At Windsor Hollow apartments in Hartford, Vt., new resident Clare Chase,left, is introduced by friend Mary Ann Bond to Hartford library staff Deborah Josselyn and Dedorah Milne. Seated is resident Betty Bohnert. They were there to pick up library books on April 5, 2016. (Valley News - Jennifer Hauck) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.
At Windsor Hollow apartments in Hartford, Vt., new resident Clare Chase,left, is introduced by friend Mary Ann Bond to Hartford library staff Deborah Josselyn and Dedorah Milne. Seated is resident Betty Bohnert. They were there to pick up library books on April 5, 2016. (Valley News - Jennifer Hauck) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.

Hartford — Pulling two suitcases behind her, Deborah Milne strode to the entrance of Valley Terrace, tapped the automatic door opener with her foot and headed in with her colleague, Deborah Josselyn, also with luggage in tow. A brief, laughter-filled chat with employees at the assisted living facility followed, and a short elevator ride later, Milne, assistant librarian at Hartford Library, and Josselyn, the library’s clerk, were in the activity room, emptying the bags onto gray folding tables. Nonfiction and large print items filled one table, and a second boasted DVDs, CDs and regular-sized fiction.

“It’s like an instant library,” said Bobbi Trombley, activity director at Valley Terrace. The facility, which has its own small library, previously offered trips to the Norwich Library, but going out “is so much harder on the residents, especially in the winter.”

Having Milne and Josselyn here is “wonderful,” Trombley said. “It keeps the residents reading.”

The outreach program is part of efforts by local libraries to do just that. 

“A lot of senior patrons gave up their drivers license or had to go to assisted living,” Nadine Hodgdon, Hartford librarian, said in an interview at the library.

With that in mind, staff members visit Valley Terrace and Windsor Hollow every other week, and Village Apartments and Graystone Village on opposite weeks.

Over time, they get to know the residents. They know whether they have children, and how many. Where they’re from, what they did for work and what they like to read. They keep detailed notes on patrons’ literary tastes, including which books they’ve read and which they’ve rejected, information that helps them decide what to pack in those wheeled suitcases.

During the two Deborahs’ 45-minute stop at Valley Terrace last Tuesday, eight residents came in to return or borrow items, and, in some cases, pick up books the women had brought just for them. Some they’d requested; others were recommendations. Of course, selecting the right book for someone else is no simple task.

“How are you, dear?” Milne asked Joan Cohen, 86, who returned a small stack of books. “Did you read them all?”

Cohen shared her impression of the items, which included a collection of Grace Paley’s work and a biography of Robert Frost.

The latter, written by Frost’s granddaughter Lesley Lee Francis, was “the only one I really objected to,” said Cohen, who belongs to a poetry club at Valley Terrace. “She injected a lot of her own thoughts. I didn’t need that.”

After talking it over, they agreed that next time she’d like something by the English poet John Donne.

Cohen had previously used Howe Library, but when she found she wasn’t driving much, she gave her car to her daughter. “Without wheels, life changes,” she said.

Of the 68 people who live at Valley Terrace, just three or four still drive, Trombley said.

Having books brought to the facility “makes it much easier for us,” said Bernie Decker, a retired newsman and journalism professor.

The library’s senior outreach program started six years ago with a $2,000 grant from the Council on Aging for Southeastern Vermont and later had help from the now defunct Hartford Women’s Club. It’s now funded by the town, which also supports outreach services for seniors through the Quechee Library.

The traveling library also creates an opportunity for people to socialize, she said. “It’s been (really) good.”

Tuesday afternoon at both sites, new residents showed up.

At Windsor Hollow, subsidized apartments, “library day” takes place in the community room. The seniors, all women, browsing the temporary stacks last week included Clare Chase, who had moved in just days earlier.

“Are you a reader?” Milne asked.

“I used to be,” Chase said. “I’m trying to get back into it.”

Milne asked what she liked to read and pointed out the large print books.

Several residents also welcomed her.

She’d also arrived in the spring, a wonderful time of year to get settled in, Roberta Kellogg told Chase. “I hope you’ll like it here.”

“I’m sure I will,” Chase said.

Along with books and CDs, one resident borrowed a rarity that day, a cassette recording Josselyn had stumbled upon.

The old time radio shows went to a woman whose eyesight has been failing and who doesn’t know how to use a CD player, Josselyn said. Both pieces of information are “so hard to hear.”

A native Vermonter, Kellogg’s picks included an oversized paperback about stone walls “to study” and Third Person Rural, a collection of essays “to just plain read.”

Having the traveling library is wonderful, Kellogg said. Many of the residents read large print books, which can be hard to find, and the library employees are “so accommodating.”

“They make it a habit to learn our interests,” she said. “(They are) so kind to come here.”

Aimee Caruso can be reached at acaruso@vnews.com or 603-727-3210.