L
ibraries 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. As of press time, trail
names were not yet available. Please contact the host library for
information about the specific trail on which to meet. All trails will be
located in the service area of the host library.
June 3 Rostraver Public Library
June 10 Norwin Public Library
June 17 Scottdale Public Library
June 24 Delmont Public Library
July 1 Murrysville Community Library
July 8 Penn Area Library
July 15 Manor Public Library
July 22 Mt. Pleasant Public Library
July 29 Ligonier Valley Library
Greensburg Salem | Summer 2017 | icmags.com 13