WebJunction

Have you had a successful program targeting older adults? Have a notion for a great program? Libraries of all kinds and sizes out there in libraryland have a strong need for practical, doable, replicable programs. If you have ideas or needs you'd like to share, this is the place. If you have a great program you'd like to share, you get a gold star!

I just stumbled across this organization called OASIS, which identifies itself as "a national nonprofit educational organization designed to enhance the quality of life for mature adults. Offering challenging programs in the arts, humanities, wellness, technology and volunteer service, OASIS creates opportunities for older adults to continue their personal growth and provide meaningful service to the community." http://www.oasisnet.org/index.htm.

Has anyone heard of it/used it? It's national, in large cities like Rochester, Phoenix, Cleveland, Denver, Houston, LA, San Diego etc.

I'd love to hear anyones thoughts or experiences.


Message was edited by: fishrocker

We have an OASIS organization here in Albany NY and our library is committed to providing life-long access. I've just started researching groups in our community and the OASIS website has a photo and I recognize 5 patrons! Most of the classes are held at the University at Albany and I know many retired professors belong and volunteer with the organization. I think this is a great place to start and I would like to cultivate a partnership with this group--we have the space and population.

Aha! I again stumble across OASIS, to wit: recipient of national invitational SBC Excelerator grant.

"The OASIS Institute – OASIS received a $500,000 grant to support technology training programs for mature adults in 13 cities, teaching computer skills that enable them to remain active in the workforce"

500K = a lot of lettuce!

Maybe others of us could benefit from the AT&T Foundation? Check http://www.sbc.com/gen/corporate-citizenship?pid=7745.

Thank you for the very timely discussion. Construction is underway for the newest Senior Center in Santa Fe County (New Mexico) and it is adjacent to the Vista Grande Public Library (spitting distance). On the other side of the library is a K-6 public elementary school. The Library is becoming the "community" center by default. So I hope I can return to WebJunction often to take in all the great information that I have been skimming tonight.
bfn,
Susan Sheldon

Like last year and the year before that.

The Administration on Aging's (http://www.aoa.gov) theme for Older Americans Month 2007 as "Older Americans: Making Choices for a Healthier Future."

And our pal at the AOA Josefina Carbonell (Assistant Secretary for Aging) is leveraging her "Promoting Healthy Lifestyles" pages in support of the initiative. See http://www.aoa.gov/eldfam/Healthy_Lifestyles/Healthy_Lifestyles.asp

I usually post on the services for Spanish speakers board. Anyway, I work in the Public Information Department at my library and was working on some promotion for one of our senior programs today. In June we are starting a memoir writing workshop for older men. It's a six-week program and one of our Readers' Services people who also happens to be a writer is conducting it. This program is a result of the very successful memoir writing class for older women. Participants record and share their lives. Other than the great history, they also practice their computer skills.

Margie

The women's sessions came first. They were modeled after an established program with a feminine slant. The fellow running the men's workshop also attributes it to men and women having different "presentation styles." The topics of interest are different. The senior center runs into the same thing with their discussion groups. Though they aren't gender specific, they workout that way. People go where they'll feel comfortable. I would also venture to guess that the size of the workshops--10 participants had something to do with it. Another thought just dawned on me. We have no trouble attracting "older" women to our programs. We WANT/NEED to attract "older" men.

Margie

Margie/all;

FYI, Lori Bell of the Mid-Illinois Talking Book Center (http://www.mitbc.org/) is sponsoring this online workshop on June 16 9-11 A.M. Info below, and thanks, Lori, for putting this together - VERY exciting.

Today's "senior citizens" are comprised of several generations who have different needs and demands. The baby-boom generation born after World War II is retiring to do the things they have put off while working and raising families, and they are seeking informational resources to plan for the "golden years". Their parents, the "Greatest Generation" that fought in Korea and World War II are finding that their grandchildren may only communicate through e-mail, and Grandma and Grandpa are lacking in computer skills. Libraries are a venue that can help fulfill these needs. We will hold a workshop June 16 from 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. central time online to provide an overview of aging, talk about ageism, programming ideas and working with older adults. Participants will learn how and where to market their programs, and hopefully will leave with ideas for creating meaningful programs both inside the library and off-site.

Speakers include Barbara Mates, Head, Cleveland Public Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped and Sharon Ruda, Director, Illinois State Library Talking Book and Braille Service. Barbara Mates has won several ALA awards for her excellent work in serving the senior population and has written a number of books and articles on the topic.

The workshop is sponsored by the Alliance Library System, Mid-Illinois Talking Book Center, and the Illinois State Library Talking Book and Braille Service. To attend go to the online auditorium at

http://67.19.231.218/v4/login.asp?r=67955673&p=0

type your name and press enter. All you need to participate is an Internet connection, sound card and speakers. If you have questions, contact Lori Bell at lbell@alliancelibrarysystem.com. Please register by emailing Lori Bell.

Lori adds: To participate all you need is an Internet connection, a sound card and speakers. Although a microphone is not required for participation, if you would like to interact via audio, you can purchase a pc microphone at Wal-Mart for $10. Some people purchase headsets, especially if their computer is in an open area where the audio from the online room may interrupt someone else. If you don’t have a microphone, you can participate via text chat.

If you have problems with the software, please contact Tom Peters at tapinformation@yahoo.com or me.

How fantastic to hear that the City is backing up the Library on such an issue so important! Congratulations, Cathy, nice job.

And that’s a great idea for a program – who wouldn’t love a cruise? Did you and OAT happen to see Library Journal’s collection development piece on that exact topic in the March 1, 2005 issue?

You are invited to participate in an exciting and innovative new initiative to reach senior citizens and all ages online! Sponsored by the ASCLA LSSPS-LSIE (Library Services for the Elderly Impaired), the program is entitled: "OPAL: On-Line Programmming for All Libraries to Reach Out to Senior Citizens and Others Through Cyperspace" and will be held in the Palmer House Hilton, Salon XI on Monday, June 27, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30. The speaker and facilitator for the program will be Tom Peters of TAP Information Services, OPAL Coordinator. In addition to hearing about the book discussions, consumer health programs, training sessions and other programs offered through OPAL, participants will have the opportunity to discuss other types of collaborative programming interested libraries can do for senior citizens. For more information on OPAL, contact Tom Peters at tapinformation@yahoo.com

Hi all,

I have no idea if this will be helpful, but I figure that's part of what this forum is about - trying stuff.

In setting up some programs for CT, I stumbled across this fella who is a member of the American College of Health Care Administrators (ACHCA) at http://www.achca.org/index.asp.

This is a membership-driven non-profit that seems to focus maily on developing leaders in this filed via educational opps.

Maybe libraries can find their local ACHCA chapter and offer programming content to the senior centers/long term care facilities/nursing homes etc.

I think that while libraries should be CAUTIOUS of being tapped out in terms of too much programming, the ACHCA folk might be a bit more future-thinking and collaborative?

Now this is very cool. And it's duplicatable. There's no reason anyone shouldn't do this.

"Envisioned by the Nassau Library System, funded with a New York State managed grant, and developed and taught by reference librarians at Dowling College, Library Seniors Internet Training (LIST) was a mobile program for Internet training to senior citizens."

These intrepid folks turned 50K of LSTA money into a traveling training program.

http://www.dowling.edu/library/papers/ALA/list.HTM

This is what it's all about, imho.

October 1 is the UN's International Day of Older Persons.

Maybe a good day-long display of materials, maybe along with this chart: http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/ageing/Graph.pdf? It shows the % of people aged 60+ and projects it to the year 2050. Looks like Italy leads the world in the per cent of its citizens aged 60+.

Pasta = longevity is what I've always said.

See http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/ageing/index.html for the United Nations' "Programme on Ageing" site, which includes demographics, info on the ""Towards A Society for All Ages" Program, and international news (for what that's worth to us).

Note: this message has been moved by an administrator. Originally posted by saxton on May 26, 2005.

Does anyone know of a good facilitator in Connecticut to conduct a workshop on journaling for an older adult audience? I've been thinking about offering this for older adults in our town to give them a jump start to record their memories; for themselves or for family. I have heard of a program called Lifescapes, featured in Pulbic Libraries in Nove. 2003. This program combines writing with reading and sounds interesting. Is there any library that is doing this?

Hi everyone,

This isn't exactly a programming idea but I saw this article on pod casting for Senior Patients posted to a blog that is run by the National Network of Medical Libraries: South Centeral Region: http://nnlm.gov/scr/blog/?p=227

It sounds like a cool idea and one that libraries might adapt to serve the needs of Seniors.

Laura

Lots of programming content sure to be at the preconference.

REACHING OUT TO SERVE OLDER ADULTS: The Why and How of Excellent Library Service!

Thursday, June 22, 2006, 1-9 PM & Friday, June 23, 2006, 8:30-5:30

The preconf. includes: sessions that:
* "Identify and develop strategies to strengthen delivery of services to older adults in library communities

*Examine tips on effective library programs, services, and practices

* Program ideas and opportunities with others using similar focuses

* Showcase of innovative demonstrations of older adult service opportunities

register and http://www.ala.org/ala/eventsandconferencesb/annual/2006a/registration.htm

At Crandall Public Library in Glens Falls we are able to interest people over 70 or so in monthly book discussions and the like. These people want to stay in touch with their friends at the library and like sharing stories of "how it used to be." But the younger retired people, 55 to 65 years old seem to have different outlook. They want to be part of the future. Could these younger retirees become library volunteers and teach from their own expertise? For example, there is a very big demand for basic computer instruction, more than this small staff can meet. This library might alleviate the problem of a high demand for basic computer instruction by inviting younger retirees to teach computer classes in the library as volunteers. Has anyone tried this already?

see http://www.neal-schuman.com/db/5/355.html and a lot of actual content at http://www.cplrmh.com/seniors.html.

RoseMary Honnold and Saralyn A. Mesaros' well-received 2004 manual, "Serving Seniors: A How-To-Do-It Manual for Librarians," covers collection maintenance (including large print materials, audio books, program kits, and assistive technologies); discussion groups and coffee clubs; and programming.

Practical guidance on partnering with other agencies; mixing seniors and youth for reading and storytimes as well as for computer-based activities. Programs covered include book and film discussion groups and topics ranging from cooking to travel to games and historical eras.

Step-by-step guidance for implementing Internet services to seniors, volunteer programs, outreach and homebound services, and services to residential facilities. A special section lists print and on-line sources for tips from other librarians reaching out to an aging population.

Most of these words are directly from the Neal-Schuman site.

Greetings--

I thought that I'd share this list that I've used in several workshops that I have recently presented. I hope that you find the list useful and practical.

25 Ideas to Serve Active Older Adults and the Baby Boomers


Compiled by

Allan M. Kleiman
Chair, ALA RUSA RSS Library Service to an Aging Population Committee


These are some ideas that libraries can use as starting points, to serve older adults and baby boomers. What can you add to the list?



1. Establish Senior Day during Older Americans Month in May
2. Host Tax Counseling during Tax Season
3. Start an Oral History Project on Community Life in the 1950’s, 1960’s and 1970’s
4. Celebrate Veterans Day with Oral History Events from the Korean & Vietnam Wars
5. Develop Inter-generational Genealogy Projects
6. Establish a Senior Services Advisory Board including Baby Boomers to Develop Ideas
7. Host a Program during Older Americans Month for the 5 Oldest Community Residents
8. Organize a Great Issues Discussion Group, including Boomers and Older Adults
9. Develop Meaningful Volunteer Opportunities for Baby Boomers at Your Library
10. Host a Book Discussion Program on Best Sellers of the 1960’s and 1970’s.
11. Develop a Community Bulletin Board Where People Can Post Volunteer Options
12. Organize a “Lifelong Learning” institute at Your Library with Peers Teaching Peers
13. Develop a “SENIORNET” type Computer Lab Utilizing Older Adults and Baby Boomers as Peer-to-Peer Instructors
14. Partner with a Local Bank to Offer Pre-Retirement Financial Programming
15. Develop “fun” Programming for Baby Boomers, like, “Remembering the Beatles”
16. Organize Monthly Cultural Programs that Reflect the Community’s Diversity
17. Utilize Active Seniors and Baby Boomers to Assist with Homebound Delivery of Books
18. Invite the Local Garden Club to Exhibit Samples of Flowers Each Month
19. Develop Booklists for Distribution that Focus on Senior & Boomer Issues and Concerns
20. Utilize Seniors and Baby Boomers to Volunteer to Give Tours of the Library to Groups
21. Encourage the Local Historical Society to Partner with the Library on Programming
22. Develop and Area with the Library for Older Adults & Baby Boomers to “Chat”
23. Designate a Library Staff Member as a “Senior & Boomer Services Librarian”
24. Develop a Library Marketing Plan to “Target” Older Adults and Baby Boomers
25. Develop Relationships With Other Local Agencies that Serve Older Adults and the Baby Boomers



Allan M Kleiman, Assistant Library Director, Old Bridge (NJ) Public Library, kleiman@aol.com, Tel: 732-721-5600, ext. 5042.

very funny fishrocker! ;)

I can tell y'all from my experience that Connecticut librarians seem to have a good response to the themed Remembering Kits from Bi-Folkal Productions. See http://www.bifolkal.org/bf_product.html and the home site is http://www.bifolkal.org/Default.htm.

There are 20 themes; 'County Fairs,' 'The Fifties,' 'Train Rides.'

Has anyone else had good or bad luck with them, or any that worked particularly well or poorly? They are designed for libraries to conduct programs, but other agencies have also borrowed them from us for their own programming.

Allan Kleiman, Chair of ALA’s RUSA RSS Library Service to an Aging Population Committee, asked the library community for examples in which libraries partnered with local, county, state, or federal agencies to provide information on services for seniors funded by the federal government.

In the interest of sharing these happy programming ideas, I re-post them here.

Allan’s own Old Bridge Library in NJ partnered with his State Assembyman in helping seniors with their prescription plans in this open enrollment period for Medicare Part D.

Sandy Ashworth, Director of the Boundary County (ID) District Library responded that her library is partnering with the University of Idaho's Extension Office to help seniors with their prescription plans/Medicare Part D enrollment. We also provide a place for volunteers to help seniors fill out their income tax forms, along with providing local residents with a wide range of federal and state tax forms and instructions.

We also partner with the Extension Office to provide computer training for seniors with emphasis on finding and using online information resources-from Social Security and Medicare information to consumer health information.

We also partner with Idaho's Commission for Libraries & the Talking Book Library to enroll seniors with vision & other confining disabilities in the talking book program. We also have some of those materials and several players here at the library-so we can demonstrate the service, instruct the individual and/or caregivers in how to manage the machines, supplement with extra tapes if necessary, or provide a working machine until the user's can be repaired or replaced.

We are also partnering with the Idaho Council on Aging and the Area Agencies on Aging to develop more accessible information resources for seniors in our region through the development of a regional resource center and a variety of referral services-one of the priorities that came out of the 2005 WHCoA. We're on the agency's advisory board. We also help direct the marketing of nutrition education services as a member of the advisory board for the Extension Office's Nutrition program.

We've participated in a community mapping project to develop a community resource guide that links seniors to local, regional, and statewide resources, as well as support the state's 211network and Idaho Health & Welfare's free referral service, Idaho CareLine.

Other community outreach projects in the works include a consumer health education program in conjunction with the federally-funded Boundary Regional Community Health Center. We're studying the list of NCLIS Health Award winners for more ideas.

Nancy Fletcher, PR & Special Needs Librarian of the Waukesha WI County Federated Library System, responded that she facilitated scheduling sessions at many of our member libraries where a county senior services specialist would take seniors through the process of signing up for Medicare part D on library public access computers.

Richard Bray, Senior Services Director and Disability Services Coordinator for the Alameda (CA) County Library, responded that the following programs held at our libraries were co-sponsored with local or state agencies whose services are directly or indirectly funded by the federal government.

DriveWell - Older Driver Safety - with our County's Dept. of Public Health - program funded by National Traffic Safety Administration and ASA

Seniors in the Peace Corps - program featuring seniors who've served with the Peace Corps

Preventing Falls for Sixty + Adults - with County Health Dept. funded through our Area Agency on Aging

Older Americans Month program - involving dozens of municipal, county and federally-funded organizations: Health Insurance Counseling (HICAP), Legal Assistance for Seniors, Meals on Wheels, Senior Peer Counseling, all local senior centers, Foster Grandparents, Paratransit, Friendly Visitor, etc., etc.

Medicare Part D Workshop - in conjunction with the Area Agency on Aging and local state assembly member and state senator's office.

Consumer Protection for Seniors - How to Avoid Scams & Frauds – with Legal Assistance for Seniors

Aging and Spirituality: My Neighbor's Faith - co-sponsored by the Stanford Geriatric Education Center (funded through US Dept. of Health & Human Services, and Tri-City Elder Coalition

Hi loyal readers,

I’m parroting bits and pieces of a recent grant announcement of perhaps most interest to those of you in Maryland, Hawaii, Northeast Pennsylvania, New York, and Israel (yes, I said Israel).

The [url www.hjweinbergfoundation.org ]Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation[/url] is making available up to $9 million over the next three years for its Family and Informal Caregiver Support Program. It encourages non-profit 501(c)(3) organizations, including aging and human service agencies, faith-based and other community-based organizations, tribal organizations, and units of local government to participate in.

The Foundation plans to support from 12 to 20 community-based Projects with grants ranging from $100,000 to $300,000 per year (for a total of $300,000 to $900,000 for each grant recipient from March 2009 through February 2012).

DEADLINE for letters of inquiry and full proposal must be received by mail no later than 5 PM EST on Thursday, June 12.

www.hjweinbergfoundation.org

Thanks to the fabulous Satia Orange from ALA for posting this to the Seniorserv listserv.

Making Your Printed Health Materials Senior Friendly is a new publication from the [url http://www.nia.nih.gov/ ] National Institute on Aging[/url], part of the [url http://www.nih.gov/ ]National Institutes of Health[/url].

The tip sheet offers suggestions for how to write and design health information to accommodate cognitive and physical changes that often accompany old age. It provides specific examples and includes resources for more information.

Print copies of Making Your Printed Health Materials Senior Friendly are free and available in bulk while supplies last. It is also available online. To preview, download or print it go to [url http://www.nia.nih.gov/HealthInformation/Publications/srfriendly.htm] this link[/url]

Yes, thank you. I just e-mailed that link to our marketing person ... I'm sure she'll find it useful.

Hey, if my math is right (and it should be because I only have to use one hand) I may have actually helped 3 (THREE) loyal wj readers with that post about the NIA publication. Yay!

I just want to thank librarybob, janieh and emnica for their posts.

Thank you!!!

Thanks for this! I'm making sure our adult services department has the link.

ASCLA has put up an excerpt from 101 Ideas for Serving the Impaired Elderly101 Ideas for Serving the Impaired Elderly.

It’s good (though not Earth-shaking) stuff designed to help libraries “provide programming for the impaired elderly in a wide variety of ways in order to meet the broad range of needs of the individuals.”

It’s meat-and-potatoes, perhaps more for newbie providers or a library ramping up services; those who have much experience might use it as a double-check to ensure what they’re already doing covers all the bases.

Doug/Fishrocker

Well, CT is a bit far from Chicago, but maybe I can super coupon and hyper mile my way there to see these 2 in person near Chicago. I don't quite believe the 230 mpg claim, though. That's not with an ordinary car engine, he's tweaked it. And maybe is using some kind of fuel weirdness. I'd love to be proven wrong. Maybe he found a 230 mile long descent somewhere?

This sounds like a *very* good technology expo in NYC on 9/19. www.lighthouse.org for full info.

LITE 2008: Lighthouse International Technology Expo

Showcasing Assistive and Everyday Accessible Technologies That Make Life Easier for People with Vision Loss.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2008 * 9:30 am - 6 pm
LIGHTHOUSE INTERNATIONAL * 111 East 59th Street * NY, NY

Sponsored by Bank of America

FREE ADMISSION

EXHIBITS:
See demonstrations, ask questions, and get the latest information from more than 25 companies that will showcase their products and services for people with vision loss.

DOOR PRIZES:
Thanks to the generosity of our exhibitors we now have almost $7,000 in donated items which will be given away. A list of items and the donors is available below and on our web site www.lighthouse.org

SEMINARS:
Hear what the experts have to say! - Attend seminars held throughout the day:

Financing Assistive Technology: 10 -11 am

Monitoring Your Health with New Technologies: 11:30 am - 12:30pm

Accessible Cell Phones and Services: 1 - 2 pm

Introduction to Windows Vista Accessibility: 2:30 - 3:30 pm

Seminar space is limited!

For attendees who need assistance, sighted guides will be available

For more information, including full seminar descriptions and speakers, seminar reservations, or sighted guide assistance visit www.lighthouse.org/lite or call 212-821-9371 or e-mail lite@lighthouse.org

DOOR PRIZES

Freedom Scientific
Open Book OCR Program
MAGic Program
Ai Squared
Print Enhancing Program
Enhanced Vision
Nemo CCTV
Amigo CCTV
Humanware
Borders Gift Card
Independent Living Aids
Two Gift Certificates
C Tech
Quick Look Portable CCTV
MAGic Print Enhancing Program
Parrot memo device
LH Store
Timex Talking Clock
Low Vision Keyboard
Blood Pressure Monitor
Keyboard Overlays (3 white on black 3 black on white)
Maxi Aids
Reizen Talking atomic watch
Talking Atomic Clock
Voxcom voice
Franklin Electronics
Children's Talking Dictionary and Headphones

LITE 2008 Co-sponsors:

Ai Squared
CTech
Dancing Dots
Enhanced Vision
On the Go Books

Participating Exhibitors:
Ai Squared
American Foundation for the Blind
America Online
AT&T
Bank of America
Baruch College
Best Buy
Bookshare
C Tech
Dancing Dots
Enhanced Vision
Franklin Electronic Dictionaries
Freedom Scientific
Geek Squad
GW Micro
Handy Tech
HumanWare
Independent Living Aids
Internet Speech
Jitterbug
Lighthouse Store
Maxi-Aids
Microsoft
MTA
Optelec
Recordings for the Blind and Dyslexic
Talking Signs
United Cerebral Palsy of NYC
Verizon

Check out the Senior Center Evaluation toolkit.

A brief look at this pdf shows it to be a tool that can – and should – be modified slightly by libraries to gauge the effectiveness of their older adult / senior services. It’s pre-made. Essentially, it gives you the plan, which is not rocket science, and will help you to ‘prove the worthiness’ of your programs / slate of senior services. If you haven’t done this already, I feel that this is an excellent place to begin.

You can - and should- share this with senior centers in your area and consider doing either a shared or complementary evaluation.

Maybe the Peace Corps is an option for a program in your library or for your region?

This link should get you to current events (just select your state from the drop down) or see the available information for your region.