Enriching the Lives of Seniors Together

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Enriching the Lives of Seniors Together

• Elizabeth Bufton
• Janet Graham
• Heather Kenehan

2
What we will accomplish today?

• Our common customers who are they?
• What does a senior centre look like?
• What does a library look like?
• Partnerships what does it mean?
• When do we program independently?
• Program ideas you can really use
• Untried programs from other places
• Inviting, cultivating and using volunteers
• Some useful books and websites

3
Our Common Customers

• Which restaurant tonight?
• Corner Gas
• Go away I dont want to fill our your
  questionnaire!
• Earth Muffins
• Love sports, hate doing em
• Love sports, love doing em
• I love books

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Senior Centre

• What does a senior centre look like now?
• More than just a place to play cards
• What do older adult centres offer?
• Focus is on active living
• Offer a variety of fitness, sports, mental and
  social health activities
• Partner with outside agencies
• Offer travel and theatre

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Senior Centre (contd)

• About 20 of Seniors attending centre fall
  outside the 65 - 75 age bracket
• Outreach program for frail seniors
• Bring them in to senior centre monthly
• Goal keep seniors active, fit and socially
  connected

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The Library

• What does a library look like now?
• More than just fiction - many seniors do not
  realize libraries have movies, music, audio
  books, and databases
• What can a library reasonably offer?
• Programs to help seniors utilize ALL our
  resources including online databases
• Special interest educational programs that are
  fun, low preparation and low cost
• Number of programs offered depends on budget,
  rooms and staffing

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The Library (contd)

• Ask experts to present workshops - either
  volunteer or organizational representatives
• (Library does not allow sales pitches)
• Set parameters Barrie does not offer
  refreshments as have on site café.
• Visiting Library Service volunteer model
• VLS uses volunteers to deliver pre-selected
  items cooperation between Info Circ services
• Goal enhance senior literacy and lifelong
  learning

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Partnership Overview Getting ready for
partnerships

• Competing demands
• Educational and leisure activities
• Who does what?
• When do you duplicate services?
• When do you specialize?
• Using our resources more effectively
• Reservoir of skills
• Using surveys
• A coordinated and effective plan

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Competing Demands

• Same seniors
• Can only attend one program at a time
• Same tax pot
• We are both funded primarily from taxes
• Sometimes same presenters
• Polar bear man, Alzheimers Society
• Senior Centre must break even, both want low cost
  or no cost programs when possible
• Varying service boundaries
• Barrie/Oro, Barrie/Springwater

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Education and Leisure

• What we do depends on our
• facilities, expertise, and mandate
• Goals
• Recreational, social, educational
• Planning ahead is necessary for our media
• Senior centre 6 8 months ahead
• Library 3 6 months ahead
• Duplication needed when large demand

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Using Our Resources

• What we have
• Demand and time
• Budget, user fees if collected
• Skills, experience, and knowledge of staff
• What is available in the community
• Interagency knowledge
• Local experts college/university, volunteer
• Grants some basic ideas
• Senior Secretariat (Ontario)
• New Horizons For Seniors (Federal)

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Partnerships - Surveys

• Surveys both a blessing and a curse
• Need to be carefully prepared
• Contain structured and open questions
• Must be short and clear
• Reach both program users and non users
• Use surveys as a guide and not an absolute
• Patron may respond to try to please you
• Patron interests and times available may change
• Read a book or study other surveys 1st

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Partnerships programs that work for us

• Seniors Directory
• Information centre is in Library so they assist
  with directory items of interest to seniors
• In cooperation with local newspaper low cost
• Seniors Fun Day
• Interagency annual project 3 styles to date
• Entertainment, Senior Idol, Speed friendshipping
• Book Clubs
• offered in both locations due to space and time
  constraints
• Library allows younger adults to join as well

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Partnership programs (contd)

• Internet Courses
• Short courses (1-2 lessons) offered free by
• Library staff so library users can utilize
  computers and online resources at library
• 10 week paid courses (word, power point, e-mail)
  offered to help seniors become knowledgeable
  about technology instructors paid by City
• Advertising
• Utilize each others notice boards and web sites
• Be a pick-up-point for each others newsletters
• Referrals and word of mouth

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Non-partnered Programming

• Library programs that worked in the past
• With speakers health programs, gardening,
  travel, genealogy, history (including town
  crier), author visits
• With staff internet, reading contests, sudoku,
  scrabble, book talks (history, mystery)
• Library programs that did not work for us
• Adult summer reading, general book talks, video
  programs without speaker, jazz

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• Maximize your good health by attending
  the
• Presented by health professionals on selected
  Tuesday Mornings
  at 1000 a.m. during the winterTuesday,
  January 24, 1000 1115 a.m.How do you know if
  a family member is experiencing normal memory
  loss, or is in the early stages of something more
  serious? Laura Lynn Bourassa of the Alzheimer
  Society of Simcoe County will speak on this
  subject. Tuesday February 21, 1000 1100
  a.mAlison Liikane, and other members of the RVH
  Healthy Aging Program will present information
  on falls prevention, medication use, hydration,
  exercise, and nutrition. Learn tips on staying
  healthy from the pros at RVH.Tuesday, March 21,
  1000 1100 a.m.Can you spot the signs of
  early hearing loss? Learn how to recognize the
  signs and the adaptations you can make at home or
  out and about if you, or a loved one, has a
  hearing problem. Jo Wagg of the Canadian Hearing
  Society will also discuss when someone may need a
  hearing aid.

Health Series
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• GET GROWING WITH THE MASTER GARDENERS
  at Barrie Public Library - our 6th
  season.
• All workshops will be held in the ANGUS ROSS
  ROOM
• Tuesday Mornings 1000-1100 a.m.
• April 3 Water Wise Gardens do less
  watering
• April 24 Gardening in Shade Part Shade
• Wednesday Evenings 700-830 p.m.
  
• 
  April 18 Pruning
• 
  May 2 Container Gardening
• All workshops are free, but you must register as
  garden topics are of great
• interest we have limited space. Please
  register for each workshop you wish to
• attend by phoning 728-1010 press 5 for program
  registration listen to
• gardening options. Registration begins by phone
  on March 19

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The Invisible Web
Sudoku For Adults
Do you Sudoku? Join us and learn to do 4, 6 and
even 9 square Sudoku puzzles with words and
numbers. An aptitude for math or numbers is not
necessary just a willingness to have fun!
Sudoku rules are easy to learn. The more puzzles
you do the better you become. Let us show you
some great tips and shortcuts.. But be warned
Sudoku puzzles can be addictive! This program is
for adults. Wednesday Nov 28th _at_ 200pm
Learn how to access e-books, newspaper and
magazine databases, downloadable audiobooks, and
online encyclopedias from the Library's website.
Use the Community Information Database and
Calendar to find out about community groups and
events in Barrie. Thursday March 6700 to 800
p.m.
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Around the World in 60 minutes held in
the Angus Ross Room
Include logos/visuals for each series
Get the Basics on using the
Internet
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Senior Centre Programs that would work in a
Library

• Play reading
• met weekly to read radio plays but not enough men
  for male parts. 
• Recommend it as a short term program, meeting
  once or twice monthly for 6 months. Try to
  recruit some men.
• Drama group
• met for 6 months to a year and performed only for
  themselves some short plays.  Need plays with few
  props and small set requirements.

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New Opportunities low cost programs

• Volunteer pool
• Current events discussion group
• Collaboration with visiting library services and
  friendly visiting programs
• Series offered at both locations
• Live reading of books

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Innovative models that have worked elsewhere

• Lecture 3rd age learning
• Partner with college or university
• Intergenerational programming
• Combining your publications
• The big event Information fairs
• This is something we are working toward in our
  interagency group. The appeal will be both to
  seniors and to their adult children.

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Our Common Volunteers

• Who is volunteering and what do they want?
• Volunteers are changing
• Most do not want repetitive tasks
• Want to set their own days/times they will work
• Episodic volunteers
• Special events like fun day
• For one speaker in a series (annual commitment)
• Locating Speakers
• Contact local non-profit groups
• Network with staff, friends, and patrons

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Print and Web Resources

• Honnold, RoseMary Saralyn A. Mesaros. Serving
  Seniors a how to do it manual for librarians.
  New York Neal Shuman Publishers Inc, 2004.
• Mates, Barbara T. Programming and Services for
  Your 55 Library Customers. Chicago ALA, 2003.
• A Portrait of Seniors in Canada Report (2006
  Stats Canada) infostats_at_statcan.ca or
  http//www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/89-519-XIE/8
  9-519-XIE2006001.pdf
• http//www.citizenship.gov.on.ca/seniors/
  ontario seniors secretariat

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Print and Web Resources (contd)

• www.statcan.ca (Go to the link, Seniors, on the
  home page for a report on continuous learning,
  work and participation in society).
• www.CanadaWhoCares.ca
• www.lindagraff.ca
• http//www.thirdagelearningguelph.ca
• www.oacao.org
• http//www.unitedgenerations.ca/index.cfm?fuseacti
  ontoolkit.main
• http//www.givingandvolunteering.ca/reports.asp

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What can you start doing immediately?

• Check to see which health or non-profit groups in
  your area would be willing to speak at your
  library
• Ask if staff members have expertise in specific
  areas they would be willing to share with patrons
• Write a survey to test where interest in senior
  programming is concentrated in your area
• Go online and do preliminary check of possible
  grants