“As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands—one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.”
–Audrey Hepburn
When you visit the Springmoor library—or walk past when it is open—you will usually see a person seated at the desk and think “Oh, s/he is a library volunteer.” And you would be correct.
As of April 2022, we have 49 individuals who have been trained to help residents check out their books. Volunteers also ensure that books returned to the library are properly checked in and placed on the correct shelves.
These volunteers work one (or in a few cases two) two-hour shifts per month. They are very important to the functioning of our library.
Some of them perform additional tasks during their regular shifts. There is one person who voluntarily dusts the shelves. Another prepares reminders for residents whose books have been kept well beyond the stamped due date (aka overdues). And still another “markets” our books by keeping our displays current and attractive.
Two volunteers input data needed for each book added to our collection into the software that we use to produce catalog cards and labels. After printing them, they complete the process of readying the new books for use by residents. Last year, 222 books were added to our holdings.
Maintenance of our card catalog is also performed by volunteers. One extraordinarily dedicated person is going card by card through the catalog, checking for and correcting filing errors. She is at the “S drawer” as of this writing. Still other volunteers file the cards for books newly added to the collection and/or remove cards for books that have been lost or weeded from the collection.
Other volunteers perform tasks outside of the library. One pushes a cart of books to the Supportive Living dining room each Tuesday so that residents can select their next reading material. Two others are charged with keeping the Stewart Health Center library in order. And there is a person designated to care for the books placed in several different locations in South Village.
Volunteers chair the MoorReaders and North Village Readers book clubs, and there is a liaison from the library to the Life Writing Group. We also have a volunteer trained to present the services of the State Library of North Carolina Accessible Books and Library Services to residents who cannot use regular printed material because of a visual, physical, or reading disability.
April is National Volunteer Month, and we salute our special library volunteers during this special month! Thank you for all you do.
New Acquisitions of Titles by North Carolinians
The library has recently acquired four books by North Carolina authors. One is our very own Phyllis Mayo, whose book Night Songs: Life in the Midst of Death has been added to our shelves.
When Ghosts Come Home is Wiley Cash’s latest book. This riveting mystery explores race, justice, and grief. Cash is a compelling storyteller and captures “the cadence of Southern speech and the complexity of modern lives with thoughtful intelligence.”
Bland Simpson, head of the English Department at UNC, has released a book filled with beautiful photographs and texts titled North Carolina: Land of Water, Land of Sky. This book is filled with narratives, stories, and pictures from all areas of North Carolina.
Many of you heard Chris Brady’s interesting talk at our January 2022 Residents Association meeting on the subject of Bitcoin. We have copies of his book, The Bitcoin Bride: A Rascal Money Story available for circulation. In it, he explains this new technology in the form of a novel.
She was not a North Carolinian, but when Joan Didion died recently, we realized none of her books were in our library. So, we purchased two: The Year of Magical Thinking, which won the National Book Award, and The Last Thing He Wanted. Several residents mentioned that they would like to read something Didion wrote, so we hope these will be of interest.
Thank you to resident and Library Committee Chair Betty Bridges for this article on library volunteers that originally appeared in the April 2022 issue of The Springmoor Herald, as well as the information on new acquisitions to the library from the February 2022 issue of The Herald.
About the Springmoor Library and the Resident-Run Library Committee
The Springmoor Library is located on the 2nd floor of the main building in North Village, next to the Business Office. Residents may visit from 10–Noon, Monday through Saturday, and from 1:30–3:30 pm, Monday through Friday.
The Springmoor Residents Association boasts 19 different committees in which residents can choose to be involved. Many thanks to Betty Bridges (Chair of the Library Committee) for all of her hard work maintaining the library for all to enjoy.
As the leader of this committee, Betty is the de facto librarian, plans book-related events, and contributes monthly to the resident-produced community newsletter, The Springmoor Herald.
Betty is a retired professional librarian who worked in the Virginia Beach City Public Schools. After being both an elementary and a middle school librarian, she became the coordinator of all libraries in the Virginia Beach school system (there were about 50 at the time). A native of Danville, Virginia, Betty attended Westhampton College at the University of Richmond and received the Master of Library Science degree from East Carolina University.
Plan Your Visit to Springmoor Today!
Folks on our waitlist are once again able to visit Springmoor for a card game, exercise/aquatics class, mindfulness class led by our chaplains, or evening event such as a concert in our auditorium. Click here to review our current events and activities highlights.
Springmoor offers seniors a variety of residence options, ranging from apartments to larger villas and homes. If you’re looking for an active senior living community in Raleigh, call us at 919-848-7080 with your questions.
You can also click here to fill out a short online form to receive a free packet of information or schedule an appointment for a personalized tour with COVID safety precautions in place. Our friendly team looks forward to meeting you soon!
