Undeniably, COVID-19 has profoundly changed life as we know it. The global pandemic has\u00a0had a far-reaching impact on the way we live, work, and play, and everyone, including libraries,\u00a0has had to adjust to a \u201cnew normal\u201d at an alarming pace. In Singapore, the Circuit Breaker was implemented in April to contain the spread of the coronavirus and residents, especially the elderly were advised to stay at home. This meant that all non-essential workplaces including our public libraries were closed for almost two months.\u00a0This unexpected situation meant that we had to promptly rethink our operations and current\u00a0model of programme delivery for older adults and devise new ways to keep them meaningfully\u00a0engaged at home. Before, our programming was mostly focused on onsite activities – many of\u00a0which were designed with the aim of bridging the digital divide among older adults in mind.<\/p>\n
Some examples include our partnerships with other organisations to introduce programmes\u00a0that promote basic digital literacy through one-on-one assistance from volunteers, classroom training, and learning communities. For older adults who were ready to take their digital skills\u00a0to the next level, we also rolled out hands-on workshops that tackled more complex topics,\u00a0such as coding, app development and movie making. This helped to fuel their creativity and\u00a0sustain their interest in the digital sphere.<\/p>\n
While these digital readiness initiatives were already in place, the COVID-19 situation\u00a0established the need to scale them up and deliver them in new ways. Bearing in mind that\u00a0everyone has varying interests and familiarity with technology \u2013 it was crucial to curate\u00a0programmes that could cater to most, if not all. Another key consideration was that certain\u00a0types of programmes would not translate well onto an online platform: this included\u00a0workshops with a heavy emphasis on hands-on activities, or those that required one-to-one\u00a0guidance from the instructor. Programme duration was another factor: information had to be\u00a0delivered in bite-sized chunks due to the possibility of \u201cZoom fatigue\u201d.<\/p>\n
Engaging Older Adults Through Online Programming<\/strong><\/p>\n From the onset, we knew that we wanted to curate a suite of fun, exciting, and engaging\u00a0programmes for older adults, involving programme concepts we had never done before. Some\u00a0environmental scans and brainstorming sessions later, we birthed the #StayHome series, our\u00a0very first online series for older adults. The #StayHome programme series comprise Read, Learn, and Play editions, and featured book recommendations, creative workshops, and games that covered a wide range of topics suitable for those aged 50 and above. These programmes were conducted by librarians or volunteer facilitators. On top of content creation, we supplemented all our virtual programmes with a\u00a0curated list of eBooks and electronic resources that participants would find useful for\u00a0continuing their learning in that particular domain. Here is more about the different editions:<\/p>\n \u00a0#StayHomeAndRead<\/strong>: Spotlights eBooks and encourages the love of reading. Sessions\u00a0featuring non-fiction titles were complemented with hands-on activities (derived from\u00a0the eBooks) to make reading and learning fun and interactive.<\/p>\n Past topics: Exploring the Fantasy Genre, PressReader App, Forest Bathing, K-pop<\/p>\n \u00a0#StayHomeAndLearn<\/strong>: Covers a wide range of topics so older adults can learn and stay\u00a0relevant and connected to trends.<\/p>\n Past topics: Digital Housekeeping, Social Media, Coding, App Development<\/p>\n #StayHomeAndPlay<\/strong>: Engages older adults through cognitive games to improve their\u00a0mental well-being.<\/p>\n Past topics: Print-to-Screen Trivia, Bingo, Word Scrambles<\/p>\n Despite having no prior experience with online programming, our enthusiastic volunteer\u00a0programme facilitators were raring to explore the possibility of converting their learning\u00a0communities to online meetups. Their willingness to step up to the challenge and their efforts\u00a0spent tweaking their respective programme concepts successfully brought four of our\u00a0volunteer-run learning communities to the virtual platform.\u00a0The virtual approach was adopted for our major events too, namely the Time of Your Life\u00a0Celebration in October, which is an annual celebration of older adults in conjunction with the\u00a0International Day of Older Persons. This year\u2019s event was held in collaboration with the\u00a0Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS), and went fully online with a holistic spread of\u00a0enriching programmes. This involved local and overseas industry experts deliberating on\u00a0pertinent issues in the field of gerontology, which sought to inspire older adults to share about\u00a0what sparked joy and created meaning in their lives.<\/p>\n Getting Older Adults Digitally Ready<\/strong><\/p>\n Although the social distancing measures have affected all of us, it is safe to assume an uneven\u00a0impact on the age groups when it comes to digital-readiness. While the younger generation\u00a0would find it easier to cope with the situation because of their tech-savviness, for the older\u00a0generation, who are less familiar with technology and often rely on face-to-face\u00a0communication and in-store purchases, this meant a dramatic change in their lifestyle. Hence,\u00a0there was an urgent need to get them digitally ready and equipped with the skills required for\u00a0the new normal, such as video conferencing with their loved ones, ordering food and grocery\u00a0deliveries, using electronic payment, and discerning fake news.<\/p>\n This was where the Virtual Digital Clinic (VDC), a collaboration with Singapore\u2019s Infocomm\u00a0Media Development Authority (IMDA), came in. Seniors could join a VDC from the comfort of\u00a0their own home and get their tech-related enquiries answered by a friendly volunteer during\u00a020-minute consultation session. VDCs are held weekly and are available in our four official\u00a0languages \u2013 English, Chinese, Malay, and Tamil, to make it accessible to all.<\/p>\n Promoting the Joy of Reading eBooks<\/strong><\/p>\n For book lovers who were unable to get their regular printed reading materials from our\u00a0libraries, we curated a monthly list of recommended eReads on a range of topics, such as\u00a0Coming of (Old) Age Fiction, Mental Wellness, and Indoor Exercises. These lists were sent out\u00a0in the form of Electronic Direct Mailers (EDMs) to our mailing list subscribers, members of our\u00a0various book clubs and learning communities, as well as strategic partners who could share\u00a0these EDMs with other older adults beyond our usual reach. This monthly mailer also served\u00a0as a good opportunity to encourage older adults to browse our digital collections in the safety\u00a0and comfort of their own home. Along the same vein, our quarterly publication, the Time of\u00a0Your Life: Good Reads for the 50+ magazine is also available for download from our corporate\u00a0website1. Written by librarians, this lifestyle magazine features articles on topics ranging from\u00a0technology to positive ageing, serving as a resource to help older adults keep up with trends.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n