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The Aging Better Report by Denver Public Library (DPL) on its 2019-2020 Older Adult Services is more than the usual departmental report. It is based on a philosophy about aging and learning, exemplified in the opening phrase “We View Age as a Gift”; it reflects significant institutional commitment to the work of the department; and it frames DPL’s work in the context of the demographic changes taking place across the country.

Aging Better lists the various trainings offered to library and older adult services staff on such topics as “How the Adult Brain Works” and “Changing the Narrative: Ending Ageism”. It describes the variety of Older Adult Services programs and also their “Powerful Impacts,” and it devotes a section to COVID-19 Responses, i.e., the shift to virtual programming.

The report also mentions the variety of programs offered across the Library system, ranging from “Basics in Printmaking” to weekly sessions on mindfulness. The importance of community partnership is reflected in the array of organizations with which the library collaborates to carry out its programs. Aging Better as an exemplary Report that sends a strong message about how public libraries can creatively develop and institutionalize innovative programs that align with the diverse needs of older adults in the 21st century.

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