ASRT
Meeting Minutes
Thursday,
July 18, 2019 / Health and Well Being
Present:
Terri
Leslie, Vestavia Hills
Joi
Mahand, Vestavia Hills
Deni
Owens, Hoover
Leslie
Deason, Avondale
Bridget
Turner, Homewood
Deidre
Sims, Bessemer
Michelle
Hamrick, Irondale
Terri opened the meeting with stats from
ALA’s website:
People
use public library internet access to research resources to improve their
diets, find doctors, research their own or others’ illnesses, locate health
care insurance, and track down discount medications; 37 percent of users report
having looked for health information, treatment options, care givers, or ways
to improve their health; 56 percent of these users also reported seeking out
these types of information for relatives, friends, colleagues, and others.
Libraries
are becoming more and more like community centers and patrons expect/often
suggest exercise classes.
We
reviewed input sent in by members who couldn’t make it (Kelly and Maura) as
well as the handout of resources provided by Shannon.
Group Discussion
Deidre/Bessemer: They’ve used the Alabama Cooperative Extension
(other folks chimed in that they have to, with great success) for a “Successful
Aging Initiative” programming series. Also, Tammy Young, RN does a program for
them for a charge of $50 but she brings all supplies. We also discussed using
the Extension or 4H for programs on food canning and preserving programs.
Several
libraries are offering yoga, including Chair Yoga (Irondale). Someone mentioned
(sorry, I can’t remember who mentioned this – Michelle?) that Kristen from UAB
is a great yoga instructor.
This
led into a discussion of working with and being aware of what our individual
Rec and Senior Centers are offering – we don’t want to compete with them or
duplicate programs. Deni and Michelle have partnered with their respective Rec
Centers; Deni publicizes programs at the center and patrons come to the library
on a bus to attend. Michelle has offered their library for movies – their Rec
Center is bright and light and not conducive to movie watching so they use the
Irondale library.
Leslie/Avondale: They offer yoga, coloring, Zentangle
and are considering Tai Chi. This led us into a discussion of the value of art,
crafting, and music as a source of well-being.
Crafting
programs discussed:
Zentangle
(it really works; is very peaceful and fun – discussed Darla Williams as a
resource as well as is it worth the money to have someone come in and teach),
string art (Michelle said her patrons liked the banging, that it was very
therapeutic) and Deni said she found a way to do string art quietly using cork
squares; Homewood has partnered with the Exceptional Foundation and Bessemer
with United Ability to offer programs for special needs adults. Joi suggested
the Easter Seal foundation as a possible partner as well. Discussed offering
book groups for this group as well.
Deni mentioned that Hoover offers the Neuroscience Café
programs which are popular.
Terri and Joi/Vestavia: they have offered Tai Chi with success
for a couple of years as well as hot yoga, meditation, Trail Fit, ABCs of
Medicare, and Zumba (coming in October).
Leslie
asked what print resources everyone offers:
We
discussed how Reference in general has declined so rapidly. Vestavia still
offers the health series by Omnigraphics (the most requested topics); others
noted that patrons frequently ask for information on diets (keto, Hashimoto),
Crohn’s Disease, Alzheimer’s, Diabetes and health related cookbooks, and essential
oils.
Michelle
said they offered a program on the basics of essential oils and partnered with
a local business, Retreat Day Spa. They did a good job.
Terri
mentioned Noah Lenstra’s blog on programminglibrarian.org which is all about
the “Movement” movement in public libraries.
Also, Vestavia Hills has two stationary bikes in the library that get used quite a bit by patrons of all ages. They grab patrons' attention (get lots of questions) and they are very popular!
Here are some resources gathered by Shannon for future research:
Page Links:
Health Literacy, Programming, and Consumer Health Information, PLA Initiative, 2019:
Healthy Community Tools
for Public Libraries, PLA, 2019:
13 Resources for Libraries That Are Serious About Promoting Health Literacy, DEMCO, 2018:
Health Happens in Libraries, WebJunction, 2019:
Public libraries: A community-level resource to advance population health, Research Paper, 2019: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6329675/
Page Links:
Finding Health and Wellness @ the Library: A Consumer Health Toolkit for Library Staff, California State Library, 2013:
Beyond Books: Public Libraries As Partners For Population Health, Heath Affairs 35, No. 11 (2016): 2030–2036, 2016:
BLOG Post: Health and Wellness Programming: Collaborating with Local Businesses, Programming Librarian, 2018:
Exercise Your Resources: Public libraries partner with academic institutions for health and wellness programming
By Noah Lenstra, American Libraries, 2019:
From Maura Davies /
Trussville
One
of our recent health-related programming successes has been a partnership with
Birmingham Heart Clinic. The marketing person for their St Vincent's East
(Trussville) location has arranged several lunch & learn programs for us.
The doctors who have spoken here were very eager to share the latest
information, and on a level that was understandable to a layperson. They have
other locations in the area.
I have also been in contact with Dr. Robert Sorge of the UAB PAIN Collective (Dept of Psychology) - their website is: https://www.uab.edu/cas/psychology/pain-collective. He and his staff are very eager to share information on their research topics. He came to Trussville in May to do a talk on Medical Marijuana and Diet in pain management, but unfortunately no one came - I later found out that Hewitt-Trussville HS was having their graduation on that same night; not sure if that kept people away, but possibly.
I have also been in contact with Dr. Robert Sorge of the UAB PAIN Collective (Dept of Psychology) - their website is: https://www.uab.edu/cas/psychology/pain-collective. He and his staff are very eager to share information on their research topics. He came to Trussville in May to do a talk on Medical Marijuana and Diet in pain management, but unfortunately no one came - I later found out that Hewitt-Trussville HS was having their graduation on that same night; not sure if that kept people away, but possibly.
From Kelly Laney /
Springville Road
I've
found a good resource for ideas, info, and handouts from the National Institute
on Aging's website, specifically the Go4Life program. They will send nice
booklets on exercises for seniors that increase endurance, strength, balance,
and flexibility, and even have free PDF's you can download and print on all sorts
of health issues.
Below are resources for those who are considering doing programming with Adults with Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities:
Not a Kid Anymore:
How and Why to Serve Adults with Disabilities in the Adult
Department
Development
includes ‘Intellectual Disabilities Disorder” or IDD. (preferred over “Special
Needs”)
Benefits:
literacy increases as does vocational opportunities, conversational skills,
education, sense of belonging
The Next Chapter Book Club
·
A
national campaign; has guidelines but costs $350/year to participate.
·
Read
the book at the meeting using trained facilitators
·
Members
make all of the decisions, providing agency to participants
·
Has
to be in a public space, out in the open
·
Can
partner with community agency
Can
use elements to customize a local book club.
General Ideas
·
Youth
and Adult Librarians can partner together
·
Create
an IDD collection (house in Juv or Adult Dept? Other?)
·
Appropriate
developmental engagement
·
Age
respectful – talk about book’s theme
·
Visual
Schedule is important
·
Can
do fiction or nonfiction
·
Use
handouts, and/or project book pages on a screen
·
Create
kits for IDD; can check out to use at library or take home.
·
Marketing:
strictly to adults (“adult program for adults of all abilities”)
·
Plan
for a range of abilities. Communicate with their caregivers.
·
Caregivers
should be required to attend.
