Roxy Blackmore, the Estevan Public Library’s adult programmer, visits nursing homes and seniors citizens’ homes each month to lend books to them.
Creighton Lodge has been a huge help to her, with their new machine that allows people with bad eyesight to read books and magazines.
Blackmore uses her iPad and a mobile scanner to lend books out to seniors and keep track of them; the seniors get their books for an entire month when Blackmore returns.
“The people I help through my outreach program can’t necessarily get to the library, so I bring books to them and they get to hold on to them for a month,” said Blackmore. “Some of the residents that I visit give me a list of books that they want and I try to get those books as best I can.”
Being a mobile librarian is new way of getting literary content into the hands of those who want to read, and Blackmore has been successful so far with her outreach efforts.
“I normally bring three bins of books and the residents pick through them. I travel with an iPad and a model scanner so I can keep track of what books have been lent out and what books need to be returned,” said Blackmore.
“Some of them take 15 books at a time, others just want audio books that are normally delivered on a CD, and I find the seniors have a diverse taste in the various types of reading content they choose to lend out,” she added.
The new machine that Creighton Lodge has received, courtesy from one of its past residents Lorraine Bonokoski, has been a welcomed addition to the enriched living centre.
“They are loving it. Just as I got into work this morning, Marion Mack had taken out some books to read on the machine,” said Shelly Veroba, who manages the lodge alongside Judy Pratt. “We have these books that contain the story of each of our residents. Marion has been wanting to read those books for a while, and because of this machine she can.”
Bonokoski had a lot to do with getting the reading machine into the lodge; it was her parting gift before she left to all the residents at the lodge.
“Lorraine Bonokoski had been living in Creighton Lodge for 40 years and she has recently moved into the Estevan Regional Nursing Home. Last I saw her, she was doing better than ever, she was the one who got us our reading machine,” said Veroba. “We truly appreciate the library doing the outreach program here at the lodge because without them coming here a lot of the residents would not be able to get access to the library and all the things they offer.”
Olive Aspinall, a current resident of Creighton Lodge who loves to read and uses Blackmore’s outreach program, said: “I like reading and I don’t have a car and the books come to me instead of me having to get the books.”
The reading machine has only been in Creighton Lodge for a few days but its ability to magnify text has been great for residents. Mack, who was the first use to make use of the machine, has trouble seeing and the machine has allowed her to go back to doing something she loves doing.
