Times Chronicle & Public Spirit
WOW on the move
Program provides public library service to seniors via a bookmobile
NORRISTOWN >> September is Healthy Aging Month, and pros in the geriatric field generally agree reading helps keep people mentally sharp as they get older. In fact, a number of studies reason the potential benefits of reading — aside from simple enjoyment — range from reduced stress and better sleep to enhanced memory.
The folks who run Montgomery County-Norristown Public Library’s Words on Wheels and Books by Mail programs — not to mention the hundreds of patrons who use the free services — don’t need convincing.
WOW was started in 1979 to provide public library service to seniors via a fully-stocked bookmobile that now makes regular stops at dozens of 55-plus living facilities in Montgomery County. Books by Mail delivers library materials to patrons of any age who are permanently or temporarily homebound. All items are mailed in courier bags and include prepaid, return postage labels. Requests can be made by phone, email or postal service.
According to MC-NPL Bookmobile and Outreach Services Head Sue Horning, both programs are “very popular.”
“The Words on Wheels program was started in 1979 by our former boss who had the library buy a bread truck that he built shelves in,” Horning continues. “We stocked it, and off it went…just an old bread truck. Now, we’re on our third, custom-built vehicle, and we go to 44 different facilities at the moment. So, the program has been around for 43 years, but it builds and gets bigger every year…especially with all the new (senior) facilities that have been built in the last few years.
“We had been going to the different facilities twice a month. But with the staff shortages we’ve had this past year, we’ve had to cut it down to once a month… although we’re hoping to get back to twice a month because it’s so popular. The people in the places we go to are all very appreciative. With COVID, the library was shut down for three months. But people kept calling, wanting to know when we were coming back, and by the spring of 2021 — with all the safety precautions in place — we were pretty much back in business.”
WOW’s patrons are typically partial to popular, best-selling authors “like John Grisham, James Patterson, David Baldacci, Nora Roberts, Debbie Macomber, Sandra Brown … percentage-wise, probably 60-40 mystery to romance,” Horning says.
“And we also have our biography people…a small group of people who like to read biographies or non-fiction history and things like that.”
Seven of the WOW-served communities reserve titles for on-site book clubs.
“Rydal Park (Jenkintown) has the largest … and gets 26 copies of whatever they’re reading, currently, “The Henna Artist,” and Gloria Dei Farms (Hatboro) is the smallest with 10 copies and is currently reading “The Language of Flowers,” Horning says. “The other facilities with clubs — Dock Woods (Lansdale), Samuel A. Green House (Elkins Park), Sanatoga Ridge (Pottstown), Normandy Farms Estates (Blue Bell) and Meadowood (Lansdale) are somewhere in between.
“They send me a list of the books they’re interested in, and I let them know whether we have enough copies. Most of them need at least a few large print copies, and a couple of them also need audio copies. Then, every year, I put together a list of what they’ve all read and send them to the various clubs…so they have an idea of what other clubs are reading. Sometimes, they want to talk to one another about the different books, and I coordinate that, too.”
Horning says MC-NPL’s Books by Mail patrons request similar titles but are “all over the place” demographically.
“There’s no age limit for this,” she explains. “The program is strictly: Are you homebound? If you’re disabled for whatever reason, you’re eligible. For example, if you broke a leg and you’re going to be laid up for a couple of months, you’re eligible. If you don’t drive, you’re eligible. Most of the people we’ve had are seniors, but there’ve also been quite a few younger people.”
Horning calls both WOW and Books by Mail “invaluable.”
“As a lifelong reader myself, I can’t imagine being stuck somewhere and not having access to books,” she says. “And that’s exactly the feedback we get from so many folks, especially after we were closed for so many months during the pandemic. Most of the senior facilities do have libraries, but if you’re an avid reader, as a lot of our customers are, you could easily go through 12 books in a month…or even two weeks. So, I can’t even begin to describe how valuable both services are, especially if you’re homebound. These patrons are dedicated readers. Book lovers. And you just can’t put a value on these services.”
MC-NPL is located at 1001 Powell St., Norristown. Additional information is available at 610-278-5100, ext. 7, or bookmobiles@ mclinc.org.