Serving Seniors with Panache

This session revolved around the partnership Oshawa Public Library established with an Oshawa Senior Citizens Centre (OSCC). The enthusiastic presenters, one with the library and the other with the OSCC, discussed how the partnership developed including the challenges and opportunities they faced.

The Legends Centre Branch opened in 2006 located next door to the OSCC and as a result the library offers numerous programs for senior citizen audiences. Following a discussion of demographics and the definition of a “senior” from a socio-historical perspective, the presenters illustrated a number of programs which were simple to implement and have taken off in popularity. A couple of the ideas I felt MPL could readily adopt include:

1. Views & News – a drop-in discussion group about top news events
2. Themed showings of videos/DVDs (those with public performance rights) e.g. armchair travel, historical/controversial figures, general history, gardening etc. With a facilitated discussion and information sheet with suggested library resources following the viewing

The presenters emphasized that seniors like to express their opinions and programs which catered to that need were often more successful then those which provided less social engagement…

In addition to the excellent sessions I attended, I was also impressed with the steps the Association is taking in creating greater networking opportunities in the library community. OLA is currently working on the creation of a mentoring database which will allow those seeking a mentor to search through a database of profiles and subsequently request contact with potential mentors. Due to technical difficulties the launching of the database has been delayed however I was assured that it will become available shortly via the OLA website. Keep your eyes peeled…