News Release

UNC Institute on Aging to Co-Host 2007 Lifelong Access Libraries Institute

April 14, 2007
updated July 28, 2007

Building on the success of last year, the second annual national Lifelong Access Libraries Institute will again be co-hosted by the UNC Institute on Aging and the UNC School of Information and Library Science (SILS) on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from July 30 – August 3, 2007.

The institute is the second of three to be offered by Americans for Libraries Council and brings to the area a group of librarians chosen by the ALC to lead in the effort to transform and enhance library services for older adults.

The Institute aims to produce leaders who can revolutionize library services for adults the same way children's services have been transformed.

Fellows attending this year's institute will focus their efforts in the following areas:

1. Concepts and research underlying new approaches to working with midlife and older adults.
2. Skills in community librarianship.
3. Core components of the Lifelong Access Libraries framework, a model for working with active older adults that promotes aging through lifelong learning and civic engagement.
4. Leadership skills for introducing change.

Twenty new Lifelong Access Fellows will attend the Institute. These fellows, chosen through a competitive process, will join last year's attendees in using the Lifelong Access Libraries framework and in building a national community of practice.

Among these 20 new fellows is one SILS student, Marian Fragola, who also works as the humanities coordinator for Durham County Libraries, where she helps to provide programming to older adults, particularly those in minority communities.

Joanne Marshall is leading a research team to evaluate the ALC's national Lifelong Access Libraries Initiative as well as the Leadership Institute. The Institute is being jointly hosted at UNC by SILS and the UNC Institute on Aging.

The Lifelong Access Libraries Institute is one component of ALC's multi-year Lifelong Access Libraries Initiative, funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies. The $2.7 million grant is enabling the development of a nationwide network of Lifelong Access Libraries, showcasing a new model for library services focused on baby boomers and older adults making the transition to active civic participation and lifelong learning in retirement.