Advocacy

To advocate for something is to provide active support of an idea or cause. When we talk about advocating for older people as valued library clients perhaps we need to spend some time exploring the idea. After all, aren’t all library clients valuable and isn’t the mission of a public library to be all things to all people? Why are older people special and what would “active support” look like?

Older people are rapidly increasing in numbers and proportionately in all communities in developed countries. Research tells us that people over the age of 65 use public libraries five times as much as other people. Their needs (and demands) must be part of our planning.

One of the great roles a public library plays in a community is building social capital. Libraries do this in a variety of ways, including:

• providing a meeting place for people from a diverse array of ages, socio-economic and cultural backgrounds
• minimizing barriers that prevent people from engaging with their library via housebound services, online services, mobile libraries, information in community languages
• matching services to the needs in their community
• building and facilitating communities

Active support for services to older people would include activities and collections targeting older people, but perhaps more importantly considering the 'senior angle' in all planning, for example:

• is advertising age neutral or senior friendly? (eg. consider the wording, images used)
• are programs accessible to older people? (eg. consider suitable venues, locations, times)
• is the technology available to assist participation? (eg. consider hearing aid loops in meeting rooms and at service counters, the screen and font size of presentations)
• are there opportunities for seniors to volunteer or participate?

Busting stereotypes

There is a fabulous video on YouTube featuring the song "My Generation" performed by The Zimmers [Released: 28/05/07] If you feel the need to challenge some stereotypes it's recommended viewing!

Financial information for Aussie retirees, or people who will be retiring soon

Australian Securities and Investments Commission provides information for retirees, or people who will be retiring soon. The website includes a range of useful calculators as well as a variety of topics including:

• Planning for retirement
• Getting a clear picture of what your current super fund offers
• Retirement income products
• Reverse mortgages and other equity release products
• Insurance
• Warnings
• ASIC research report into decision making at retirement

Go for your life!

What a fabulous title for a health and fitness program for the over 50's ... Go for your life! This is a Victorian Government initative and includes tips on simple ideas and activities to help older adults improve their eating habits, become more physically active and involved in their communitites. The tip sheets are also available in five community languages [Arabic, Chinese, Greek, Italian and Vietnamese].

Baby Boomers and the age wave

Australian economist, Ross Gittins has some interesting observations to make about the much maligned baby boomers and their effect on the imminent age wave.

"increasing longevity and declining fertility are the two dominant influences over population ageing... had there been no baby boom, population ageing would have started a lot earlier than it did, with the age dependency rate (the ratio of those aged 65 and over to those aged 15 to 64) higher than projected until the mid-2030s... so the main effect of the baby boom has been to defer population ageing and make its onset more pronounced."

For a fuller and much more eloquent explanation see Ross Gittins (2007) Gittinomics, Chap 10 "Our ageing population" ISBN 978 1 74175 0928

Boomers in the library

Beth Dempsey's article "What boomers want" in Library Journal [ 15/July/2007] draws attention to the opportunities that libraries must seize to effectively reach and serve boomer clients. When she says "Rather than believe our years are advancing, we boomers simply redefine: 60 is the new 30." there's a key message for both programming and marketing library activities - boomers may not relate to library activities branded in any way to appeal to 'older adults', 'the elderly' or 'retirees'.

Even more useful is her summary of "What boomers need"

• Help plotting retirement that includes work (maybe an entirely new career), volunteerism, leisure, travel, and continued learning
• Retirement extends to the business community at large—businesses need help preparing for the “brain drain” that occurs when boomers retire
• Financial planning and job training for women at risk of poverty
• Healthy living and fitness workshops
• Arts, culture, lectures, and programs for mental agility
• Genealogy and support in capturing life stories

What's in a name?

One of my 'hobbies' is chasing down the more positive terms used to describe older people in our communities and their engagement. When Active, engaged, valued: older people and NSW public libraries was published I deliberately chose the ambiguous "active, engaged, valued" to describe both the people and the libraries.

The US based Purpose Prize uses the tag "Leading with experience" but the best one I've seen was in the July issue of the Australian Seniors Computer Clubs Association Newsletter - "YOPPIE" - A youthful older person positively interested in everything.