Library Group
30 October 2020
The Breeze Point Lonsdale retirement community features stunning architecturally designed homes, state-of-the-art amenities, and is ideally located on beautiful waterways. At the heart of The Breeze is the residents who have been key in making the community an inclusive and welcoming place, with plenty of groups and activities for all residents to get involved in.
One of the most established groups at The Breeze is the Library Group which is run by residents Ian and Bev Deans, Marg Smith, and Ted Bailey. All of whom have been essential in both the setup and daily running of the community’s much-loved library.
“All four of us volunteered to be part of the Library Group when it first opened”, Ian Deans explains. “After a few meetings, we established how we would sort and catalog all the books and organize a borrowing system in line with a classic library structure”.
Ian has brought a wealth of knowledge to the group from his volunteer work at The Victorian Railway Historical Library in Melbourne. With this experience, he has been confident in leading the group to adapt to the challenges of COVID-19. “To ensure our library remains functional and safe we quarantine and sanitize all books as they are returned”.
Self-proclaimed book worm and Library Group member Marg Smith has been “very impressed by the marvelous selection of books on offer in the library, all of which have been generously donated by fellow residents of The Breeze”.
Marg has also recently started writing book reviews that are featured in The Breeze’s weekly bulletin. “A couple of weeks ago I wrote a book review on one of my favorite books in the library, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Annie Barrows and Mary Ann Shaffer, and I was delighted when I found out that the book had been borrowed out the very next day”, Marg says. “I hope to write another review soon and continue to inspire, charm, and captivate people with some amazing titles available in our library”.
When things get technical the Library Group’s ‘Excel expert’ Ted Bailey steps in to assist. “Ted is amazing”, Marg says. “He is in his 90s and is an absolute whizz at all things Excel. He has digitally cataloged all the books in our library and is able to track who has borrowed and returned each book, the frequency of which a book has been borrowed, and much more! The amount of work he has done has been very impressive and detailed”.
Community Manager, Fiona Campbell has been very impressed by the dedication from the Library Group. “All four members have been a huge help in setting up the library. They have spent many hours working to make our library a functional space for all residents to enjoy. Each member brings a unique skill set to the group and together the library runs very smoothly”.
Being part of the Library Group at The Breeze keeps Ian, Bev, Marg, and Ted very busy. “We all find it very gratifying and pleasing that lots of residents use the library frequently. It makes all the hard work we do well worth it”.
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