For Mt. Prospect book lovers confined to their homes, it’s more than just a matter of getting books to read.
The books themselves are important, of course, because they provide companionship, can be an escape and help keep their minds sharp.
“I don’t know what I’d do if I couldn’t read,” said Dorothy Breen, 84, who with husband Patrick, 79, has been receiving books in her home for five years via the Mt. Prospect Library’s homebound delivery program.
But monthly visits from the library volunteers help brighten the day and provide some contact with the outside world.
“She’s a doll,” Mae Peterson said of Nan Meier of Mt. Prospect, a library volunteer who brings her flowers and once took her to a luncheon the library holds to recognize its volunteers.
For more than 20 years, the Mt. Prospect Library has offered delivery of books for homebound patrons, whether they are temporarily sidelined or permanently incapacitated.
“Other people in their lives might help them get groceries,” said Brenda Leigh Weiner, community services coordinator for the Mt. Prospect Library. “This is something they don’t have to bother that person for.”
Programs for homebound patrons are common among libraries in the northwest suburbs and are cherished by those who know how to take advantage of the programs.
“It’s like their link to the world,” said Barbara Adrianopoli, director of extension services for the Schaumburg Township Library District, one of the region’s largest homebound programs currently serving about 25 residents.
Among those offering delivery of books to homebound residents are Arlington Heights, Barrington, Prospect Heights, Park Ridge, Schaumburg, Elk Grove Village, Rolling Meadows, Woodstock, Cary, Algonquin and the Indian Trails Library in Wheeling.
In the case of Mt. Prospect and a few other libraries, volunteers help deliver the books to the patrons. The rest rely on staff members. The number of residents taking advantage of these programs ranges from as few as three to as many as 25, although the number fluctuates. Arlington Heights, for example, has had as many as 40 residents receiving home delivery of books. (These figures do not include residents of care centers and senior housing complexes, which are often supplied with books by local libraries.)
The mechanics of such programs are similar. First, patrons must contact the library and establish that they are unable to get to the facility for a period of time.
“They have to be restricted in some way from getting here,” explained Melissa Thomson, programming assistant for the Mt. Prospect Library. The patron can be bedridden or temporarily sidelined because of an injury or no longer have a driver’s license. Thomson said there is no age restriction, although all the current clients in Mt. Prospect are senior citizens whose age and general health prevent them from getting out alone. Usually, they live alone and have no one who can make the trip to the library on their behalf.
Once a resident is accepted, he or she is assigned to a specific librarian, who selects books the patron might be interested in based on information obtained in an interview.
“That’s the challenge right there,” said Mt. Prospect reference librarian Michael Mulholland. “And it’s not what you think. You think all these nice little old ladies want to read about sipping tea in England, but they read the hard-core stuff too.”
That “hard-core” stuff includes romance novels with Fabio-types on the cover. Mysteries are also very popular, as are biographies. Some clients have special interests, like the Civil War. Patrick Breen, who is trying to put together a history of the Breen family, is interested in anything about the times and places the Breens lived.
In Mt. Prospect, patrons may ask for 4 to 10 books to get them through the month, relying on the staff person to select the titles. Mae Peterson likes a variety of books and is generally pleased with the selections sent by the library.
`Some are better than others,” she said, adding that she often gets some ribbing from her grandson for some of the “fluff” she reads. “I read them all. It takes you out of your world.”
Besides subject matter,the staff also must know if the patron needs books printed in large type, or books on tape. The library can also provide magazines and newspapers.
The next step is to assign a volunteer to deliver the books and visit with the patron each month. Each volunteer visits one or two homes. Although the staff people develop a close relationship with the patrons, they rarely get to meet them. It is the volunteers who have the face-to-face contact, and through that they develop a bond with their patrons.
Meier, like most volunteers, will sit and visit, talking about family, recent trips and good books.
“The nicest thing is, after she brings the books she discusses the books and talks with Dorothy about the stuff ladies talk about,” Patrick Breen said. “It’s not just a matter of dropping the books off.”
By the same token, the volunteers find it rewarding. “I thought it was something I could do to contribute,” said Meier, a retired teacher who has been a volunteer in the program for seven years. “I enjoy the people, and they look forward to someone coming.”
The volunteer program for homebound patrons was started by the Mt. Prospect Junior Women’s Club. During the 1980s, the club’s involvement lessened as more residents took an interest in volunteering, but members of the women’s club continued to work with the library.
Today, the volunteers come from a variety of backgrounds. Liza Maza became a volunteer in 1991 after giving birth to her first child. The former editor and proofreader takes her two sons along when she calls on her patron, Barbara Doherty. Maza said her children, whose grandparents live out of town, enjoy interacting with Doherty, and Doherty looks forward to the visits.
Maza said a closeness often develops with the patrons. Her previous assignment was a woman who died suddenly in December, and Maza said she felt the loss personally.
“She wanted some books delivered in October, and I brought them to her,” Maza recalled. “But she didn’t request any for November and nobody called to tell me she was sick.”
Library officials say finding volunteers for this program is easy. The hard part is getting the word out to patrons.
“We know there are more homebound out there we could reach,” Weiner said.
Most library officials agree with Weiner that their programs are not getting to everyone who can benefit because they are simply not aware that the service exists, or that they might be eligible. Interested parties should call their local library for information.
“People forget that if they are going through stroke rehab and expect to be back on their feet, they are eligible for the program (for as long as they can’t get around),” said Carol Moeller, reference librarian for the Elk Grove Village Public Library, which currently has four patrons receiving the service.
Those who do learn about the service are perhaps the best ambassadors for the program because they have come to appreciate the convenience, and the library staff and volunteers have become an important part of their lives.
“I can’t compliment the library as much as I’d like,” said Patrick Breen. “Anything that I ask, they try and do it for me.”
