Ashland, OH — Ashland Public Library has been selected as one of 240 libraries to participate in Libraries Transforming Communities: Accessible Small and Rural Communities, an American Library Association (ALA) initiative that provides community engagement and accessibility resources to small and rural libraries to help them better serve people with disabilities.
The competitive award comes with a $10,000 grant that will help the library create opportunities for older adults with depression and/or dementia to reminisce, complete crafts, experience local history and special events and to encourage them to share memories.
“We are so proud to be chosen for this amazing opportunity,” said Community Engagement Manager, Lindsay Brandon-Smith, “This grant will allow our library to better serve older adults in our community. It will help us improve our services and to ensure this population feels welcome and valued.”
As part of the grant, Ashland Public Library staff will take an online course in how to lead conversations, a skill vital to library work today. Staff will then host a conversation with residents about social isolation and resources for support and will use the grant funds to expand and improve current Memory Lane programming in local Senior Living Facilities.
Socialization and memory activities help promote a sense of belonging, improve brain health, strengthen connection to time and place and help enhance and maintain focus. Ashland county seniors with dementia and/or depression will be able to establish support not only with each other but through intergenerational relationships that we hope to spur with the Memory Lane program.
If you are interested in getting involved or taking part in the conversation, please contact Lindsay Brandon-Smith at 419.289.8188 for more information.
Since 2014, ALA’s Libraries Transforming Communities initiative has re-imagined the role libraries play in supporting communities. Libraries of all types have utilized free dialogue and deliberation training and resources to lead community and campus forums; take part in antiviolence activities; provide a space for residents to come together and discuss challenging topics; and have productive conversations with civic leaders, library trustees and staff.
“Libraries Transforming Communities: Accessible Small and Rural Communities is an initiative of the American Library Association (ALA) in collaboration with the Association for Rural and Small Libraries (ARSL).”