Age Friendly Nostalgia CD display.Older music from the 1920s to the 1960s for older people to enjoy.

Description

I took over the role of Age Friendly Champion in Blackpool Library (a branch of Cork City Library) in May 2023. For one of my Age Friendly initiatives, I came up with the idea of putting together a collection of CDs which would be of interest to older people; jazz music, wartime music and music from the 1920s up to the 1960s. This collection includes rare CD boxsets with booklets of the following singers: The Platters, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Billy Vaughn and Bing Crosby. Music is very important for older people who have dementia. A library I worked in before had a music circle every week for people with dementia, and they got great enjoyment out of the group and were able to sing along. It has been shown that a person’s memory of music does not fade even if other memories are lost. Because I had seen this group in action and how beneficial it was for older patrons and their health and wellbeing, I decided it would be a good idea to put together a music collection tailored especially for older people, for healthy ageing. I also believe that music is important for older people who live on their own, as it provides company in a way and brings back memories.

Once I had put together the collection, I set about developing it by ordering new jazz and nostalgia CDs that enhanced the collection; CDs of prominent jazz singers and singers from the 1950s and 1960s that we did not already have. I then created an attractive CD display with a poster I had designed, promoting it as an Age Friendly initiative. Each time there was an event or festival or the death, anniversary or birthday of a singer of older music, I took the opportunity to do a themed display to make the collection more interesting. For example, I did a Christmas display with CDs of older Christmas music. For Valentine’s Day, I did a themed display of love song CDs. When the jazz singer Tony Bennett died, I did a themed display of his CDs (and we have a large collection of his CDs). I also work on developing the nostalgia, jazz and Christmas CD collection on an ongoing basis by sending a list of CDs to the music librarian for ordering.

After putting together the CD collection on a stand, I set about publicising the Age Friendly CD display in different places that I hoped would reach older people who would be interested in it. I advertised it on two local radio stations, CUH FM (which generally has an older audience) and Cork Community Radio. I put up posters about it and advertised it on the local page of the Cork Echo newspaper. I also advertised it on social media. And I sent it in to the Age Friendly newsletter. I hoped that these methods of advertisement would reach as wide a number of older people in the community as possible.

The response to the displays and CD collection has been very positive. There is a great interest in the collection, and 3-4 CDs are requested on the library pull list (list of library requests) every day, and the collection is regularly browsed through. CDs are borrowed from it, mainly by the older population, on a regular basis.

Aim of Initiative

To provide joy in the form of music to older people and healthy ageing, and to be inclusive of older people and their needs and what they like. Many older people who live alone are lonely and only have the radio for company. Music can provide company, nostalgic memories and enjoyment and cheer people up, especially if it’s music from their childhood or from when they were growing up. It can also help people with dementia, because even if people with dementia find it hard to talk or remember things, they can still sing and remember song lyrics, and it is very enjoyable for them. Music is also very good for people’s heath, as it makes people happy.

Who is it aimed at

Older people who like older music from the 1920s up to the 1960s, and also jazz music. Music is healing and comforting, and also very helpful for older people who have dementia; as I mentioned above, it has been shown that even if people with dementia find it hard to talk or remember things, they can still sing and remember song lyrics, and it is very enjoyable for them.

3 Steps critical to success

1. Develop and put together an interesting collection of CDs from the 1920s to the 1960s, including jazz and wartime music, in the form of an attractive display which is eye-catching and which would be appealing to older people.
2. Do themed displays of this nostalgia and jazz CD collection at regular intervals for festivals/holidays, for example Valentine’s Day, Christmas, Halloween, summertime, and around the date of an anniversary, birthday or death of a well-known singer from the 1920s to 1960s, for example, Tony Bennett and Astrud Gilberto, who both died last year.

   I have photos of my displays on a Word document, but the document would not attach on the last page of this online form, so I will be emailing in the photos.

3. Publicise the CD collection display in places that would reach older people who would be interested in it, for example, on the radio, on the newspaper, on posters in the branch and around the area, on social media and on the Age Friendly Ireland newsletter.

3 Challenges in Planning / Delivery

1. Developing this dedicated Age Friendly CD collection takes time, as the music librarian only orders new CDs a few times a year, and as there are 10 branches of Cork City Library, she can only spend a small amount of money on new CDs for each branch. However, the collection is quite big now. I am still developing it gradually.
2. Getting the word out so that older people know that this initiative is available to them. It’s important to use every type of possible method to publicise the CD collection amongst older people, using the radio, newspaper, posters, social media and the Age Friendly Ireland newsletter.
3. Quantifying people’s enjoyment of the music is impossible, but I do believe that music can only benefit older people and provide healthy ageing and inclusivity for the older population. Music is so important for health and happiness. I can only imagine that it helps older people, but I cannot quantify this.

3 Outcomes / Benefits

1. More older people are aware of this CD collection than before.
2. The CD collection has become more popular, and more CDs from it are being borrowed, mostly by the older population.
3. Hopefully this initiative is helping with healthy ageing; hopefully it is providing joy and company to older people who love music. It is also inclusive.