Bruce County Public Library (BCPL) has received dementia-friendly designation. It was granted in partnership with the Alzheimer Society Grey-Bruce, as they collaborated over nine months to train staff to give community members with dementia a supporting environment.
"We're really focused on providing welcoming and inclusive spaces for everybody," said Brooke McLean, director of library services. "We thought this is really going to help us meet our goals and provide better service to adults who are living with dementia and their care partners."
McLean said the goal is to meet the needs of visitors and for staff to have the best interactions or give support.
The education coordinator from the Alzheimer's Society walked through BCPL's spaces to give recommendations on how it can be made more dementia-friendly.
"Some of those included things like improving contrast between walls and floors to ensure easy visibility and adjust where some signage is located so that the space is easier to navigate," McLean said.
Moving forward, this designation will mean continued training for all staff, so everyone is current and up to date with service.
Also available at the library are memory care kits, designed for people with dementia. They are themed and include various items, like dementia-friendly books. The kits can be ordered at any of the branches or BCPL's Bookmobile.