Libraries throughout Westmoreland County want to encourage patrons to explore their offerings in an entirely new way— while taking in the splendor of local parks.
Through the Take Reading on the Trail( TROTT) program, participants are invited to walk, bike or run on a different trail every Saturday morning throughout June and July. Each week, a representative from a local library will be on hand to greet patrons.
The nine-week program was founded last summer by Rostraver Public Library Director Naomi Cross as a way to promote all of the resources that local libraries have to offer. She enjoys spending time on the trails with her own family, she says, so she thought it would be a great idea to take the program countywide.
“ We had a great response to the program last year, with one patron even attending all nine weeks,” says Cross.“ It was a great learning experience for everyone.”
This summer, public libraries in Rostraver, Murrysville, Scottdale, Penn Area, Manor, Mount Pleasant, Delmont, Ligonier Valley and Norwin will participate in the program. Participants will explore a variety of trails across Westmoreland County, including the Great Allegheny Passage, the Coal and Coke Trail, Bushy Run Battlefield, the Ligonier Valley Trail, Duff Park and the Winnie Palmer Nature Reserve. Pets are welcome on some of the trails, and most are wheelchair accessible.
“ The Trail TROTT not only gives our patrons a chance to check out all of Westmoreland County’ s amazing trails and parks, but also helps to spread the word about all of the resources we offer, in addition to print materials,” says Barbara Flynn, Norwin children’ s librarian.
Westmoreland Library Network member libraries offer more than 800,000 items available to check out for free, including audio books. Digital books can be downloaded from local libraries onto mobile devices via the free Overdrive app, which is available through Amazon, the App Store or Google Play. Member libraries encourage program participants to download audiobooks to listen to while hiking the trails.
“ We’ re trying to present the idea that we’ re more than just books,” says Cross.“ This program helps us push our audio and digital books and lets participants get to know what our community has to offer.”
Participating libraries and dates are as follows. Please contact the host library for information about the specific trail on which to meet. ■
T. R. O. T. T. 2017 Take Reading on the Trail
June 3 Penn Area.......... Bushy Run 1253 Bushy Run Rd., Jeannette
June 10 Norwin............... Braddock’ s Trail Park 3699 Turner Valley Rd., Irwin
June 17 Scottdale........... Coal & Coke Trail / Kendi Park 500 Mt. Pleasant Rd., Scottdale
June 24 Delmont............. Westmoreland Heritage Trail Athena Dr., Delmont
July 1 Murrysville......... Murrysville Community Park 4056 Westertown Rd., Export
July 8 Rostraver........... GAP / Cedar Creek Park By Boat Launch 453 Evergreen Dr., Belle Vernon
July 15 Manor................. Manor Park Brush Creek Rd., Manor
July 22 Mt. Pleasant....... Coal & Coke Trail By American Architectural Salvage 23 W. Main St., Mt. Pleasant
July 29 Ligonier.............. Ligonier Valley Trail Bouquet St., Ligonier
Norwin | Summer 2017 | icmags. com 25