Program delivers resources to homebound library users

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This article was published 29/01/2003 (8557 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

PEOPLE who can’t get to their local library due to age, disability, or infirmity can still borrow books and other materials.

The Winnipeg Public Library’s Homebound program brings books, videos, magazines and audio material to homebound residents throughout the city.

Volunteers from eight of the city’s 20 library branches make the deliveries. The branches include Cornish, Munroe, Osborne, St. Boniface, St. James-Assiniboia, St. John’s, West End and Windsor Park.

“We always need volunteers to deliver books in their neighbourhood,” says Olivia Sigfusson, Outreach Services co-ordinator for the Winnipeg Public Library. “We match volunteers and clients geographically.”

Homebound people who would like to take part in the program can call Sigfusson, who will interview them and develop a reader profile noting their reading, listening and video interests.

The reader profile is then delivered to the nearest participating library branch head, who selects materials for the client and arranges for a volunteer to deliver the material and pick up any material the client is done with. The branch head also keeps a tally of what the client has checked out in the past, to avoid duplication of materials.

At the Osborne Branch, branch head Ken Horobin has eight clients in the Homebound program and five volunteers.

“I get the client’s preferences and the formats they want, and I put together material for them,” says Horobin. “I encourage the homebound patron to call me and let me know what they would like and when they need it. I appreciate requests. Since we have to locate the books and materials for them, we encourage them to call us with titles or ideas.”

Horobin says his homebound clients average one to two months between deliveries.

“We have had quite a positive response to the program,” says Horobin. “Volunteers identify themselves with an ID badge and, in some cases, a relationship is established between patrons and volunteers.”

The Homebound program has been offered for a number of years. Currently it serves 54 city clients, and is always in need of volunteers. In order to volunteer, people are asked to contact Karen Glugosh, City of Winnipeg Community Services, Volunteer Services Branch.

Homebound is not the only program that brings the best of the library home to those who have difficulty getting out to their local branch.

Winnipeg Public Library also provides a van service that currently serves 21 seniors’ residences within the city. The van brings boxes of books to the residences’ common area for a one-hour visit once a month, and residents are invited to check out materials on their library card.

In order for a residence to qualify for a monthly van visit, it must be home to at least 100 residents, and the building must have a loading area and parking for the van.

Another option is what’s called a deposit service. With this service, 50 to 100 books are delivered to a seniors’ residence or personal care home and the books are exchanged every four months. Rather than individuals checking the books out, the institution takes responsibility for the materials and must pick items up from residents and return them to library staff when they return. About 10 city complexes currently use the deposit service.

For further information on the Homebound, van and deposit programs, call Olivia Sigfusson at 986-6475. To volunteer with your local library, call Karen Glugosh at 986-3007.

PHOTO LINDA VERMETTE/WINNIPEG FREE PRESS