AI is taking a back seat to AC at the Worth Public Library, which is deploying artificial cuteness as part of a new collection of resources for older residents.
“We’ve looked around to see what we can offer seniors that we’re not doing already, and a permanent collection instead of a senior series” was the result, said Rachel Snyder, library director. “I’ve seen the senior living kits, and I know Alsip and a couple of the libraries have companion pets in their local libraries, so it kind of went from there. It’s one of my favorite things about libraries – we always borrow from each other.”
The new collection in Worth includes about 20 books for older residents and their caretakers, as well as five “healthy living kits” on subjects such as mindfulness, joint health and arthritis. In addition, several memory kits and four special “companion pets” named after literary characters are included.
“They are little robot animals. They are soft to the touch but will respond to you,” Snyder explained. “So if you pet (the cats) they will purr. They move a little bit.”
The companion dogs are Daisy and Scout, and the cats are Mr. Darcy and Hamlet. “Those characters seem like they would be cats,” Snyder said. “They have cat energy.”
Not everyone is as enthusiastic about the artificial animals, which she described as “a loneliness aid.”
“The staff is split,” she admitted. “Half think they are creepy, and half think they are cute.”
Count adult services librarian Charlie Lowery on the cute side. “They look so lifelike! They are great for a senior who wants a furry companion but does not want to deal with all the maintenance,” Lowery said. “They will not cause too much trouble as their real-life versions do.”
Depending on their popularity among the older set, the pets could be deployed for other purposes too. Snyder said one suggestion was to have children practice reading to the animals to boost their confidence. “I thought that was a super fun idea.”
The library is adding more items to its Beyond Books collection that will stay in the senior center. “A lot of them are geared toward adults who have Alzheimer’s or dementia or have disabilities issues,” she said. “It’s similar to busy boards but they are geared toward adults … so we’re not giving them kids’ toys to play with.”
One example of an activity is a blowup ball connected to a memory activity. “You throw it and your hand lands on a prompt to talk about – ’Remember when,’ Snyder said.
Snyder has high hopes for the new collection. “It’s still early days. I think the kits are going to be popular. It’s everything you need in one – three books and three items – so it takes the guesswork out of picking something up.”
For instance, the arthritis kit has hand warmers and specifically built pens and books that accompany it. “So if you’ve just come from the doctor and found out you have arthritis, you can check them out. It’s a good jumping off point to see what you might need to make your life easier,” she explained. “These are things I might want to get or borrow from the library.
“We make things available for people who don’t have the resources to buy them for themselves. Or your mother-in-law is visiting and you know she has joint issues. It has a massage kit in it. You’re not going to use it for a long time or you want to try it before you buy it. That’s where we come in.”
“This section is a great asset to the community,” Lowery said. “There is a clear need for these items as we serve a community with a large senior population. It is great to offer these items for free to patrons.”
They hope that seniors with Alzheimer’s and adults with early onset dementia will check out the items, Lowery said, adding that more craft-themed kits should be included. “People love crafts, no matter their age,” she said.
The collection was funded through a Library CARES award from AgeOptions through funding from the American Rescue Plan Act via the state,” the library’s Facebook page announced. The senior center, part of the library’s Beyond Books collection, came together a few months ago.
Snyder said this is the third year the library has received the grant from AgeOptions, a nonprofit organization based in Oak Park that advocates and funds services for older adults in suburban Cook County.
Anyone who has a library card from the Worth Public Library or is a reciprocal borrower can check out items for two weeks, although everyone has to go to the library in person because the collection isn’t available via interlibrary loan.
Rachel Berlinski, vice president of the Board of Trustees for the Worth Public Library, said it’s important for libraries to support seniors.
“Seniors, especially in our community, are a big part of the community that we serve. A lot of our patrons fall into that age bracket, but not only that, a lot of our patrons, I think about the people that are caregivers for older adults or seniors,” she said. “So there are so many different people in our community that this collection is serving.”
It’s just one more example of Beyond Books, “an experiment and an opportunity to see how people enjoy using resources in the library,” Berlinski said. “It’s a matter of people using it, so hopefully we’ll have patrons who check out the bags and give us feedback. Our staff and our director are really wonderful at talking with our patrons and gauging that and reacting to that with what people like and don’t like.”
She and her fellow board members have confidence in what the library is doing.
“This is an important direction that we want to move in and really trusting our staff to see from day to day what people can make use of. But as a board, we want to be able to support the community with the resources we have at the library,” Berlinski said. “That’s part of what I love about libraries – it’s a community space. It’s a place where people can gather and talk and interact in a way that’s so unique these days. You don’t have to buy anything. It’s sharing stories and resources.”
Berlinski urged people to see what the library has to offer. “There are a lot of resources besides just this senior collection that people can make use of if the word got out more. Let people know there is more than just books,” she said. We’re so centrally located it’s easy enough to stop by once in a while to see what’s going on.”
Snyder said Worth residents and businesses will be getting a mailed library newsletter this month, which hasn’t happened in more than 10 years, and it will be translated into Spanish and Arabic.
“We’re doing a lot of stuff and we’re having a hard time letting people know about it. This will be our chance to get it in front of way more people than we’re reaching now,” she explained. “The library has changed so much since the pandemic. We’ve had to continually pivot since then.”
Melinda Moore is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
