Grey-Gold in rural communities!

Retirees Benefit Rural Areas
Retirees are moving in droves to the country and they are rapidly assimilating into the social life of their communities. These "in-migrants" are much more likely to participate in service, social and volunteer activities than their long term resident counterparts. While willing to jump in and help, they also expect to receive the same services from their local library that they had in the urban areas they left. Rural libraries don't have the resources, space, staffing or expertise to commit, so often the balance has to be reached between the needs and wants of these vital and energetic citizens. A balance must also be found between the needs of the long-term residents and their view of the library with those of the newcomers.

Serving Seniors Successfully

In our rural libraries we have active children's programming and services - from summer reading and kids' clubs to preschool story hours. We hire Children's and Young Adult Librarians and reading specialists. But, what are we doing for that other active population segment in our rural libraries: the senior citizens? These are the patrons that are retired or near retirement, are moving into rural areas and want to be involved. They are the generation that did not grow up with computers and are often intimidated by our online catalog. They need assistance with tax forms and medical information hand have special visual and physical requirements. These are the vital citizens who have years of experience and skills to give back to their communities- and the time to do it. What can we, as rural libraries, do to meet their unique needs and incorporate them into the lifeblood of our libraries? What are some of the ways we can better serve our seniors?