Published 22nd July 2024
Inspire’s flagship libraries have achieved recognition for their efforts to be inclusive and welcoming to people of all ages.
Inspire who run culture, learning and libraries on behalf of Nottinghamshire County Council audited their four largest libraries against the Age-Friendly Standards to measure the steps they have taken to make a visit to the library more welcoming and accessible to older people.
Beeston, Mansfield Central, West Bridgford and Worksop Libraries have been awarded Age-Friendly Standards status in recognition of the physical environment, cultural programme, staff awareness and behaviour, practises, and communications to provide a positive experience for all visitors regardless of age.
The Age-Friendly Standards are a national self-assessed accreditation for cultural organisations and a recognised and trusted symbol for older audiences and family groups, including older people. They are designed to complement the existing Family Arts Standards, which codify good practice in welcoming families, and which Inspire has held for the same flagship libraries since 202x. The Age-Friendly Standards provide specific guidance on welcoming older generations.
Inspire can now proudly display the logo in the four flagship libraries and associated literature to affirms that they have considered the often more complex needs of older visitors. These Standards were developed in consultation with older arts attenders, a range of arts and ageing experts, and a large number of arts and cultural organisations across the UK.
Some of the highlights of the audit undertaken at Inspire are;
- Inspire aims to build relationships with older people through its provision of events, in particular its adult learning courses, regular clubs for all ages, Dementia Friendly film programme and Places of Welcome, a welcoming friendship group held in libraries.
- Community Makers, Inspire’s volunteer programme welcomes people of all ages and encourages older people to join to keep them active in their communities.
- Inspire builds partnership with other organisations, places and services to reach older people.
- Inspire considers accessibility across all touchpoints from the physical environment to customer interactions and their website. This includes securing funding for accessible walk-through videos of the four venues.
“We have worked hard to build our offer to welcome people of all ages and are really proud that we achieved the Age- Friendly Standards to complement our Family Arts recognition. We recognise there is always more work to do and are looking to make ongoing improvements, for example to improve access information in our venues, working with older artists to deliver activities and providing more age focused initiatives.”
“This is really good for my residents it gets them out, it gives them a cinema experience, the £1 price is fantastic. It’s well worth coming, it’s a lot lighter, it’s not as loud. If it’s too loud they can’t settle, so it’s really good for people with dementia.”
“I live on my own, it’s nice to hear different ladies and gentlemen, hear what they’re doing, and it makes life more interesting. It’s something to look forward to. During the week if you’re not doing very well you can come here and feel uplifted.”
