Newton, NC – Looking for outdoor fun at a safe social distance? How about in your own back yard? The Catawba County Library has just released a new series of recreation kits for people of all ages to enjoy in their outdoor spaces.

The kits are self-contained and include all the equipment, game rules, and directions necessary for play. Patrons can choose from a selection featuring multiple versions of pickleball (a combination of tennis, ping pong, and badminton), bocce (Italian lawn bowling), cornhole (tossing bean bags into holes in raised boards), and croquet (the classic lawn game involving mallets and hoops). Zumba kits are also available, offering participants an at-home cardio workout based on Latin dance routines. Kits are designed to accommodate a variety of activity levels and interests and to engage all members of a family.

The new recreation kits can be checked out for two weeks at a time and are available at any Catawba County Library branch (Newton, Claremont, Conover, Maiden, Sherrills Ford-Terrell, Southwest in Mountain View, or St. Stephens). Just like book titles, recreation kits can be placed on hold through the library’s online catalog at https://ls2pac.catawbacountync.gov/#section=home.

The library’s recreation kits are the latest addition to its list of ‘things’ available for check-out. This collection, or ‘library of things,’ includes items that people might not expect to find at a library. It expands community access beyond books and DVDs to objects that someone might use infrequently and not choose to purchase or store – or things that someone might want to test-drive before buying. Nationwide, public libraries are establishing their own ‘library of things’ to share tools, gardening equipment, kitchen appliances, and toys. Along with its new recreation kits, the Catawba County “library of things” includes laptops, WiFi hotspots, GoPro cameras, and American Girl dolls.

For more information about the Catawba County Library, visit www.catawbacountync.gov/library, call 828.465.8664, email [email protected], or visit www.facebook.com/catawbacountylibrarysystem.