Elder Outreach

David Kelsey spent most of his life volunteering at senior facilities, so his outreach programs at St. Charles Public Library are a natural extension. “I wanted to be a minister growing up,” he says, but chose the “outreach ministry” of librarianship instead.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, his team offered more than 35 programs a month at 10 facilities to engage seniors with dementia, with “a focus on inspiring reminiscence and triggering conversations,” Kelsey says. “That we are able to provide such meaningful programming makes my heart so happy.” Under his leadership, the number of homebound patrons served by the library has grown by 350 percent. He has also spearheaded partnerships with the local hospital, homeless shelter, county judicial center, Meals on Wheels, and more, and been active in bookmobile and other outreach vehicle services.

Even during the pandemic, Kelsey has found ways to reach out, offering virtual programming to senior facilities—his is one of the first libraries to do so, he says—and supplying books and activity kits.

Kelsey cofounded the Reaching Across Illinois Library System’s (RAILS) Serving Patrons with Dementia Group, which he says is the first networking group of this type in the country, and has presented seminars on senior services for the American, Public, and Illinois Library Associations.

Kelsey says his career was inspired by his mother, a middle school librarian. He credits library management for letting him make the outreach program his own, saying libraries are vital in enriching seniors’ lives.

Post-pandemic, he plans to keep expanding services. “We just established partnerships with two new senior facilities, and I can’t wait to meet all the residents in person.”