Growing Older – Liz Taylor

My column addresses the many big and little dilemmas that people face as they age. It’s intended for middle-aged and older women and men who are concerned about the needs of their aging parents — and their own future needs. I’ll offer practical information and answer questions to help people make informed choices, and examine the issues that affect us as we grow older.

A starting point for locating eldercare services

Seventh of a series

Over the past six columns, I’ve been laying out the strategies, piece by piece, to help you become a savvy consumer… (Mon, 4/24)

• Basic Older Needs Assessment form (PDF)
• Part 1 | A new series on making wise eldercare choices
• Part 2 | Shop for eldercare like you would for a car
• Part 3 | Choosing eldercare? Know what’s out there
• Part 4 | Balance long-term care needs with costs
• Part 5 | What loved one can, can’t do should determine what you do
• Part 6 | Four factors in defining level of care you need

New Report Includes “Call to Action” on Libraries and Active Older Adults

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, April 12, 2006
http://www.imls.gov/news/2006/041206.shtm

As the first of the baby boomers turn 60, public libraries are preparing to offer creative alternatives to retirement…. A new report from Americans for Libraries Council (ALC) and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) describes this demographic revolution and offers guidance and examples of model programs to public libraries interested in connecting these active older adults to new opportunities for learning, work, and community service.

Designs for Change: Libraries and Productive Aging gathers insights from a day-and-a-half-long Library Leaders Forum, held September 26- 27, 2005, in Washington, DC. …Forum participants concluded that traditional adult services for “seniors” fall short in appealing to the interests of these older adults, and don’t take full advantage of their willingness to work, volunteer, and impart expert knowledge within the community.

“Libraries have the potential to make the process of re-imagining and revision possible,” said Mary Catherine Bateson, anthropologist, author, and one of the forum’s featured speakers…. A theme throughout the forum was the need to rethink stereotypes of aging and to find new ways in which libraries can connect older adults to opportunities that benefit both individuals and their communities….

Download
Designs for Change: Libraries and Productive Aging
(PDF format; 1.7 MB). Hard copies may be obtained directly
from ALC at 646.336.6236.

Environmental Impacts of Hurricane Katrina

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2006. http://scout.wisc.edu/ (a most excellent resource)

Environmental Impacts of Hurricane Katrina [pdf]

http://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/hurricane_katrina/

Over the past few months, a number of government agencies have worked diligently to assist those affected by Hurricane Katrina, often working in tandem with other units of government throughout the region. One agency that is working to assess the marine environmental impacts of Katrina is the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The site is fairly simple to navigate, as it essentially contains a number of links to some of the projects they are currently working on throughout the region. Some of these projects include assessments of the marine mammal and turtle health and monitoring the area for harmful algal blooms. Visitors may also wish to learn about the currently deployed vessels that are out working in the area, or they may also want to take a look at their links section. [KMG]

Elderbloggers Stake Their Claim

This is from the NY Times,
which usually requires a free registration to read. If you haven’t tried reading blogs or even writing your own, take a look at the article and sample Ronni’s blog and blogroll, linked to the right of this page under more to share. O’Folks, off their rocker is on there, too! although we tend to be more informational rather than expository.

With a breadth of experience and perspective, older bloggers are staking out a place in the blogosphere — a medium overwhelmingly dominated by the young. Perhaps more attentive to grammar and less likely to use cutesy cyberspeak, older bloggers expound on topics as varied as poetry and politics, gardening and grandmothering. According to a recent report by the Perseus Development Corporation, a research company that studies online trends, the Internet is home to approximately 54.3 million blogs, nearly 60 percent written by people younger than 19. Just 0.3 percent of blogs are run by people 50 or older, yet that’s still about 160,000 bloggers.

“I’m a big, big advocate of older people blogging,” said Ronni Bennett, 65, author of the large and active Time Goes By (timegoesby.net). The “blogroll” on the left-hand side of her site has links to more than 100 blogs written by people 50 and older, many of them 65 and older….Blogging helps keep older minds sharp, offers a platform in which to express views and opens social networks all over the world, Ms. Bennett said.