Public Library Programs and Services for Midlife and Beyond by Reneé K. Bennett-Kapusniak

Author:Reneé K. Bennett-Kapusniak
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: ABC-CLIO

CHAPTER SUMMARY

This chapter explored the benefits of collaborating with individuals, organizations, and other associations to help expand the experiences of our library patrons and to increase the amount of adults 50+ we potentially can reach within our communities. Partnerships can include local, state, and national affiliates that also provide benefits to the library and to the partner organization.

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Don’t Just Sit There: Reach Out!

Outreach provides services to individuals in the community who cannot physically visit the library due to an illness or limitation. These services can deliver information and recreational enjoyment that can assist in alleviating loneliness and depression (Honnold & Mesaros, 2004). Outreach can be offered in many forms to our adult 50+ community members: materials delivered by mail or personal home delivery, visits to institutions such as assisted living or nursing care facilities, drop-off or deposit collections at institutions, and having bookmobiles or techmobiles available for our community members. We also can consider offering programs through online social networking sites such as podcasts and YouTube videos, live streaming of programs, or creating DVDs of popular programs to share the experiences with patrons unable to physically attend at our libraries. Outreach services can increase the library’s value to the community because the service depicts how the library is meeting all the population’s needs within the community.

A key role for the outreach services provider is to know the library patrons’ wants and needs who are receiving the services. Choosing the materials is especially important. We need to keep in mind that large-print books can be heavier than regular-print items for some adults midlife and older. We need to consider offering book holders, magnifiers, and page turners as part of our loan materials. Audiobooks such as books on CDs, Playaways, and downloadable MP3 options, as well as e-book selections in a variety of genres, are also important. It is an excellent idea to bring an assortment of materials and media, as well as asking questions to gauge interests while describing the available resources and services. Keeping records on interests, types and number of materials borrowed, and the number of visits or mailings for each outreach patron is vital. This will help with readers’ advisory for your patrons and show how well the program is being utilized for library administration and for any future grant opportunities.

We need to ensure that the local community knows about our outreach services. Having different avenues of marketing our services is important. We need to consider marketing our services in-house and also on our Web sites. Advertising outreach services on our Web page can attract new patrons who searched electronically to determine if the library has what they need without having to physically enter the library. Birmingham Public Library in Alabama has an excellent example of marketing outreach services that are available at their library depicted on their Web site at http://www.bplonline.org. Patrons can click on the Services tab at the top of their Web page, which will navigate them to the outreach services offered at their library.

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