and pond.

The photos, with cameras or cell phones, are optional. Sometimes the challenge is in the form of a list, other times the focus is more specific, such as closeups, shapes or colors.

People are asked to email their favorites to be posted on the library’s Facebook page.

“Every time I tell myself I’m not taking photos and I have 50 already today,” said Tennis.

Jacob S. Shaffer, an eighth-grader homeschooler from Chambersburg, participates most months, but wasn’t able to make the Ebbert Spring walk.

He was introduced to photography when he was in second grade and Sourbier led a similar program at Chambersburg’s Grove Family Library.

“I enjoy going out in nature and taking photos each month with a group,” Jacob said via email. “I have had encouragement from Karen, the other walkers and many other people.”

He started out with a camcorder and his father helped him pull still shots off the recording. For the past year and a half, the 13-year-old’s been sharpening his skills under the guidance of Rodney Clark, master photographer, and has some photographs on display at Gallery 35 East on Main Street in Waynesboro.

The next Walking Librarian program will be at the Pond Bank Day Use Area from 9:30 to 11 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 16.

Where does the virtual Walking Librarian go?

In addition to the monthly in-person walks, the virtual Walking Librarian program takes people farther afield at 9 a.m. every Monday on the library’s Facebook page.

It started early in the COVID-19 pandemic, when people weren’t leaving their homes.

“I realized we needed to bring the outside to them,” Sourbier said.

The sessions feature photos and/or videos as well as narration.

October started out with the Great Smoky Mountains, followed by the Peace Garden at Shippensburg’s Memorial Park, “Welcome Autumn” with photos from recent walks in the area accompanied by autumn poetry and a Frost Walk at Conococheague Institute.

The virtual Walking Librarian program has taken people to farflung destinations including Nepal, Oregon and Florida.

For more information about Walking Librarian and other adult programs offered at Alexander Hamilton Memorial Free Library, email Sourbier at adultprograms@ahmfl.org or visit the library’s website https://www.ahmfl.org/ or Facebook page.

Shawn Hardy is a reporter with Gannett's Franklin County newspapers in south-central Pennsylvania — the Echo Pilot in Greencastle, The Record Herald in Waynesboro and the Public Opinion in Chambersburg. She has more than 35 years of journalism experience. Reach her at shardy@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Waynesboro Record Herald: Waynesboro library earns PA Forward Health Literacy award