Lost voices: a low cost library initiative to support the Council’s dementia strategy

Abstract

Sefton Library Service goes out into homes and care homes to record the life stories of local people in the first stages of memory loss, to provide a reminiscence tool for the patient’s care and a valuable primary history. The work is delivered in partnership with the Alzheimer’s Society, Age Concern, Age UK and care homes in the Sefton Area, who refer people recently diagnosed with memory loss. Residential care workers are using the material to establish a rapport with their residents and find topics of conversation. Reminiscing to rekindle forgotten memories (cognitive stimulation therapy) has been shown to slow the progression of the condition. Memories recorded include wartime experiences, accounts of childhood times, and family and working lives spent in what is now the Sefton district of Merseyside. The recordings are accessible to the public via the local history archive at Crosby Library. The low cost project has raised the profile of the library service to community groups and decision makers. It has demonstrated the value of libraries in improving the health and wellbeing of the community and their ability to evolve to meet community need.