NARRATOR: The following program is a production of Ozarks Public Television.

Good evening and welcome to "Sense Of Community."

I'm Jennifer Moore.

Tonight we're learning about opportunities for older adults in public libraries.

Our guest is Katie Hopkins, who oversees adult programs with the Springfield-Greene County Library District.

You might be surprised by all of the opportunities available specifically geared towards senior citizens.

We hope you'll join us for this special program.

Welcome to "Sense of Community."

"Sense of Community" is a public affairs presentation of Ozarks Public Television.

Katie Hopkins, thank you so much for joining us.

We really appreciate having you here.

So we're talking about programs and services for older adults in libraries in the Ozarks.

And first of all, I want to start out kind of on a broad scale and have you talk a little bit about the fact that libraries are not just about books these days.

They really aim to be a community hub.

Yeah.

That's something that me and my fellow librarians all the time are fighting that stereotype.

But libraries are about so much more than books.

We've got internet computers.

We've got educational programs going on all the time.

We've got spaces to meet.

So you're right when you say community hub.

That's really what we're striving to do is sort of be the central location that people can gather to do the things they want to get done.

Even socializing and meeting up with friends.

Yeah.

Yes, absolutely.

Some of our locations have cafes if that's what you're into.

We've got meeting rooms that you can rent that a lot of our social clubs will meet in, bridge groups, things like that.

Excellent.

Now, there are obviously public libraries scattered all through our viewing area, all throughout the Ozarks.

But you work with the Springfield-Greene County Library District, which is, I have to say, one of the best in the country.

It has so many programs and services available.

So we are going to focus tonight on those for older adults.

And I would like you to talk a little bit about your area.

And that is specific programs for adults, specifically that older demographic.

What do we have coming up in terms of events and programs for them?

Sure.

Yeah.

So as you mentioned, my job with the library is to oversee all of the programs that we do for adults.

So I have a hand in our author visits, our book discussion groups, our craft classes, and our computer classes.

And I kind of wanted to start by talking about the computer classes, if that's OK with you.

I think when you're talking about older adults, a lot of us take for granted that everybody knows how to use a computer these days.

And at the library, we see time and time again that's not true.

And if you've never used a computer before, that process can be very intimidating.

So we have our Computer Training Center, which used to be called The Edge.

And that's at our Midtown Carnegie branch.

And they offer a class called Meet The Computer.

So if you or someone in your life has never even touched a computer, they go through the basics of what a keyboard is, what a mouse is, how to turn a computer on.

And then the classes sort of graduate from there and you can learn about Microsoft Word if you're a writer and you want to learn how to use a computer to write your essays, your memoirs, or something like that.

And we even have just started doing one on one sessions for any type of device.

So if you're really struggling to understand how your iPhone works or your tablet, your iPad or whatever, you can book a one on one session with one of our computer assistants and they can sit down and help you sort of with the specific problem that you're struggling with.

Wow.

I think a lot of people don't realize that's available.

So that is at the Midtown Carnegie branch library in Central Springfield near Central High School, near the police department there.

So is there a cost, an out of pocket cost for people who decide to take those computer classes?

No.

So all of the programs we're talking about today, whether it's the classes or the authors or whatever, none of our costs ever have an-- excuse me, none of our programs ever have a cost to attend.

JENNIFER MOORE: Excellent.

OK, so intro to computers, how to use a device that you may have at home and you're curious about how to use it better.

That's terrific.

And then what about some of the presentations or programs for adults that are not like a class oriented or not computer related?

Sure, yeah.

So when we're talking about a program, because that word can confuse people sometimes, a program is just a class or something you can come to.

And it's just an opportunity to learn something is how I look at it.

With adults, we're talking about people who are lifelong learners, who come to the library to check out books or attend these programs because they love to learn about something.

And so for example, our Brentwood Branch right now has our travelogues.

And you can go and you can listen to someone talk about their travel experiences, watch their slideshow of photos, ask them questions about their trip.

And we also have the Wits Workout, which I was telling you about earlier, which is every Thursday right now I believe through August 25.

And that's just a chance to you go to the Schweitzer Brentwood branch and you get to participate in some games that are brain building and you can socialize with other folks.

And so we've got all sorts of opportunities like that.

Yeah, these classes or programs are, I mean, they're really diverse in terms of content.

So I know that there are a couple of easy ways to find out more about those.

One is through the website, the library.org-- Slash programs.

OK, great.

Yeah.

If you do use a computer, that's the quickest way and you can hop on and you can sort by branch or age group and sort of tailor it to the results that you want to see.

Wow.

And then another one is what I like and that is the hard copy of Bookends, the quarterly publication.

And I think you brought one with you today.

So that is kind of a one stop shop for everything going on at the library, right?

KATIE HOPKINS: Yeah.

So the Bookends comes out quarterly.

It's our physical catalog.

It's our news and calendar of events.

So the first part of the Bookends will have everything going on in the library.

Upcoming book sales or sometimes we have author interviews if we have an author coming up.

And then the last part of the Bookends is our calendar of events.

And it's broken down by adults, teens, and children and families.

So you can sort of flip through there.

A lot of people like to grab it at the beginning of the quarter and go through and highlight all the things that they want to try to attend.

And patrons are welcome to come to any program they want.

It doesn't matter if you live on the north side and the library center's on the south side.

If you want to come see something that's happening on the south side, please by all means.

It's not limited to your neighborhood or anything like that.

Can you tell us a little bit more about the Wits End I think-- what was it called?

KATIE HOPKINS: Oh, the Wits Workout.

Wits End.

[laughs] That's what I was going to reach for.

It's been a long week, apparently, for me.

No, if you could tell us a little more about that.

Because that program sounded really interesting.

I think a lot of people would be eager to learn more.

KATIE HOPKINS: Sure.

And if you don't mind, I'm going to pick this up because I don't want to get any of the details wrong.

Yes.

And that is at?

That is at our Schweitzer Brentwood branch, which is sort of our east side location off of Glenstone and Seminole.

Kind of sits on the edge of Southern Hills.

The Wits Workout is Thursdays at 10:00 AM until August 25.

And yeah, increase your brain health with brain games and socialization.

That's hosted by Amber Allen, who's somebody we work with for programming a lot.

She's a field specialist in human development with the University of Missouri Extension Office.

So she sort of leads those programs for us.

JENNIFER MOORE: OK, great.

And we are going to at the very end of tonight's show, we're going to leave our viewers with some websites and phone numbers where they can go for more information on these programs.

Speaking of senior citizens and older adults, and I like to keep in mind that the demographic senior citizens is a very broad demographic if we're talking age 65 and older.

But generally speaking, older adults have had a really long couple of years with the pandemic being in a high risk category just by nature of their age.

I know a lot of people have really stayed pretty close to home and are just starting to venture out, some of them.

But others are still pretty concerned about COVID-19.

What would you tell those who are just considering coming to the library but are still a little bit worried?

KATIE HOPKINS: Sure.

I would just say that the library staff want to meet you where you're at with your comfort level of going out.

We don't currently require masking in our buildings, but if masking is something that helps you feel safer, please by all means wear a mask.

A lot of our staff is masking right now.

We still have plastic shields up at our service desks.

And a lot of our buildings are large enough that if you wanted to come and just look at some books or a magazine, you could still socially distance yourself from other patrons in the library just to get out of the house, frankly.

Sometimes we just want to get out of the house.

For those who may have mobility issues or transportation issues, I know the library district also has a couple of different options for getting books to people in their homes or in different locations.

What can you tell us about those?

Sure, yeah.

So we have a whole department at the library we call outreach.

And they have several programs.

Their whole purpose is to get the library in places where there's not a physical building present.

So the thing a lot of people know is our mobile library, our bookmobile.

And it travels to stops all week long where maybe they're not close enough to a branch to walk there or bus there or maybe they're homebound.

And so the mobile library comes to them.

And if you've ever been on the mobile library, I mean, it's huge.

It's like its own little library.

You hop on.

There are shelves of books and DVDs and things to pick out.

And you check out just like if you were in a normal library branch.

And so that mobile library makes stops all week long.

And their schedule is also in the Bookends, so you can see where their stops are.

And another thing we do that a lot of folks aren't aware of is a program called Walking Books.

And we coordinate it and it's carried out by volunteers.

But if you are somebody who's unable to leave your home for mobility reasons, health reasons, we can often bring books to you, hand deliver them to you, help you choose those materials.

And that information is in Bookends as well or you can ask any of our staff.

Excellent.

Now I know there has been a trend in recent years toward accessibility.

And you've touched on a couple of those issues that the library really tries to prioritize in terms of accessibility, making the library's books and services available and accessible to all populations.

Tell me a little bit about the accessibility efforts for people with visual problems, maybe with poor vision at this point.

Sure, yeah.

So well first I want to say all of our buildings are ADA compliant.

And we try to go above and beyond and make sure that our buildings are physically accessible to all, whether you're low vision or a wheelchair user or anything like that.

But low vision individuals specifically, we have a lot of different ways to read.

People think of reading as looking at a book.

Librarians see it very differently.

We do have large print books.

A lot of our low vision users like those.

And that's exactly what it sounds like.

They're a larger print.

And most any book that we have in regular print we can often find in large print.

And those are very popular.

And those are very, very popular, yeah.

I used to be a reference librarian.

So I helped folks find those a lot.

But if you are visually impaired to the point where that's not an option for you, we also have a lot of our users who are blind who like our audiobooks on CD.

We have patrons who will call in and they'll say, just find me some audiobooks.

And so our staff can just pick out a stack and you can pick them up at the window or at the desk.

But a lot of users really like the audiobook option.

And if you use an iPad or a cell phone or something like that, we also have some digital book options.

So I could go on about this.

So one of our apps is called Libby.

And that's where you go to check out audiobooks or digital print books on your device.

And on those print books, you can change the font size on the screen to just about as big as you want.

So if you're somebody who's comfortable using a device, you can change the font size.

You can change the contrast of the text, which is something that a lot of our low vision users appreciate.

And that app also even has a dyslexic font.

So if you're somebody who's dyslexic, you can switch the font to this font that will help you process what you're reading.

Wow.

And then, of course, audiobooks are on there as well.

If you like to listen to books, we've got a whole huge selection of audiobooks through that app as well.

JENNIFER MOORE: Great.

And just to take some of the mystery out of it for those who may not be as familiar with the tech side, when you say you can use these products on your device, we're talking about computer, we're talking about a tablet like an iPad or a Kindle, right?

Or your phone.

My dad is 80 years old and I just taught him a couple of weeks ago to use Libby.

And I always say if my dad can do it, anybody can do it.

And if you're somebody who's intimidated, understandably, bring it in.

Bring it into your branch.

Call us on the phone.

It's often easier to do in person.

But bring that device in and we'll sit down as much as we can and we'll show you how to get that app on your phone and how to get started.

Wonderful.

And that kind of circles back around.

If somebody wants a more intensive instruction, they can sign up through the computer programs.

Yeah, for the one on one help.

But if they just want help kind of getting started, they're comfortable with their phone but they just want to know, then that's something we could help them at any of our service desks.

Any branch.

Yeah, we love doing things like that.

Now, you as we said, are from the Springfield-Greene County Library District.

And primarily that is obviously to serve people in Greene County.

But there are programs for people outside of Greene County as well, meaning everybody can attend the programs.

There's no cost for people outside of the county.

Right.

So with our programs, we don't check your card at the door or anything like that.

Our programs are open to all.

I would encourage you, though, if you live in Christian County or somewhere like that outside, please, please visit your own library district as well.

Because a lot of times they have some really amazing things going on.

We have a lot of really good library systems in our area.

JENNIFER MOORE: Yeah.

And you've been with the library did you say 14 years?

OK, that's wonderful.

So you've seen quite a few changes over the years.

I'm curious to hear how you think libraries are changing in terms of that community feel, going from being a place of literature and I guess checking out books to something entirely different.

What do you see in the Ozarks?

That's a big question.

Yes it is.

That I don't know that I'm 100% qualified to answer.

But I think at the core of libraries, regardless of how it looks, whether it's a book, it's a program, it's a magazine, it's about learning.

It's about lifelong learning.

It's about we start from birth to older adults.

We're talking about providing them with ways to access information.

So that has never changed.

Libraries have always been a place to come to access information, to do the things that you need to do, whether that's buying a used car or using a computer or learning about some odd aspect of history that you're into that you don't think anybody else is.

That's really at our core and always will be is providing people with multiple ways to access information.

I know that several of the library branches, the Library Center, Midtown, Carnegie branch, and perhaps others as well, have a wonderful array of newspapers and magazine subscriptions.

And people just come to the library just to read the paper.

And that's it.

It's part of their daily or perhaps weekly ritual.

Do you see that in other branches as well?

Yeah, I mean, I worked at the Brentwood branch for many years, it's now the Schweitzer Brentwood branch, before I started the job I'm in now.

And we had several patrons who would just come in the morning, read their paper, kind of got to know each other, the regular group, and then that was it.

I mean, we encourage that.

We want people to come to the library.

We don't want them to be intimidated by it.

That's not what we're about.

So if there are people out there watching, and I'm sure there are, who have never had a library card before, how do they go about doing that?

Sure.

So if you are a Greene County resident, there is no charge to get a library card.

You would bring in your photo ID and some proof of address.

Now, if the address on your photo ID is your current address, then you just need your photo ID.

But you just bring that in, bring it to any desk, and it's a really simple form to fill out.

We can get you a card and anyone else in your household.

And you can start checking out items, using our computers, using some of our databases from home if you're a researcher doing genealogy or something like that.

JENNIFER MOORE: What types of programs do you see older adults really enjoying and gravitating toward?

If you could choose any or are there any that stand out to you?

Sure.

My personal favorite type of program but also that we see a lot of older adults gravitating towards is our local history programs.

JENNIFER MOORE: Oh wow.

We have the best, I would put money on it hands down, local history and genealogy department of almost any public library.

There's an amazing staff of people over there who put on programs for the public about different aspects of our culture here in the Ozarks.

And those are always fun and interesting to go to.

The Ozarks Genealogical Society meets in our branches at least once a month.

And that's something that often appeals to older adults who are recently retired and kind of want to dig into their family history.

And then they have our library staff right there to help them kickstart that research process.

It's always amazed me, and I totally concur with what you said about the local history and the genealogy staff over there.

They are tremendous.

It never ceases to amaze me, though, what is available online now in terms of records for newspapers.

And this is getting a little out of the adult programs area, but libraries, newspapers.com, rather, is just a wonderful resource where you can look up very old newspapers with just a keyword.

I mean, fascinating.

And those can be a little tricky to navigate sometimes, which is where our staff can really help somebody.

Once you kind of see how it works, it starts to become a lot easier for you to do that research yourself.

Yeah, so that's definitely a great resource that we have.

Who comes up with the programs for adults?

Well, it's all of us.

It takes an effort.

Staff at each branch sort of plan the programs that they know will work for the folks that they see every day.

The interests of folks at the library station may be different than the interests of those at the center.

And nobody knows that better than the staff who are on the desks working with them.

So they will plan the programs and I sort of oversee all of it and make sure that if they need to access some funding for their program or they need to tune it up a little bit or something like that.

So that's a big part of my job.

How do you think the pandemic has changed our library district in terms of seniors?

Oh, well, I mean, it's really everybody.

But it's like you said.

The seniors are and remain a higher risk population.

And it was very hard because seniors were a big part of who we saw every day in our library service before the pandemic.

And to see them have to step back from that and not be able to attend our programs or feel safe in our buildings I think was really hard on all of our staff.

We're starting to see them come back.

And we just want to know.

I mean, seniors, older adults of course, but everybody we just want to welcome back into our doors.

Our buildings are safe, they're clean, and we are just ready to help meet your needs, whatever those are.

Excellent.

So we've talked a little bit about computer services, learning to use new technological devices.

We've talked about the programs and different types of books that are accessible for people with low vision or perhaps transportation issues.

Before we close out, is there anything else that you would like to add about serving seniors and older adults?

I can't think of anything specifically.

I just want them to know, like I said, that we want to help you.

Please don't be intimidated by the technology or by something you don't understand.

That's what we exist to do is help you bridge that gap.

And so I guess that's what I would say is please, please, please, we are ready and willing to help you with whatever you need.

We would love to have you in the library.

We've got some really awesome things coming up this fall that I sort of told you about, like some bridge classes and some Mahjong tile classes.

There's book discussion groups.

There's something for every type of learner.

And so I would encourage them to come into a branch, pick up a Bookends, make sure their card is up to date, get a cup of coffee, and let us tell you how we can help you.

Excellent.

And just to piggyback off of that real quickly, I know that public libraries are major community players.

They collaborate with different agencies in the county transportation, transit, et cetera.

So on that note, we're going to have to end it though, Katie.

Thank you so much.

We really appreciate you talking to us about this.

You're welcome.

Glad to be here.

And we want to leave you with some websites and phone numbers where you can go for more information on services and programs for older adults in our libraries.

I'm Jennifer Moore.

Thanks for watching and good night.

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