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Treasures of our Library The special service for home-bound patrons This unusual service is custom-designed to help "shut-in's" and patrons of our library who have physical disabilities making it difficult, or impossible, for them to carry a number of books at a time. It is directed by Pam Douglas, whose title is "Home Service Coordinator". Its clientele is not large - averaging about 25 persons - but the value of its services to many individual clients can hardly be measured in words. This branch of our library's organization has been functioning as such for about fifteen years. As our community's population gradually ages, through demographic changes progressively weighting the upper end of the scale, the proportion of handicapped persons slowly rises, and this is mirrored by growing needs for the library's home service programme. Many of its clients need the help of this service for several years, but others turn to it for help for limited periods, perhaps following a fracture or a debilitating illness. The Coordinator keeps a file for each client, which records not only personal details but also the client's reading preferences. For example, does he prefer war stories? and does she want mystery novels? There may be a note stating that a certain patron has arthritic hands, too painful to hold a book much heavier than a small paperback. Much care and thought goes into the choice of books, and careful note is made of special requests. To avoid duplication over the years, Pam maintains a list of the books lent to each patron. One specialized sub-section of this service helps patrons with mild to moderate vision impairment, for whom the library keeps an extensive stock of large print books. Each client is sent a selection of books once a month, usually about ten to twenty, to choose from. Often, the Coordinator receives a phone call to say how pleased the patron was by the selection sent There is a priceless - and much cherished - social side to these exchanges. To many home bound people, who are often elderly with few or no surviving relatives or close personal friends, the telephone contacts with this service are banner occasions. Delivery / return of these monthly "bag of goodies" is the responsibility of The Friends of the Library. Those of us involved can testify that the arrival of a new selection of books is sometimes greeted with touching thanks. The scope of this service ranges from Horseshoe Bay to the British Properties and beyond. Patrons understand that each bag of books may be kept for one month, but extensions are freely allowed. Occasionally, a bag of books may be picked up by a relative or friend at one of the scheduled stops of the Bookmobile, though in such cases the selections are usually made from choices in the vehicle's shelves. Sometimes a patron will ask for a "talking book" tape or video, and special efforts are made to include these with the book selections. On occasion, Coordinator Pam Douglas switches hats, and drives the Bookmobile herself. Pam has a list of seventeen members of the Friends who have indicated on their membership forms that they are prepared to help with home deliveries. Inevitably, though, three stalwarts - Eric Lehmann, Wayne Leigh-Spencer and Wanda Osborne - seem to carry most of the burden. Perhaps it is appropriate at this time of the year to ask more members to give assistance with this responsibility of our organization. Those who have already worked on this project should get in touch with Pam directly to discuss availability, and any new volunteers should contact Membership Secretary Maureen Eagle: Pam Douglas 925 7400 Maureen Eagle 922 8507