First aid readiness

It is rare for me to visit my local shopping centre around midday during the week. But this week I did just that. In the space of just a couple of hours, I saw two teams of paramedics assisting elderly shoppers who were injured or had collapsed. The shopping centre staff handled each situation calmly, they knew their procedures and even had screens at the ready to shield an elderly man who'd collapsed on the main concourse from view.

It made me wonder how ready most public library staff might be to handle a similar situation. Are procedures in place? Have staff been trained to handle common incidents? In a crisis how will they react?

As our community ages and the numbers of older people using libraries increases accordingly we need to start thinking about our first aid readiness.

Dementia Awareness Week

Perhaps one of the most frightening aspects of ageing is memory loss. How often have you heard someone refer to having a 'senior moment'? There are even computer games marketed with the promise that they will 'help you improve your brain'.

Why not find out what you can do to help yourself during Dementia Awareness Week from September 16-26. Check out the Mind your Mind program from Alzheimers Australia.

The seven Mind your Mind signposts are:

1. Mind your Brain – Keep your brain active
2. Mind your Diet – Eat healthily
3. Mind your Body – Be physically active
4. Mind your Health Checks – Manage blood pressure, blood cholesterol, blood sugar and weight
5. Mind your Social Life – Participate in social activities
6. Mind your Habits – Avoid tobacco smoke and only drink alcohol in moderation
7. Mind your Head- Protect your head from serious injury
   

Research indicates that these seven steps may help reduce risk and may even delay the onset of dementia.

Ageing and diversity

A couple of years ago the Seniors in Focus @ your library seminar featured a panel discussion: Ageing issues for specific groups including CALD, Indigenous and GLBTIQ community members.

The presenters included Jan Aitken from Ten Forty Matrix. Jan posed some thought provoking questions and issues for all home library service providers to consider to ensure our services are inclusive of members of the Lesbian and Gay Community.

Issues for ageing gay community members:

1. Invisibility, being in the closet still, living in a setting such as a nursing home, hostel or retirement village where ‘coming out’ may be difficult.
   
2. Lack of information about and access to gay/lesbian resources.
3. Dealing with aged care staff whose attitudes are not known and may be negative.
   

Issues for libraries:

1. Collection policies: how does gay/lesbian literature make it into the library?
2. How does this extend to other media: CDs, videos, DVDs etc?
3. What about magazines: does your library have LOTL ( Lesbians on the Loose) and Sydney Star Observer?
4. Reading lists: Do you have a lesbian/gay reading list?
5. If the answer is no to all or most of these what is the reason for the lack?
6. Internet access: rapidly becoming important – can you assist clients’ access?
   

Sydney based resources:

• Feminist Bookshop
• The Bookshop
• The pink directory
• Older dykes

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].