When you can’t bring the people to the books, you bring the books to the people.
That seems to be the new mantra behind a new service being offered by the St. Albert Public Library. The Library Homebound Service helps those who want to access the full catalogue of items – the thousands of books, CDs, DVDs, and audiobooks – who are unable to make it down to St. Albert Place themselves.
Janice Cheung, the library’s special services co-ordinator, explained that this is an extension of their previous delivery service that has brought books to local seniors’ facilities for several years now. As the library has grown, it has come to acknowledge the growing base of users with mobility or accessibility issues. The Homebound Service bridges the gap to bring those valuable members back into the loop.
“It’s important because reading is something that a lot of people enjoy. If, for whatever reason, you can’t [get to the library], we would like to be able to make that possible again,” she said, indicating that she anticipates that there will be many people signing up for the service.
“There are lots of seniors who live in their own homes who, through physical disability or illness, cannot get to the library and have no one who can go for them. We are also keen to ensure that younger people who face isolation and mobility problems can make the library a part of their lives by accessing this new service.”
Since it is still a new feature at the library, the number of users is still low but is expected to grow by leaps and bounds. There are several community agencies that work with the same target market and have been offering client referrals to the Homebound Service.
Cheung hopes that those people who gave up on reading because of physical impediments will take this as an opportunity to return to the activity that enriches so many people’s lives.
“With failing sight or other physical problems can come a belief that reading for pleasure is no longer an option, but we can introduce people to large print or to books on CD or even downloaded from the website. We have special reading aids that might reignite someone’s interest in reading. I am excited about being able to open up a whole new world of opportunities for people.”
Along with the institution of this new initiative comes the need for volunteers who can make the service possible.
If interested in learning more about the Library Homebound Service or becoming a volunteer, contact Cheung at 780-459-1751 or by E-mail at [email protected].
