“Senior Spaces” Celebrates One-Year Anniversary
Congratulations are in order to Margery Cyr, Director of the Old Bridge Public Library and Allan Kleiman, Project Manager of the “Senior Spaces” project at the Old Bridge Public Library.
The Old Bridge Public Library’s “Senior Spaces� Project: The Library Place for Baby Boomers, Older Adults and their Families celebrated their 1st Anniversary on June 12, 2008 with a day-long celebration focusing on community events. The events highlighted the various aspects of the program.
By transforming a portion of the Library into an area for “seniors� of all ages, Old Bridge has been able to anchor the space and turn it into an area for the community. Some days you can see the Crafting Club or the Bridge Players in the space, other days residents with visual impairments are using the OPTELEC magnifier while others use the space to surf the net on the widescreen computers. Computer classes were previously given in one of the Library’s quiet study rooms and now residents have a real computer classroom adjacent to “Senior Spaces,� where they can learn and explore.
The program continues to grow based on the needs of the community residents. Before the program started the Library hosted the Craft Club every Thursday, the Savvy Seniors Club, and “Senior Fridays,� developed by Allan M. Kleiman. Now, the basic computer classes have expanded into classes on digital photography and the Wii; programs have begun for Baby Boomers; a woman’s discussion group has just started and a film group will start in July. To aid seniors at both ends of the learning curve, the Library will begin working the Generations On Line to get seniors on the internet and will be working with seniors on Second Life.
Based on staff figures over 5,000 seniors (of all ages) were involved with programming, computer classes, and visiting “Senior Spaces.�
The program was funded under contract with INFOLINK, the Eastern Regional Library Cooperative and the New Jersey State Library, LSTA. For further information about the program check out their blog and website at: seniorspaces.blogspot.com and http://www.infolink.org/seniorspaces/.
Ellen O’Brien, Allan Kleiman, Cheryl O’Connor
