Boston Public Library
Services to Senior Adults
Central Library
The Boston Public Library serves the educational, informational, cultural, and recreational needs of older adults through its general collections and services located in the Central Library and the Branch Library System. Special services and materials in special formats are also offered.

NEVER TOO LATE GROUP meets in Rabb Lecture Hall, Boston Public Library, Copley Square, Thursdays at 2 p.m. from September through mid-June. Membership is free and open to anyone, 60 years of age and over, without geographic restriction. These programs serve metropolitan Boston and beyond.

Established in 1950, it is the longest existing library-sponsored program for older adults in the country. The programs offer informal educational programs, covering a variety of subjects and formats (lectures, documentary and feature films, videos, concerts). Several programs are devoted each season to topics, issues, and services of particular interest to senior adults. Click here for upcoming events.

To be placed on the mailing list for the monthly notices, senior adults, and organizations serving this age group should telephone 617-859-2371; fax 617-424-8617; or mail requests to: Never Too Late Group, c/o PSO, Boston Public Library, 700 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02116.

For Branch programs designed for senior adults in Branch Libraries, consult BPL Branch Library web pages. Click here for upcoming events.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE COLLECTION:

LARGE PRINT BOOKS (First Floor)

Large Print collections are also located in the Brighton, Codman Square, and Dudley Branch Libraries. Large print books can also be requested through any of the neighborhood Branch Libraries.

BI-FOLKAL KITS (Audiovisual Services) Concourse Level

Multi-media kits designed to evoke memories in senior adults who will share them with other older adults in small discussion groups or with young people in intergenerational programs. Kits are useful for programming in nursing homes, senior centers, housing for the elderly, and youth services agencies.

Varied topics include Remembering: ..1924 (the Jazz Age); ..the Depression; the Home Front (1944); Farm Days; ..School Days; ..County Fairs; ..Pets; ..Fashion; ..Summertime; ..Holidays; ..WorkLife; ..Jewish Memories. Kits on each topic contain: a guide to using the kit; videos; booklets of poetry, photos, and songs; audio-cassettes of sing-alongs and stories for discussion; objects that recall the past; scented pictures; and skits.

Introductory video, A Time Machine Called Memory, illustrates how to use the kits with groups of older adults or for intergenerational programs. Kits and introductory video are available for loan from: the Audio-visual Department, Central Library 617-536-5400, ext.2317 and from the neighborhood Branch Libraries.