Category: Fun and Social

MIIA Wellness Healthy Charcuterie 101, Walktober, Webinar Buffet, Fun Days, and More

Healthy Charcuterie 101

Learn about building a beautiful and balanced charcuterie board that’s as nutritious as it is delicious ahead of the holiday season in MIAA’s Healthy Charcuterie 101 class in the Library Community Room on Monday, October 26 from 4:15 PM to 5:15 PM. Register by Friday, October 16.

Walktober

Register now to join Walktober, a fall step challenge beginning on October 1st. Fill your Walktober tree with red (6,000), orange (8,000), and gold (10,000) leaves. Employees and spouses enrolled in an active MIIA/Blue Cross Blue Shield health plan are eligible for the chance to win one of 40 $40 gift cards of their choice by earning at least 20 leaves and completed a post-program evaluation. Help Reading be the municipality/district with the highest average number of steps at the end of the program and receive a one-time free healthy snack delivery from Berkshire Naturals for all employees to enjoy!

Webinar Buffet

See attached for monthly Webinar Buffet offerings from MIIA. These flexible and short pre-recorded 10-minute webinars can be completed  anywhere any time during the month from your Reading MIIA Member Portal.

The webinars are open to all employees and their spouses. However, if you are a MIIA / Blue Cross subscriber and complete 5 webinars by early August 2027, you will earn a $50 gift card! 

Fun Day Challenges

All employees, retirees, and spouses are eligible to win raffle prizes by participating in monthly Fun Day challenges.

Choose an activity, take a picture of yourself, and submit via MIIA’s online Fun Day form.

Celebrate Collect Rocks Day in September by displaying a creative rock or visiting a famous rock or local geology exhibit.

Ompractice

Ompractice has created a series of on-demand meditations for the school teachers in our community to support the transition into the new school year.  Although the library staff are not school teachers, many similarities exist, specifically related to the transition from summer to fall.  

There are four new videos in the Back To School Reset Collection to check out, including grieving the loss of summer freedom, meditation for a different season (life isn’t always about reinvention!), preparing for the new school year, and the unfinished list.  These are open to everyone with or without an Ompractice membership.

Other Wellness Offerings

Keep an eye out for emails from Avantika at Town Hall regarding other wellness offerings as well!  You can also view all other MIIA Wellness Programs for Reading Employees on the Reading MIIA Member Portal

RPL Swag

Just a reminder:  I have swag available in my office. These could be used for outreach, welcome bags,  programs, etc. 

Turtle stress balls

Calm strips

Notebooks

Colored Pencils

RPL mugs

Blue lanyards

If you want to come grab some for programs or events, please do!

Library Lounge Collection

Check out RPL’s new Library Lounge collection in the staff lounge. These books and materials are meant to enhance your learning and professional development.

When you get a chance, please take a look around your workspace and at home to see if you have any materials marked “Workroom” or any other relevant items from your personal collection that you are willing to share. Suggestions are welcome!

Please drop off any materials to Meaghan C. and Andrea H.

Special Staff Shout Out-Olivia Edition

On Saturday morning, Olivia expertly handled an incredible influx of eager caregivers and little ones who wanted to attend the Music with Mara and Motoko event, which filled to capacity almost immediately.

At least thirty additional families arrived late and were unable to get into the Community Room immediately, but Olivia gracefully offered them some options to continue enjoying the music, waiting until space opened up, or encouraging them to play elsewhere in the library. She was kind and gentle, and families were understanding. We even had a phone call from a patron asking what in the world was going on in the library this morning because parking was nigh impossible.

I’m sure she will tell you this was incredibly well attended, an extra delight for families on a hot and steamy rainy morning, so her handling even the disappointed people was especially impressive. She kept everything in control and remained calm, and there were no adult or child meltdowns. She had caregivers smiling and thanking her, and families were really kind about taking turns so others could get in the room when there was a crowd waiting in the hallway.

Just another example of Olivia’s incredible professionalism in a challenging situation. Kudos to Olivia!

From Sara.

RPL Professional Workroom Collection

I am working to develop a collection of professional books and materials to eventually be available for internal use by RPL employees in the staff lounge. 

When you get a chance, please take a look around your offices and at home to see if you have any materials marked “workroom” or any other relevant items from your personal collection that you are willing to share to help advance the professional development of your peers. 

Feel free to drop items off to me in Admin or in my mailbox. 

MA Libraries on The Chronicle Tuesday 6/18 @ 7:30

Channel 5 reporter Ted Reinstein reached out to Michelle and I for some background information on MA Libraries. The show will air tomorrow! “Public Libraries Today” is on Tuesday evening (6/18). It will air live on WCVB at 7:30 and will also stream live on the WCVB site, and be archived shortly afterward on our YouTube channel, both links here: https://www.wcvb.com/chronicle
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChrhpjHMvCoJQtXPs17BAQA
Enjoy!