The Organized Library News & Press
LifeStyle Library Service Makes Active Adult Community Library a Unique Amenity
Reprinted from Oct 2005 issue of Selling to Seniors
Too often, the "library" at an active-adult community is really just some "nice bookcases lining the path on the way to the pool," says Judith Tapiero, president of The Organized Library. The cases are filled with paperbacks from the 1970s, and a volunteer oversees things.
If it's done right, however, a library could become an attractive and unique amenity which actually helps draw in new residents, while keeping current ones mentally stimulated and active, she contends.
Tapiero, who has spent 20 years organizing libraries for corporations and nonprofit organizations, has turned her sights on the active-adult industry, which she believes is ripe for this kind of service. Older adults are avid readers, and with the success of bookstores such as Barnes & Noble and Borders, an attractive and dynamic library could serve as a great gathering place for residents, she says.
To that end, Tapiero is offering the LifeStyle Library, a new service which brings a fully functioning library into a community with a rotating collection of books, magazines, CDs, DVDs, audio books, computer resources and reading services tailored to the interests of community residents.
A part-time professional librarian comes with the package, with the potential for offering book clubs, author visits, distance learning, workshops on how to conduct Internet research and other programs of interest to residents. Residents even can have online access to the library's catalog from their home computers.
"I see it as an amenity communities can use as a real selling point, just like a golf course," Tapiero says. "No other amenity can match the potential mental stimulation that a library offers."
Tapiero is at the beginning stages of marketing her concept to developers of active-adult communities. Her primary aim is to go into a community before it's built, so the amenity can be built into the monthly fees and her team can set up and tailor the program to residents from the ground up. But, she's open to working with existing communities, as well.
Developers are showing an interest, as it's an appealing amenity to offer but a difficult one for many communities to set up and manage on their own. "No one really has the staff to do it right," Tapiero says, "and they often leave it up to the homeowners' association to handle."
Tapiero says fees for the LifeStyle Library will depend on the specific services a community wants to offer, as well as the type of community, number of homes, monthly fees and other factors. The LifeStyle Library offers a complete turnkey product, including set up and annual management services, she says.
Contact Judith Tapiero, (410) 539-6585; www.theorganizedlibrary.com
LifeStyle Library™ is a trademark of The Organized Library. Reprinted from Oct 2005 issue of Selling to Seniors. Courtesy of CD Publications. Copyright © 2005 CD Publications All rights reserved.