‘All in one place’: How Geneva library staff planned new Aging Well collection

A book about chair yoga. Painting materials and books about healthy eating. Books about how to use computers or iPads. Stretching exercise books and videos, including one called “ArthritisRX.”

You’re probably catching on to the theme here. It’s all stuff that senior citizens would find helpful when navigating their advancing years.

Geneva Public Library officials in charge of collections had enough proof in their data about what patrons are looking for, as well as just hearing feedback and having a good sense about what older patrons want and need.

So much so that the library has introduced its permanent Aging Well collection display on the second floor of the library at 227 S. Seventh St.

It is now a place for seniors and others to find everything in one spot, from the health and exercise materials to puzzles, games, resources for caregivers and DVDs of nostalgic TV shows.

“This particular display took about three months to create, and we came up with the idea during our strategic planning in just asking where are our gaps (in what is offered)?” said Ellen Anderson, access services manager at the library. “What can we do to reach people we haven’t reached, or get resources to people who need them?”

The answer was the Aging Well display, but it wasn’t just a matter of automatically setting up the long shelving unit and tossing items on the shelves.

“We are aware of our patrons and where they are looking for items in the library,” said Margaux Morrone, collections librarian. “The idea behind this was to put all of these materials in one place so people were not going back and forth throughout the library to find things.”

That’s essentially how the collections display ended up with materials about memory care, accessibility products like magnifying glasses as well as DVDs about fitness, health, and even Andy Griffith or Dick Van Dyke shows or John Wayne movies, Morrone noted.

“We made sure that all of the games we have are easy and high visibility, such as Scrabble with bigger tiles and raised tiles, making them easier to pick up if you have arthritis,” Morrone said.

With all of these materials available for checkout, the ultimate goal of the strategic planners fell into place, not unlike it has for various other collections throughout the library.

A lot of that credit goes to the strategic planning process, said public relations coordinator Chazmin Baechler.

“Accessibility was a huge component, based on the demographic data that we have of our population here in Geneva, with so many aging in place,” Baechler said. “We were looking at ways to bolster our existing collection because we want to keep these types of collections at the forefront.

“I want to shout out to our collections team as they gather all of that anecdotal data from patrons,” Baechler added. “And they collect so much data — spread sheets upon spread sheets — and take all of that into account for our collections. It is not just throwing a dart at the board and trying to guess.”

The response to the collection during its first weeks has been overwhelmingly positive. And it goes beyond those who browse the library regularly.

Anderson, who has worked at the library for 15 years, acknowledged an important layer to the Aging Well display concept.

“Our outreach team also plays into this, going to homes to deliver materials because some of our homebound patrons are taking care of a partner with dementia,” Anderson explained. “The ability of our outreach team to come and take items from this collection to show this type of material exists and is available is important. And that also informed our collection management for the display.”

The library also offers multiple online apps and programs that patrons can download related to Aging Well, such as e-books, audio books, movies and music for people to stream and watch, Anderson noted. The library even goes as far as offering tech help to seniors, with one-on-one sessions to resolve issues with phones, laptops, computers or other technology, she added.

As much as anything, the Aging Well display reminds us that, unless you make the effort to visit and utilize your local library, it’s hard to fully understand what it offers and how advanced it has become.

Anderson sums it up well in saying, “The entire library is a very dynamic space.”

And it recently became even more dynamic for those of us who put a high value on Aging Well.

Movies for a buck

Other than seeing some great old movies on a two-story screen, one of cool things about the Paramount Theatre’s $1 Monday night movies is patrons have to pay with cash at the door — just like the old days.

Bills of $20 or less will be accepted for the $1 entry fee, but patrons can use credit or debit cards at the concession stand.

The movies, which start at 7 p.m., began this month and will run through June in this annual series for the Aurora theater at 23 E. Galena Blvd.

Information about the movies and dates is available at the Paramount website. The next few are “Pretty Woman” on Feb. 23, “Pocahontas” on March 2, “The Hunger Games” on March 9, and “Sixteen Candles” on March 16.

St. Charles stands for freedom

In a follow-up to the recent column about the efforts of Eric Krupa of the St. Charles History Museum in verifying local Underground Railroad safe houses, he tells me “it appears our region is in a very unique position.”

Krupa came to that conclusion after spending a weekend with others across the state involved with the Illinois Network to Freedom Collective. He now believes this area “may have more surviving Underground Railroad sites than any other in the state.”

“St. Charles is especially prominent with over 15 sites that could technically be nominated for the Network to Freedom,” he added. “So, we will try to build that history and see what follows.”

Also, in the previous report, I misunderstood what he was telling me about his collegiate years. He actually attended Winona State University in Minnesota, not the University of Minnesota.

The courthouse speculation

In researching some of the building renovations taking place in our cities for last week’s column, I came across some interesting thoughts from the late Mike Dixon, a prominent St. Charles architect.

In the early 1990s, when Kane County was building a new courthouse at Peck Road and Route 38, Dixon weighed in on what could happen to the historic courthouse on Third Street in Geneva if it were deemed unnecessary for further law work.

He speculated the downtown courthouse could eventually be converted into an indoor shopping mall that would fit in with the rest of that important retail area of the downtown.

That never happened, but neither did one of Dixon’s fears — that the courthouse would just be knocked down after a new one was built.

The old courthouse has continued to serve a purpose to this day with various court hearings and proceedings. Not to mention, a major seating area on its lawn during the Swedish Days summer festival, as well as home for the city's Christmas tree during the holidays.

The first double

It happened purely by accident, likely because I didn’t make myself clear when placing a recent order at Culver’s.

It was my first night of trying carry-out food at a quick-serve restaurant, after more than two months of being saddled with a gastro infection.

I ordered a butter burger with cheese, the menu item Culver’s pushes on its TV and newspaper ads as its signature burger.

The young lady at the register must have thought I said “double burger.” Very understandable, I should note. So, that’s what ended up in my takeout bag.

This would generally be a simple shrug of the shoulders for most folks, but it was much more than that for me. This would mark the first time I have eaten a double cheeseburger.

Sounds crazy, right? Especially for a 72-year-old guy who, over his lifetime, has eaten burgers at every fast-food joint that sells them.

But I have never ordered or eaten a double burger of any kind. I have always considered it an unnecessary excess. And yes, that means I have never had a Big Mac. The quarter pounder, yes. The Big Mac with two patties? No.

As much as anything, I think the McDonald’s pitch about a “secret sauce” kept me away from the Big Mac. I don’t want anything “secret” on any of my food.

As it turned out, the Culver’s butter burgers, whether double or single, are pretty thin. Quite good, but not thick. It made it fairly easy to down a double burger and allow me to chalk it up as a first.

dheun@sbcglobal.net