Children aged 0 through pre-K were invited to bring the special “grand” in their life — Grandma, Grandpa, Nana, Papa, Opa and/or Oma — to this celebration of two generations. The program included crafts, Bingo, interactive fitness activities and a photo booth, as well as a story time with the children's librarian and sing-along.Â
Helping Hands is an arts and crafts program that meets the needs of two communities — older adults and homeless populations — at the same time. Older adult participants socialize at the library while they make sleeping mats from upcycled plastic bags. The mats are then given to nearby homeless populations.Â
Stickering is a fun alternative to the coloring craze, and it requires few supplies. I purchased three "Paint by Sticker" books — two for children and one for adults — to use at the event. Participants were invited to pick out whatever image they wanted from the books and go to work!
The children's images took about 30 minutes to complete, and the ones for adults took approximately an hour.
Watch the video below to see how painting-by-sticker works.
Teen Tech Tutors is a hands-on monthly program in which local teens help others (mostly older adults) with technology questions. Patrons bring their own devices to the library where teens are available to answer questions and give one-on-one tech advice, training and support. This is a drop-in program; registration is not required.
The Dear Friend pen pal campaign launched as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. We connect quarantined youth with senior citizens in our community through a traditional letter-writing program. The program has been tremendously helpful to provide youth and senior citizens a way to stay active and connected during a tumultuous time for the whole world.Â
We had over 100 registrations in the first month and people are still signing up. We hope to continue long after the quarantine ends.
In this blog series, we’ve talked about all aspects of Boomers and Beyond, a large-scale, grant-funded program series for Baby Boomers at the Palos Verdes Library District — from deciding which grant to apply for based on our community’s needs, to owning our failures, to getting people to show up for our 36 programs.
Geri-Fit® is a 45-minute, evidence-based strength training exercise class for older adults of all physical ability. Most of the bodybuilding exercises are performed seated in chairs with a set of light dumbbell weights with participants following along to a DVD or streamed workout. There’s no dancing, aerobics or choreography to learn, and participants never have to get on the floor.
Through Tales and Travel, the Gail Borden Public Library seeks to reach a stigmatized population: older adults with early- to mid-stage dementia. This monthly “excursion,” offered at 17 assisted-living facilities in the region by the end of 2017, takes participants on an imaginary trip to another country or region of the United States using library materials (e.g. books, music and objects).
Our last blog post — in which we assessed our community's needs and set out to create a health and wellness program series for older adults — ended with a good idea, lots of enthusiasm ... and approximately zero dollars. How were we going to fund this fantastic smorgasbord of health, wealth and self-care program opportunities for the 55-and-older crowd on the Peninsula?
We recently started an annual murder mystery program in our library, inviting patrons to both witness and interact with the drama as it unfolds. Â
After purchasing a murder mystery kit online and enlisting the performance skills of local actors and library staff, the program came together fairly easily. The event attracted 100 participants, appealing especially to our senior patrons.Â
With Older Americans Month coming up in May, now is a great time to review your list of upcoming programs under a new lens. During her speech at the ALA Midwinter Meeting in January 2016, AARP's Jo Ann Jenkins identified three key areas we can address for our aging population: health, wealth and self. Do you have any programs that fall into these categories? If so, are they marketed toward older adults?
