Public libraries and institutions serving the
elderly have to find new ways of working
together. Residents in homes for the elderly
rarely have the opportunity to borrow
books or other library items. That’s why it
is so important that somewhere in a home
for the elderly there’s an attractive and
comfortable place where library materials
can be displayed and be easily accessible.
It’s also important that staff inform residents
about the library area, show them
where it is and promote usage of the materials
there. In order to accomplish this the
staff need to be aware of the appropriate
resources that are available in the form of
training courses in story-telling, IT-training
and TV/video gaming. |
Gotland Libraries, together with the
island’s homes for the elderly, want to
establish a number of model libraries
in nursing homes where small but effective
collections can be promoted.
For many years homes for the elderly
have been supplied with books from
libraries and mobile libraries. Gotland,
like many other places in Sweden
during the 1970s and 1980s, has had an
ambitious library programme for
people with limited access to libraries.
More recently the focus has been on
the development of other types of
library service and commitment to
time-consuming outreach services has
fallen off. However, thanks to an initiative
by Gunilla Forsén in 2007, Gotland
public library directors began to discuss
the future development of library
service to the elderly.
The Gotland County Library contacted
directors for the island’s institutions
caring for the elderly suggesting the
need for developing library service.
Together, we decided to apply for
external funding, initially for the establishment
of a prototype model library
and subsequently through cooperation
with local public libraries equipping
seven homes for the elderly with library
facilities.We have called the project‘New focus on library service for the
elderly’.
The Gotland County Library feels that
the importance of
a library’s ambience
can’t be underestimated; the library’s
environment must feel inviting and
comfortable.We applied for funding
from the Swedish Arts Council and
have, during the initial period, worked
together with staff from a local library
and a home for the elderly, two artists
and an IT-expert to create a library in
Gråbo’s home for the elderly. Carina
Norderäng and Catrin Fohlström from
the Gråbo Library actively contributed
to establishing the new library and now
have full responsibility for the collection,
ensuring that residents are supplied
with material they’ve requested
and that they’re pleasantly surprised by
material they didn’t know it was possible
to find in a library.
Currently, residents have a selection of
fiction – mostly mysteries – and poetry,
non-fiction, Gotlandica, easy-readers
and large print books and a good selection
of audio books and music. Film
and TV/video games will shortly be
available. The nearby day centre has
purchased a laptop computer equipped
with enhanced accessibility programs.
There is also a projector and a large
screen for showing films.
The County Library has had four ITtraining
courses for residents, staff and
day centre visitors. Training courses in
story-telling and TV/video games are
being planned. Invitations to these
courses are extended to all staff caring
for the elderly on Gotland including
library staff.
The focus has been on presentation.
The library should be highly visible
and very appealing. The artists, Anette
Blomberg and Kenneth Broström, have
used colour, beautiful textiles, attractive
lighting, sheepskins and new furniture
to show how inspiring surroundings
encourage people to make use of the
facilities.
Establishing the small library area in
Gråbo has been interesting and instructive,
even though it has taken
much more time than we anticipated.
The spirit of cooperation engendered
by the two professions working together
has shown how important it is
that decisions leading to change are
made by the right people and everyone
must feel involved in the process.
As project leader I’ve come to realize
how important it is that each book
collection be established according to
local needs and that these needs do
vary from institution to institution.
If this collaboration with services caring
for the elderly continues the Gotland
County Library hopes to engage
the Gotland Museum as a partner,
perhaps within the scope of the
existing national project promoting
collaboration between archives, libraries
and museums (ABM). Memory
boxes and oral narratives about life on
Gotland in earlier times could be an
admirable complement to the above
described initiatives.
This would certainly make us feel that
we’d have something really worthwhile
to offer.
Alongside the small-scale experiment
in Gråbo, Visby, the Gotland County
Library has also had the opportunity to
participate in a national project –
Cooperation between public libraries,
health care services and services caring
for the elderly – together with county
libraries from Stockholm, Västmanland,
Sörmland and Örebro. The
project, also funded by the Swedish
Arts Council, aims to renew and improve
existing library outreach services
and secure access to books and reading
for elderly and disabled persons who
are unable to visits libraries or access
digital collections. The libraries,
together with nursing staff, are to
ensure that patients within the project’s
scope have the opportunity to read and
to be able to access information by
having it read aloud to them.
The aim is for libraries to achieve
better working relations with the local
community (health care institutions,
local associations, etc.). Library staff
will be given the opportunity to cooperate
in different ways with personnel in
health care and those caring for the
elderly.
Together, both projects will provide us
with better ways to improve outreach
services and, above all, the inspiration
necessary to give public libraries new
methods and new approaches to do
this.
Christina Svensson
County Librarian
Gotland
Translated by Greg Church
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