New publication!

In July 2022, the article “The Public Library as Social Infrastructure for Older Patrons: Exploring the Implications of Online Library Programming for Older Adults During COVID-19” was published in the Journal of Library and Information Science Research. This paper reports on the findings from the first of three interconnected phases within the larger Aging with Public Libraries project. In this phase of the study, we conducted an in-depth environmental scan of 25 Ontario public library systems’ websites to illuminate the state of available programming for older adults during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this sweeping search, 640 programs for older adults were identified. Insights from this search revealed issues related to social connection, visibility and representations, and a general taken-for-grantedness surrounding older adults' access to digital technologies on public libraries’ websites. If you are interested in reading the full article, please head to the Aging with Public Libraries page under Research Areas.