Closing the Gap: Public Libraries and Senior Learners

Abstract

This executive position paper (EPP) examines the gap in Delaware’s public library services to senior citizens engaged in lifelong learning. Re-envisioning the public library as a center that provides support of lifelong learning for the whole individual and improving the quality of life for Kent County’s seniors is one approach that may keep libraries relevant and vibrant in these changing times. In the course of examining the need for a cultural center in a library setting to fulfill the lifelong learning needs of Central Delaware seniors, a gap in library services and the library literature was discovered. This gap supports the original need for the study, but also indicates that public libraries state- and nation-wide need to broaden their vision, services, and training to address the gap in senior services.