Most local libraries have a children’s librarian, but what about a staff member who specializes in older adult services?
Most partner with local schools but how many think to actively collaborate with their local senior centers or over-55 living communities?
The role of libraries has always been bigger than just lending books. The 440 libraries across New Jersey serve as centers of community life, with programs and amenities that reflect the needs – and the budgets – of the towns they serve.
As New Jersey’s population ages, libraries have become lifelines for many older adults, offering art classes, cultural exhibits, history seminars and a host of lifelong learning opportunities as well as the only access some seniors have to the internet or a computer. A 2024 Survey of Older Adults conducted by New Jersey Advocates for Aging Well (NJAAW) found that older adults are more likely to visit, trust, and engage with their library than with senior centers or other organizations.
The expanding and evolving reach of local libraries makes them essential partners in any community’s effort to plan for an age-friendly future.
With more communities across the state receiving state grant money to launch new age-friendly initiatives, Age-Friendly NJ is hosting an in-person meeting this month to discuss the powerful role public libraries play in fostering age-friendly communities.
The event, titled Public Libraries as Invaluable Resources for Older Adults and Age-Friendly Community Initiatives, will be held from 10:30 am to 1 pm Wed., Sept. 10 at the Leonia Public Library, 227 Fort Lee Rd, Leonia. Click here to register.
“Age-friendly leaders and local libraries are natural allies,” said Dorothy Sanders, age-friendly strategist for NJAAW. “Both are committed to fostering inclusive, connected, and resource-rich communities.”
Many of the veteran communities in the Age-Friendly NJ alliance formed early partnerships with their local libraries as they sought to build out their community wide initiatives, in particular relying on them to help disseminate surveys and informational materials and to co-host educational seminars on housing, transportation and age-friendly issues.
“Local libraries can help anchor an age-friendly community initiative because they are trusted spaces where older adults gather,” said Dr. Cathy Rowe, executive director of NJAAW. “They are hubs of learning, support, and community – places where community residents can go for a passport photo, tech assistance, tax prep, book clubs or engaging lectures. It’s a natural fit for them to also be places for residents to learn about strategies for aging well in their longtime communities.”
The Sept. 10 event will feature presentations on ways libraries are driving innovation, promoting inclusion of older adults and people with disabilities, and fostering intergenerational engagement.
Libraries in New Jersey, in keeping with the state’s home rule philosophy, are usually locally governed, and the range of services they can offer often depends on the size of the town or region where they are located and the budget resources available to them. That means each library’s path to becoming more age-friendly may vary, depending on the local infrastructure, whether they serve urban, suburban or rural populations, and other characteristics unique to their communities.
“What we’ve learned in our research in planning this event is that there are many different strategies that different libraries are using to better serve older adults and people with disabilities,” Sanders said.
Some have invested in purchasing mobile library units that can travel to the places where seniors and people with mobility challenges live. Others have formed direct partnerships with their local senior centers or employ an adult-services specialist.
“We see great value in our age-friendly community leaders and library directors coming together to learn from one another,” Sanders said. “When we join forces, the impact on older adults can be transformative.”