Windham Library Outreach program provides enrichment to senior residents

By Erin Rose

For more than 50 years, staff members at the Windham Public Library have been working to ensure that residents of local senior facilities have adequate access to reading and other materials.

Sally Bannen is Windham Public Library's Technical Services
Librarian and works with seniors residing in local care
facilities to make sure they have adequate access to
reading and other library materials. FILE PHOTO 

The Windham Public Library’s Outreach Program, founded in the 1970s, allows seniors living at Unity Gardens, New Marblehead Manor, Little Falls Landing, and Ledgewood Manor to request books, DVDs, or other items from the library. Deliveries are made monthly, on the first Tuesday of the month.

Those seeking to participate in the library’s Outreach program should reach out to Sally Bannen, Windham Public Library’s Technical Services Librarian, who works with each person who requests materials to ensure that she provides a variety of items to suit their tastes. Fiction happens to be the most commonly requested genre of items requested, but the requests vary with the person.

“We’ve had folks request non-fiction, movies and even audio books,” Bannen said. “I work with them to determine what they’re interested in.”

Bannen says that she spends a significant amount of time to ensure that the library’s Outreach participants receive a variety of items, without repeats.

“I keep a database of everything I’ve brought them so I’m not repeating what they’re getting,” she said. “I try to find new authors that they may not have tried so I keep it fresh.”

The participants also broaden Bannen’s horizons, as they request items that she may not have considered previously.

“They’re asking for things that I might not have heard of, so it enriches my knowledge” she said. “I love interacting with them.”

The process begins when a resident of the senior facility reaches out to the library to state their interest. Bannen will then speak to residents making a request to determine what kind of items they would be interested in and what types of media they would like to receive. Once a month, she will then deliver the items to the resident, to be returned the following month.

Those seeking to participate are not required to have an existing library account, as one can be set up specifically for participation in the Outreach program.

Currently, the program is limited solely to those in the local care facilities, as Bannen runs the service alone without the help of volunteers.

“As much as we would love to, we have to keep it small,” she said explaining that there are safety and liability concerns relating to both the participants and volunteers that require the Windham Public Library staff to be responsible for the deliveries.

The feedback from Outreach Program participants has been overwhelmingly positive, Bannen says, as the library’s monthly deliveries provide residents with the opportunity to not only receive library materials, but also to interact with someone regularly outside of their local care facility.

“Not only are they folks who can no longer get out and about easily, or at all, but also I think they enjoy having an interaction once a month.” Bannen said, “I check in with them, ask ‘how’s it going’, and ‘what’s new’ with them. “I have a special soft spot for older folks and making sure that they’re able to get services that they need. It’s hard when you can’t get out anymore, so it’s nice to be able to have a surprise once a month.”

Any residents of Unity Gardens, New Marblehead Manor, Little Falls Landing, and Ledgewood Manor who would like to join the library’s Outreach program are eligible to receive library deliveries. To make a request from the Outreach program, they should call Bannen at 207-892-1908, Ext. 7. <