Back Home Again!

Greetings--

Well it has been an exciting and frustrating week. The last three workshops in Texas went very well despite two days of a-v problems, a fight over an untagged bag, and being bumped from the hotel despite a confirmed reservation.

This series of workshops that I designed for the Texas State Library and Archives were developed for those in the field who were already doing "something" for older adults as well as for those who were new to this area of library services. Each session ran from 9am to 4:30pm with a lunch and two breaks worked in. I can't recall, except one group that we did in Lubbock, that I was able to get through all the material that I had planned. The only other time I have ever felt "complete" in doing this was last winter when I presented a 4-day workshop for the Missouri State Library. There is always more that you want to share. It seems every day as I pick-up a newspaper or magazine there is another interesting article either on older adults or on the bany boomers.

The Texas sessions presentation was broken down into:
Introductions/Welcome
Census Figures
Aging is Hot! Hot! Hot!
ALA Guidelines for Library Service to Older Adults
Inventory of Services Checklist (Exercise)
Library Buildings/Design
Library Policies
Collections
In-Library Programming
Technology & Older Adults
Seniors with Special Needs
Outreach Programming
Book Delivery Options
Utilizing Seniors as a Resource
Publicity/Marketing
Action Plan (Exercise)
Conclusion

Of course each of the 11 times the program was presented, it was a bit different. It really depended on the needs of the group. In one group where most of the participants had not done any computer training at all with seniors, I spend more time that I usually did with that. In other groups where we had a Bi-Folkal kit to use, I demonstrated it. The workshop was not just talk. I used my collection of video, audio and dvd materials to supplement the presentation.

Would I do it again! Absolutely. We spent a great deal of time on the "traditional" senior and I would like to go back and do the entire series over with more emphasis on the baby boomers.
Who knows! That might be a project for 2007!

These nine months working in Texas have been some of the most gratifying training experiences that I have ever had. My hope is that each and every participant was inspired by the excitement that I shared with them about serving older adults and the baby boomers. And that each one of them will go back to their library and improve services for this age group.

That's all for me for now!

Chat with you soon,
Allan
(kleiman@aol.com)