Down Memory Lane: an age friendly craft and music programme created by Douglas Library

Description

Douglas Library established a new age-friendly and dementia-friendly programme in 2021 called Down Memory Lane.

The aim of the programme was to welcome back our older patrons to the library following the lifting of Covid restrictions in a warm, social and fun setting and to also support residents in the local nursing homes during a time of extreme isolation from family and friends.

There are 2 strands to the programme: craft workshops that support both library users and residents in our local nursing homes, and a monthly music café series that is held on the 1st Wednesday of the month here in Douglas Library.

We secured DAF funding to support the craft element in 2021 successfully ran a series of workshops in Marymount nursing home facilitated by Cork artists Carmel Creaner and Anne Kiely.

In 2022, we secured more DAF funding to support another series of craft workshops in both Marymount and in Maryborough nursing homes, and to also support the development of the new music café series in Douglas Library.

The craft workshops were very popular with the nursing home residents and proved invaluable at a time when extended restrictions were still in place in the nursing home settings. The 2021 workshops were held online but thankfully the second series of workshops in 2022 were held in the nursing homes which was marvellous.

The Down Memory Lane music café series also proved tremendously popular with all our patrons and we would usually have 80-90 attending the café from all over the city. The music café series is facilitated by Linda Kenny and Alf McCarthy of the Everyman Theatre and supported by Maurice Healy on keyboard. The morning consists of music and memories, stories and images from days gone by with a different theme each month. Alf also does a special Those Were the Days reminiscence piece which is very memorable. The library also provides teas and coffees served in old fashioned China tea cups and old fashioned biscuits – all to help trigger warm memories from days gone by and to ensure the warmest of welcomes is felt by everyone attending.

Down Memory Lane programme was created to help break down the fear surrounding social settings for our older community during and following Covid restrictions. Such was the success of the programme, and with special thanks to DAF funding and to the talent and creativity of our facilitators, the programme has been extended to 4 other Cork City Library branches in 2023 – in Bishopstown, Tory Top, Hollyhill and Mayfield.

Aim of Initiative

The aim of the programme was to welcome back our older patrons to the library following the lifting of Covid restrictions in a warm, social and fun setting and to also support residents in the local nursing homes during a time of extreme isolation from family and friends.

The programme also aims to support those with dementia and early onset memory loss.

Who is it aimed at

The initiative is aimed at our older community in general and also supports those with dementia or early onset memory loss to help trigger memories from days gone by through music and images, stories, poetry.

3 Steps critical to success

1. Douglas Library reached out and collaborated with its patrons to explore the idea of a new craft and music cafe series and there was great excitement about the programme ideas at a time of great hardship and isolation amongst our older patrons.
2. Funding from the Dormant Accounts Fund in 2021 made the craft programme possible and further funding in 2022 enabled Douglas Library to organise more craft workshops and to expand the programme to include the new music café element.
3. Collaboration with our craft facilitators was critical to the success of the craft element of the programme. Artists Carmel Creaner and Anne Kiely of the Cork Textile Network and very talented and experienced in the nursing home setting. Equally, collaboration with our facilitators Linda Kenny, Alf McCarthy and Maurice Healy was critical to the success of our music café series. Linda and colleagues have years of experience in the music business and have a special love of creating musical programmes for the older community through their Sunday Songbook at the Everyman Theatre which celebrated 20 years this year. Linda also collaborated with a number of nursing homes during Covid restrictions and greatly appreciated and supported the aims of the Down Memory Lane programme.

3 Challenges in Planning / Delivery

1. During the first series of craft workshops in 2021, they had to be held online due to COVID restrictions. Alot of planning was put into place by both the facilitators Carmel and Anne and the event co-ordinators in the nursing homes to ensure the workshops were created in such a way that would enable the artists to communicate the craft element and to feel like they were closer to the residents.
2. When we launched the Down Memory music café series in May 2022 we expected to have around 30 – 40 in attendance each month. However from the first month onwards we had at least 70 in attendance and usually between 80-90 in attendance so we had to rethink the space and alot of work went on in the background for the library staff to ensure the space was adequate. We achieved this by expanding the community space each month, pushing back shelving and investing in more seating.
3. Securing funding is always a challenge and we were very fortunate to have received funding for the 2021 and 2022 Down Memory Lane programme from the Dormant Accounts Fund. Hopefully again in 2024 we might get another opportunity to secure more DAF funding to continue and further expand the programme.

3 Outcomes / Benefits

1. The Down Memory Lane craft workshops were a great success in both Marymount and Maryborough nursing homes. 21 workshops were organised in total between 2021 and 2022 between the two nursing homes and approximately 160 residents in total benefited from the programme. The residents had tremendous fun at the workshops and the events co-ordinators made sure to rotate the participants every few weeks so that all the residents could benefit from the workshops. The mixture of crafts and nostalgic images and songs helped trigger memories and start conversations of olden days amongst the participants. The facilitators Carmel and Anne engaged with the participants in weekly workshops. The facilitators helped the residents create textile pieces. There was also a lot of singing during the workshops and a lot of conversations about memories and stories the residents had from when they were younger. A lot of meetings were also held before the workshops with the nurses and activity co-ordinator of Marymount and during these meetings Carmel and Anne discussed and agreed with Marymount a loose structure of the workshops which would evolve once participants shared their interests and preferences.• At the end of the last series of workshops held at Marymount in December 2022, activity co-ordinator Mairin Cronin thanked Douglas Library, Carmel and Anne, adding:

   “The Down Memory Lane programme has proved meaningful & engaging. This project enables residents at Marymount to remain active members of their local community, for that I am truly grateful”.

2. Equally, the music café series has brought our older patrons back together in the library setting, in a safe and welcoming and age-friendly environment. It has also helped dilute a fear about the outdoors and about social settings that so many of our older patrons felt during COVID restrictions. The music café series is tremendously popular with both our library patrons and with the general public both locally and from right across the city and has truly become a lifeline for all who attend. We would normally have 90 to 100 in attendance each month. Seating is limited and for an event that begins at 11am we would often have guests arriving well before 10.30 to secure their seats and enjoy their cuppa before the sing song begins! One group in particular that benefits greatly from the Down Memory Lane music café series is our local Young at Heart active retirement group. Co-ordinator Phil Goodman recently commented:“We are so lucky here in Douglas with the vast array of events that are available in the library, it caters for young and old, we are especially grateful to the wonderful Librarian Yvonne Moloney, who is giving so much joy and pleasure to our older people with the concert, Down Memory Lane every month, everyone is made so welcome.”

   Such is the success of the Down Memory Lane music café series, there has been demand from patrons from other communities across Cork to bring the programme to their libraries. On the back of this positive feedback, Douglas Library secured extra Dormant Accounts funding to take the show on the road and a number of our other branches will host extra café sessions between April and September 2023. These branches include:

   o Bishopstown Library
   o Hollyhill Library
   o Tory Top Library
   o Mayfield Library

3. Following the lifting of COVID restrictions, the library setting here in Douglas Library has once again become a safe, welcoming and sociable setting for so many of our older patrons. The Down Memory Lane programme contributed greatly to the breaking down of the fear barrier that was felt by so many and brought a sense of fun and joy back to so many of our patrons.