EDENMORE NURSING HOME WELCOMES HOME LIBRARY SERVICE

Edenmore Nursing Home are delighted and honoured to partner with Ilfracombe Library to welcome the Home Library Service through their doors and open their residents to the wonderful world of literature.

The Home Library Service is a bespoke book delivery service that is fully funded and available for the residents, fondly referred to as family members by the home, who are no longer able to go to the library for their books of choice.

Volunteer led, books are picked based on the reader’s interests and hand delivered every 4 weeks, giving those who receive them enough time to read through what they have chosen and then exchange for new ones. As the weeks pass, volunteers can befriend family members and bond over the joy of reading.

Not only does the Home Library Service deliver books, but there are also audiobooks and tablets available to borrow, making the service accessible for those with sight loss and granting access to a wide range of books, newspapers, and magazines online.

North Devon MP, Selaine Saxby, commented “Ilfracombe is a wonderful community, and it is great to see their library working with a local care home to provide a fully funded home library service. I do hope that this is a model that can be used elsewhere across North Devon.”

It is widely known that reading can be a great brain exercise, as well as a relaxing outlet to relieve stress levels. Stimulating stories with captivating illustrations can ignite feelings of joy, curiosity, and nostalgia, especially if a person has been an avid reader in their lifetime. The service has exemplified the importance of such communal gatherings in promoting a sense of belonging and shared experiences. The team remain dedicated to crafting more heartwarming experiences that enrich the lives of its residents and bring the community closer together.

Edenmore Nursing Home is based in Ilfracombe, North Devon. It’s approach to life recognises the values, beliefs and identity of each person. Each person that may need support is unique and by understanding one’s life history, one’s journey in life, by striving to be a true continuation of home, the team at Edenmore Nursing Home create a place where everyone feels safe and never alone.

To find out more about Edenmore Nursing Home, visit: https://www.edenmorenursinghome.com/

Devon Libraries Lockdown Bunting Project

One day this will all be over. When it is, we at Devon Libraries want to celebrate... and what community event would be complete without swathes of colourful bunting!? 

So, we are asking our locked-down library friends to help us create bunting flags for the library.

Whilst the libraries have been closed to the public during the Coronavirus lockdown it has been easy enough for us to engage with some of our service users online. We are currently running book groups, Lego clubs and creative challenges via library social media accounts. We are also offering free e-books and audio books, online magazines and access to music, Ancestry Library Edition, Medici.TV and online reference resources for all library members via the Devon Libraries website.

Many people rely on libraries for social interaction. For many older and isolated customers we have been a friendly voice at the end of the telephone in recent weeks. Our staff have been in regularly contact with our most vulnerable customers providing information, support and calling for a friendly chat.

However, apart from ‘phone calls to our customers; we are finding it difficult to interact with those who are not internet users. Our bunting project is a way of helping everyone feel a part of the community under lockdown and for us all to look forward to a brighter (bunting decorated) future.

How to make your bunting:We are asking contributors to make triangular flag bunting with dimensions of 5” across the top and 6” from the top to bottom. You can use any fabric, single or double layered, in any colour and sew, glue or staple depending on your level of skill!

Once the lockdown is lifted and we reopen you can deliver your bunting flags to your local library. If you are housebound just give your library a call and they will arrange for a volunteer to come and collect the flags from you.

Your local library in Devon is managed by Libraries Unlimited, the charity responsiblefor running Devon and Torbay Libraries. The Bunting Project is just one of the activities in the wide Libraries Unlimited cultural offering.For further information and full contact details for your local library please visit our web page https://www.devonlibraries.org.uk/web/arena/northamlibrary