Next Chapter A 50+ Library Blog

Are you looking for a job? Perhaps you feel ready for a career change, were laid off, or realize that you retired too early and want—or need—to get back into the workforce doing... something...

If you’re over 60, maybe 50, or even 40 you might find the prospect of a job search daunting, especially when you see 20- and 30-somethings competing for the same positions. Well, take heart: there’s a lot of help out there for you. The following are a few information-packed books I found at Job Search Central at the Science, Industry and Business Library.

Are you caring for someone with Alzheimer’s Disease? Or perhaps you are watching a loved one who seems to be developing symptoms, and you wonder what the future holds?

HBO Documentary Films recently produced a 4-part film series entitled The Alzheimer’s Project (you can stream the videos from the link). I borrowed all the films and spent an evening watching them at home, wanting to immerse myself totally in the experience.

Wow.

So the song goes. But may I ask—are you bustin' out all over? If so, it may be time to get moving. Even if you’re smooth, sleek and at your fighting weight, exercise is always a good thing and doing it with others multiplies the enjoyment.

This past Saturday I spent an energizing few hours walking from Manhattan to Ward’s Island, then to Randall’s Island, north to the Triborough Bridge (recently re-named the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge) and over it, back to Manhattan. If you didn’t know such a thing were possible, as I hadn’t until I did it, you too might consider taking a walk with the Outdoors Club. Walking with an interesting group of 

Old age is not a subject most of us enjoy dwelling upon. As Groucho Marx remarked, “Age is not a particularly interesting subject. Anyone can get old. All you have to do is live long enough.”

But since May is Older Americans Month, I have been thinking about older people, whether Americans or not. Friends and colleagues in their 70s, 80s, and one who just turned 100, are among those whose company I enjoy the most. Why? Is it because the elderly are wise? Maybe. Though I’ve heard it said that in Africa, especially, age is revered a little bit more and they consider you to have wisdom, even if you don’t.

Dozens of organizations with information about free and low-cost fitness opportunities have been congregating at the libraries over the past few weeks. The reason? The 50+ Fitness Fairs. Think of them as a combined celebration of:

• beautiful mid-Spring in New York City
• Earth Day
• Physical Fitness and Sports Month
• National Bike Month
• Older Americans Month
• Celebrate Baby Boomers Month (O.K., I made that one up...)

If you missed the fairs, you have one more chance. The last of this series of fairs will take place this coming Saturday, May 16 from 12-4 P.M. at the Countee Cullen Library in Harlem. Take a look below at 

Spring beckons: warmer weather teases; suggestions of summer intrude; promises to self to get out and exercise are made.

Yes, this is the year to start seriously walking, even hiking, maybe camping! And how about trying some bicycling, tennis, or canoeing...

I’ll do it—I’m going to the library!
Whaaat??? Who thinks of the library when they decide to get some exercise? Well, you should...

Allow us to be your friendly guide for your forays into fitness. Over the next four weeks the New York Public Library will be hosting four 50+ Fitness Fairs, at which we plan to 

A while ago I had the delightful experience of hearing Dr. Gene Cohen, gerontologist, psychologist, and author, speak about the developmental stages of later adult life, as he sees them. Rather than thinking of life after 50--until death--as a single phase as others have proposed, he views the years between one’s 40s and 80s+ as encompassing several stages: Midlife Re-Evaluation; Liberation; Summing-Up; and Encore. 

His conclusion: not only can you teach an old dog new tricks, but sometimes the old dogs can learn the tricks better than the young dogs. 

This being Women's History Month, I decided to do some digging and find women who accomplished great things 

If you're like me, perhaps you started seeing a new word recently—Wifi-- and puzzled over it, then started seeing Wii, and thought somebody must be misspelling something, and what were all these annoying intruders into the lexicon, anyway??? Well, the former is pronounced like hi-fi, is usually hyphenated, and is a type of wireless Internet service. The latter is pronounced like "Wheeeee!," and I'm sure that interjection has escaped from the mouths of many who tried the Nintendo Wii videogaming products in public libraries or elsewhere. The Wii is a video game console that can be used with a wide variety of software products including Wii Sports, with which one can play 

A special event will be taking place the last day of February. Encore careerists will be discussing how they ended up changing careers in mid-life, and winners of The Purpose Prize will talk about their experiences as social entrepreneurs. Curious about the Encore Career concept? I recommend Marc Freedman's book, Encore: Finding Work that Matters in the Second Half of Life. More information is below from guest blogger, Alexandra Kent, Director of the Purpose Prize initiative of Civic Ventures.

Early morning New York City—it’s 27 degrees out there. Brrrrr. And though the thermometer is inching up, prospects for above-freezing temperatures over the next five days don’t look good. Water in the parking lot behind my apartment building has pooled and frozen, creating a scarily shimmering scene—an ice skater’s delight but a treacherous trap for the rest of us.

Recently I heard a physical therapist speak on the topic of preventing falls, and he gave some serious food for thought. For instance, falls account for 87% of all fractures for adults 65 years and older. Hip fractures, 90% of which are caused by falls, cause the most deaths and lead to the 

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done... as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. We have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character than giving our all to a difficult task.

Our new president spoke these words to us yesterday, challenging and exhorting us to do what we can, gladly. Our country—and our world—are full of opportunities to do useful work, but how do you find 

They are all topics of programs or workshops for adults coming up at various New York Public Library locations over the next few months!

Leg warmers will be knitted at the Chatham Square Library in Chinatown. Wakefield Library in the north Bronx will host a useful series of free food preparation workshops by Cornell University Cooperative Extension Program. St. George Library Center on Staten Island will be the place to meet 6 wrestling champions, and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem will present a live screening of the 2009 Inauguration Ceremony.

And there are over 400 other free programs and classes for adults listed. Flamenco, English Sword 

A few weeks ago I attended an institute in Massachusetts and heard Margie E. Lachman, a professor at Brandeis University and Chair of the Department of Psychology & Lifespan Lab there, speak about cognitive and physical changes as we grow older. She was very forthright about the bad news, while being optimistic about the good news.

Let's get the bad news over with, shall we? Yes, aging does bring declines in both physical and cognitive health. But the good news is that you can increase protective factors which will minimize or even compensate for the declines.

The factors which protect against physical declines are: getting a good education; having a high 

By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is the noblest; Second, by imitation, which is the easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest. —Confucius

The New England Lifelong Access Libraries Leadership Institute took place in Newton, Massachusetts on December 1-2, 2008. Over 40 librarians from throughout New England attended, with the goal of getting tools, resources, and ideas to help them enhance public library services for older adults in their communities. I had the opportunity to attend and have written more extensive notes which you will find on the Lifelong Access blog. You will find slides from most of the presentations 

After attending a recent staff training session offered by the library's Office of Staff Development, I decided to return to a habit of my childhood--eating sardines.

The training, entitled Use It or Lose It: The Science and Practice of Brain Fitness, was presented by Alvaro Fernandez of the company SharpBrains. He filled us in on cutting-edge research in the field of brain fitness, covering an impressive amount in less than two hours, making it fun, interesting and memorable. This last in the most literal sense, that is, making the scientific details vivid enough that we can remember them.

In discussing foods and supplements that may help the brain, 

If I could choose a time and place to get old(er), I very well might choose the present time in New York City. Why the present? There are just so many of us over 50 at this time in history that I feel I am part of a seething throng (see right). We have power, resources, panache—I could go on and on. Plus, the global Age-Friendly Cities Project, initiated by the World Health Organization, has been gaining momentum and spreading, making the world age-friendlier one city at a time.

And exactly why would I want to age in New York? Our NYC is only the second city in the U.S.—after Portland, Oregon—that has taken up the gauntlet and joined the Age-Friendly 

You've probably heard it by now: the first of the baby boomers started turning 60 in 2006. Born between 1946-1964 in the prosperous post-war U.S., they were preceded by the Silent Generation, and the Greatest Generation before that. Every day thousands of boomers throughout the country undergo a modern rite of passage--they get their AARP invitations in the mail upon turning 50.

Don't despair if you are a Boomer, or a Silent, or a Greatest--the public library is with you every step of the way. Chances are you grew up going to your public library. But people have changed; they take advantage of the myriad options now available for getting information and spending leisure time.