Library delivers to homebound patrons

Every two weeks, staff and volunteers from Vernon Area Public Library deliver books, movies and music to 120 residents of local assisted living centers who are unable to get to the library on their own. When staff arrive, they are met with happy exclamations and calls down corridors, "The library people are here!"

Between visits, three library staff members load carts with materials hand-picked for each homebound patron. Staff have developed relationships with long-term patrons, some of whom have been receiving deliveries for as many as 10 years. They've asked new service recipients a series of questions to discern their reading, watching or listening preferences: Fiction or nonfiction? Biographies? Historical or contemporary? Large type? Audio books?

"It's a puzzle figuring out what patrons will like and when they like what we pick for them, it's rewarding. We pride ourselves on personal service," said Jennifer Steigerwald, the library's senior and homebound coordinator. "We see the service as a bridge between patrons and the library," she added. "Even though they can't get to the library, they can access anything we lend."

On a Wednesday visit at Sunrise Senior Living in Buffalo Grove, library staff member Mary Roseman and volunteer Betty Gavitt moved from suite to suite to deliver materials and briefly chat with residents. "These library ladies are so nice," remarked 91-year-old Marilyn. "You have big hearts to do this for us," she said.

Later that day, Roseman and Gavitt navigated the maze of corridors stretched along five floors at Sedgebrook in Lincolnshire. Whenever library materials were hand-delivered, they were met with expressions of gratitude, "You're very nice to be here," "I welcome you back any time" and "I couldn't pick out any better books than those you bring me!"

At the end of their rounds, the library cart was filled with books, movies and music to be returned, and Roseman was already thinking about which titles to bring next time. "We get emails and phone calls from our homebound patrons, thanking us and telling us our selections for them were 'spot on' or how our deliveries are like Christmas," she said.

To learn more about the homebound delivery program at Vernon Area Public Library, call 224-543-1406, email senior@vapld.info or visit http://www.vapld.info/services/senior-and-homebound.