Powys libraries help residents to ‘winter well’

Powys residents can now borrow specially developed wellbeing resources from their local library as part of a new programme supporting people through the darker winter months.

Five Wintering Well loan boxes are available through Powys libraries. They are based at:

Residents can also order them through the council’s online library service and have them delivered to any library in Powys. Each box can be borrowed for two weeks.

Developed by researchers from the Universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh, the boxes were created in consultation with people who experience symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder, often known as SAD. The project follows successful trials in Scottish libraries.

Each box includes a therapeutic light lamp and a guidebook containing ideas for simple indoor and outdoor activities that can help people establish a healthy winter routine. Borrowers will also be able to access a free online course offering further support and information.

Powys libraries volunteer, Sammi Orme, who has trialled one of the boxes, said: “I would definitely use this again. I’ve found the light has been really beneficial. I’ve called it the ‘happy lamp’, instead of the ‘SAD lamp’. Over a longer period of time, the boxes can definitely give you some good ideas to boost your happiness during the darkness.

“I’m a childminder and I’m outside all of the time, and because the hours of light are a lot less at this time of the year, I feel a big change in my mood, because I’ve not got that light on my skin through the day. So, I feel I’ve benefitted from using one of the boxes over the last week.”

Councillor Raiff Devlin, Powys County Council’s Cabinet Member for Customers, Digital and Community Services, added: “The shorter days and darker winter months can be difficult for many people, so I am pleased that our libraries will be able to offer this practical and accessible resource.

“Although the five boxes will be based at libraries across Powys, people will be able to order one for collection from any of our library facilities. This is particularly important in a large rural county, where services must be made as accessible as possible.”

A photographic exhibition will accompany the Wintering Well programme at Rhayader Library from today (Monday 26 October) until Wednesday 6 January 2027.

The photographs were taken by people involved in the university research study and reflect their experiences and perceptions of the darker seasons. The exhibition also includes quotations from participants.

The exhibition is expected to move to another Powys library from Monday 11 January 2027, when Powys libraries will also launch a winter photography challenge ahead of Blue Monday on 18 January.

Powys libraries have also launched a Mood Boosting Adult Reading Challenge today (Monday 26 October), following the end of British Summer Time.

Running until Monday 29 March 2027, around the time the clocks move forward, the challenge will invite adults to read all 10 books in the Reading Agency’s Mood Boosting Collection for 2026.

The collection has been selected for adults aged 18 and over by a panel of young adults aged 18–25. Young people from across the country recommended books that had boosted their mood, before young adults, librarians and booksellers read and reviewed the titles to create the final collection.

The list includes fiction and non-fiction chosen because readers found the books feel-good, uplifting or meaningful. Participants will be challenged to read the complete collection during the five darker months of the year.

The Wintering Well programme was developed with funding from the Economic and Social Research Council. The original project has been led by Professor Hester Parr from the University of Glasgow and co-led by Professor Hayden Lorimer from the University of Edinburgh.

To find more events and activities taking place in Powys libraries, museums and archives, visit the StoriPowys What’s On page: https://storipowys.org.uk/whats-on/

More information about the wider programme is available on the University of Glasgow’s Wintering Well webpage: https://www.gla.ac.uk/research/az/livingwithsad/winteringwell/

PICTURE CAPTION: Sammi Orme testing the therapeutic light lamp, from one of the Wintering Well loan boxes, at Llanidloes Library.