BARRHEAD - Two local residents will have their name live on the library at Hillcrest Seniors Lodge.
Shelley Oswald started the library at Hillcrest prior to COVID.
Renovations completed last year, made possible with a donation from long-time residents Wilfred and Anna Seals, have upgraded the onsite library for residents to a showpiece addition. The library was named after the Seals in recognition of their gift.
“One of the avid readers at the Lodge has read every single book on the Seal library shelves already” shared Kyle Hughes during a July 16 visit, Tech Support with the Barrhead Library.
The first and third Tuesday of the month the Barrhead Library’s Kyle Hughes brings books, shares information about programs and does tech support for the seniors.
“Kyle has all the answers. He tells everybody how to use the computers. He tells me what to do,” joked Susan McLaren, library board member.
McLaren is a library celebrity who was a librarian for the Pop Talk program in Barrhead in the 1990s.
COVID interrupted the library support visits, which resumed in February of this year.
Seniors can make book requests and book holds on the mobile system and receive their books at the next support visit.
There are 200 residents and tenants at the Hillcrest seniors lodge that have access to the onsite Seal library and the books there.
It offers a lovely spot to read for the readers onsite.
Hughes had a stack of books on Newfoundland for one of the library patrons.
Her husband was from Newfoundland, and she wanted to read as much as she could about his homeland, including maps, according to Hughes.
Eyesight challenges faced by seniors can make reading books difficult explained Hughes.
CNIB and Cela have services for people who are legally blind or have vision impairments, which is statistically ten percent of the average population.
They have created a handheld audio book system, ENVOY Connect, that audio books can be loaded on, for readers to enjoy hearing a book read to them.
The Envoy Connect unit is the first solar-powered, compact audio player that can be pre-loaded with books and mailed out to interested readers.
You can learn more about it at cnibsmartlife.ca/products/preloaded-envoy-connect-talking-book-player.
