12 April 2017 Final Report for the Enoch Pratt Free Library

INTRODUCTION

Beginning in September of this year, I conducted empirical research for the Hampden Branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Library. I conducted this research in order to gain further information regarding how the library’s Hampden branch could become more involved in the Hampden community. This project was aimed toward gathering information specifically about the aging population currently living in Hampden, and finding ways in which the library could implement services or programs that specifically served this population.

I focused on gathering information from three high-rise buildings with large populations of older residents: Roland Park Place, and the two Roland Views Towers buildings, called 3838 and 3939. In addition, I was able to gather extensive information from two outreach centers, Action in Maturity and Saint Mary’s Outreach Center, in order to get a better idea of what services the aging population in Hampden already receives, and how the library could add to these services.

This report describes the information I received through conducting interviews with various residents of the three high-rise buildings, employees of the three high-rise buildings, and volunteers/employees of the two outreach centers. It also includes information from a survey I distributed to residents of the two Roland View Towers buildings. In addition, this report includes specific recommendations I received from the two outreach centers, as well as various recommendations from the managers of the three high-rise buildings. Finally, it includes suggestions from Enoch Pratt’s Volunteer Coordinator Pamela Potter-Hennessey, and my own suggestions for future services and programs.

The results of my research detail that there are a fairly extensive variety of services offered to the aging population of Hampden. However, results also show that many members of the aging population in Hampden are unsatisfied with the services and programs available to them.

Overall, residents I spoke with were very receptive to the idea of having the Enoch Pratt Free Library provide additional services and programs for them, and informal survey results show that many residents feel positively toward the idea of Enoch Pratt providing additional services and programs in the Hampden community.

METHOD

My primary method of data collection was in-person interviews of both residents and employees of all three high-rise buildings. I also conducted over the phone interviews of the two outreach organizations, and the manager of Roland Park Place, and conducted secondary analysis of each of these organizations’ websites in order to gather further information about them. Finally, I distributed a survey with specially designed questions to the residents of Roland View Towers as part of their monthly newsletter.

The In-Person Interviews

Before visiting any of the three high-rise buildings, I prepared a sheet of interview questions I planned to use as a guide when speaking with residents. The questions were separated into three sections: About the Library, About the Person, and About the Place. The questions from each section are as follows:

About the Library

1.     How involved would you say the Hampden branch of the Enoch Pratt library is with your community? Do you know where the library is? Have you ever been there?

2.     If you’ve never been there, would you like to go? Why or why not? What has held you back from traveling there before?

3.     What kind of things would you like to see from the library? Book/video delivery? Book club? Community-wide programs? Something else?

About the Person

1.     What kind of things do you like to do in your spare time?

2.     What kind of things do you wish were easier to do in your area?

3.     If you had to guess, what would you say your peers would like to do in their spare time?

About the Place

1.     What services, if any, are offered to you from your community/residence?

2.     What services, if any, do you wish were offered to you?

3.     Are there any things you believe your community is wasting its time/money with? If yes, what are they? What would be a better use of this time/money?

Though I initially planned to rely fairly heavily on my interview question guide, I often found that the interviewee was most comfortable when I spoke to him/her in a way that was less formal. I typically tried to address at least one question from each section of my interview question guide, and allow my interviewee as much expressive freedom as possible.

My method of interviewing was simple and informal; a few days a week I would go in the late morning or early afternoon to one of the high-rise residences and, after approaching the receptionist and introducing myself/explaining my position and intentions, would sit either inside the lobby or outside on the benches, chatting with and (after gaining consent) interviewing residents who crossed my path. This method was extremely successful. Residents were always friendly and willing to speak with me, and after a bit of light conversation were more than willing to give their personal opinion on services and programs being already provided and potential services and programs that the library might provide in the future.

I was able to interview about fifty people from two of the three high-rises; this represented a wide variety of opinions on my interview questions and a relatively accurate sample of the aging population in Hampden.

Though I was extremely successful in interviewing residents from Roland View Towers, I found less success when attempting to interview residents from Roland Park Place. The receptionists were uninterested in answering any of my questions, and when I asked to stay in the lobby and interview residents as they came in and left, the receptionists informed me that the lobby is not a public area and that I would have to leave.

The Over the Phone Interviews/Secondary Analysis

While interviewing members of the two outreach organizations, I did not have a formal interview questions sheet. Instead, I asked questions specific to each organization, and provided some of the information I had received through interviews with the residents as suggestion of how Enoch Pratt might get involved with the community in the future.

My experience with this method was still somewhat successful, although members of both organizations were less receptive to my ideas and seemed less enthusiastic to participate in interviews with me.

The Survey

After speaking with the management team of Roland View Towers, I decided to put together a short survey that would fit into the monthly newsletter. The management would then distribute this newsletter and get back to me with results they received.

The survey included the following questions:

Have you ever been to the Hampden Branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Library?

Yes / No

Are you able to drive a car to travel?

Yes/No

Are you able to walk long distances to travel?

Yes/No

For the following questions, please circle the number that matches your amount of interest. On a scale of 1 – 5, 1 means little to no interest, 5 means a lot of interest.

Would you be interested in taking a computer skills class?

1                      2                      3                      4                      5

Would you be interested in a BookMobile service, where a truck delivers new books from the library to this building?

1                      2                      3                      4                      5

Would you be interested in a movie night service, in which movies are shown once a week in the social room?

1                      2                      3                      4                      5

Would you be interested in a crafting club, in which you participated in arts and crafts projects?

1                      2                      3                      4                      5

Would you be interested in a club that gets together to play board games/card games, etc.?

1                      2                      3                      4                      5

Would you be interested in having speakers come and tell you about various subjects such as travel, health tips, etc.?

1                      2                      3                      4                      5

My experience with this method of my research was the least successful. Unfortunately, I did not hear anything back from the management regarding my survey. As far as I know, they distributed it in the newsletter, but did not answer my calls or emails when I followed up in an attempt to receive the survey results.

However, I was able to distribute a few surveys manually to residents as I interviewed them. The information I received from my manual distribution of the survey aligned pretty well with the information I received through interviews with the residents.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Results From Residents

One of the most popular answers I received when interviewing residents about how Enoch Pratt could become more involved in the community involved some sort of system of book delivery from the library to the high-rise buildings. Although there already existed a library system in each of the two Roland View Towers buildings, residents were unsatisfied with the size and reading options available at these two libraries. These libraries operate on a donation-based system, though a few residents and one of the managers also reported to me that Enoch Pratt had previously been involved in some sort of book-loan system. In inquiring about this, I was unable to learn why Enoch Pratt stopped this system.

Another major problem cited by almost every resident I spoke with was the issue of transportation—many residents were no longer mobile and able to walk the distance to the library on their own, and many also did not have access to a car. In addition, the library was inaccessible to any resident in a wheelchair, as it has not yet completed construction of a ramp to its entrance, only offering stairs.

In addition, many residents cited that lack of a public restroom in the Hampden branch was a huge problem; I was repeatedly asked whether construction of a public restroom would occur soon during a supposed period of remodeling.

Residents from Roland View Towers were very interested in the implantation of activities and programs that they could actively participate in—another concern brought up frequently by residents I interviewed was boredom induced by lack of available activity opportunities. Some ideas included a potential movie night in the social room, clubs that do crafts, play board games, etc. However, there are already some groups who do this, but they are somewhat exclusive.

Roland View Towers residents were very enthusiastic about the idea of implementing some sort of computer class, as many were not confident with their current level of computer skill. This is a great potential for Enoch Pratt, because many residents do not own any sort of computer and would greatly benefit from using the Hampden branch’s public computers. However, residents were not at all receptive to the idea of using eReaders as an alternative to paper books.

Residents were somewhat interested in the idea of having speakers come in to Roland View Towers and give lectures/presentations. One resident that I spoke with informed me about a speaker that came to Roland View Towers and regularly gave presentations about different areas of the United States.

During my process of conducting interviews, I noticed several signs advertising activities that I did not receive further clarification about; it seemed to me as if there exists a lot of activities that are not fully pursued either by residents or by the management. For example, the West Building Social Club seemed to be something that might have satisfied many of the residents’ grievances, however no one I talked to was able to tell me more about what this club might be.

A significant problem I noticed while interviewing residents and staff of Roland View Towers is the line of communication between management and residents. Residents appeared to have many problems with the choices management has made in the past, and management does not really seem to respect their residents; they have typically been unreceptive to new ideas. For instance, one manager I spoke with was a bit disrespectful when referring to the residents of Roland View Towers—he referred to them as being low educated and low-income and therefore untrustworthy. In addition, he seemed disappointed in the lack of participation in efforts already being put forth, and therefore was uninterested in putting forth any additional efforts for the residents.

Finances are a huge concern for both management and residents of Roland View Towers. Both typically seem to balk at anything that costs any amount of money at all. Free services are the most popular with residents, but the least popular with management.

However, if Enoch Pratt were to offer services to these residents, keeping them at as low cost to participants as possible. This would encourage higher rates of participation. Participation is one of the largest hurdles I believe the library will face when getting involved with this specific community. Many people seem very receptive to suggesting ideas for future activities, but less receptive toward putting forth the effort it takes to make these ideas successful.

Results From Outreach Organizations

Action In Maturity

Action In Maturity (AIM) is a nonprofit organization funded by the Baltimore City Department of Health Office of Aging under the Older Americans Act. It is also funded through membership dues and donations, grants, and contributions from the community. AIM reaches out to private residences as well as thirty-eight satellite sites housing senior citizens; these include both Roland View Towers buildings. They provide outreach services such as shopping, concerts, theatre, lectures, museums, health screenings, movies, sporting events, and personal appointments.

Their mission is as follows: The purpose of Action In Maturity is to provide appropriate activities and services to benefit the personal development and quality of life of older people and to support their ability to live independently, within the community, as long as possible. To these ends, AIM maintains and extends partnerships with other organizations and institutions sharing these objectives. AIM does not have a senior center but is an organization committed to outreach through the facilitation of activities in diverse locations throughout North Baltimore. AIM reaches older adults through transportation and outreach.

The fee for annual membership in this organization is fifteen dollars per year. Priviliges provided with membership include events and lunches, trips, transportation by request program, monthly newsletter, computer classes, exercise classes, health education and screenings, grocery store trips, the Kirkwood house run, the Roosevelt house run, stadium place run and special events.  They also offer a book club, quilting club, and many online resources for help with things like diet, driving, financial help, prevention and care after falling, agencies on aging, etc.

While conducting my interview with a member of this organization, I learned that Roland View Towers regularly participates in AIM’s services. Right now, many of their services are at full capacity, especially their door-to-door transportation service. The woman I spoke with claimed that the Hampden community does suffer from a lack of activities, and that the complaint about lack of activities might actually have more to do with specific people desiring specific activities that it is unrealistic to provide. In addition, this organization member claimed that AIM is very aware of the financial situation of many of its members, and tries to keep costs as low as possible in order to combat this. She seemed a bit irritated that residents still feel they are not being serviced enough, and was not very receptive to helping me formulate ideas about how Enoch Pratt might provide services for the community in the future.

Saint Mary’s Outreach Center

Saint Mary’s Outreach Center (SMOC) is housed in the church building that was formerly Saint Mary’s Episcopal Church in Hampden. Its Resource and Referral Service provides free and confidential services to men and women in zip code 21211 who are in need of assistance. SMOC currently serves 30% of the senior population in Baltimore, and estimates that another 30% need some services. Its mission is “to spread the word that friendly, caring people provide hands-on assistance with [services like] discounts on bills, special programs with places like the Maryland Food Bank, medical benefits…”

SMOC claims that many members of the older population in Baltimore tend to be more hidden because of the recent influx of younger, upwardly mobile people moving into neighborhoods like Hampden. In order to combat this, they run several annual events, including the fall harvest luncheon, an annual fundraiser, and a recent event that was covered by the Baltimore Sun, entitled “My Groceries to Go.”  SMOC also has many partnerships with other organizations and companies around Baltimore, receive many donations, and provide a newsletter to anyone who desires to sign up for one. Their main goal is to spread awareness that “there is help available for seniors who live in poverty.”

I was unable to get in contact with someone from SMOC to interview.

CONCLUSIONS

There appears to be a great disconnect between many seniors currently living in Hampden, and those services that are currently available to them. Though there are many services offered both by the residences and by outside organizations like AIM and SMOC, many seniors are not aware of them, or do not currently have access to them. Transportation and lack of finances to support outside activities are most likely the largest causes of this disconnect.

In addition, the fact that organizations like AIM have reached full capacity in many of their services is a further source of discouragement for seniors who cannot provide transportation for themselves or who do not have access to outside activities. Many seniors desire to get more involved, but lack motivation to actively seek ways to get more involved.

The lack of communication between residents of Roland View Towers and the management team of the building is a large problem, as it discourages both the management and the residents from suggesting new ideas or attempting to put together new activities/programs. This has resulted in a lack of activities sponsored by the administration of Roland View Towers and a lack of participation in resident-sponsored activities.

RECOMMENDATIONS

For future involvement with the aging population in Hampden, I would recommend that Enoch Pratt first and foremost find a way to transport books from its branches to the high-rise buildings in Hampden. Residents do not seem to have a preference on whether this is accomplished by volunteers or by some sort of BookMobile service.

Second, I would recommend that Enoch Pratt find some way to make its Hampden branch more accessible to those who are disabled, or unable to use the stairs at the entrance. Although this project is already in progress, I would recommend either spreading the word about when this project will be accomplished, or attempting to push the end date of this project forward.

Third, I would recommend either collaborating with another organization or putting together a group of volunteers specifically from Enoch Pratt in order to provide transportation to those who are unable to get to the library on their own. This service could run specifically from the high-rises to the library, or could be used in a similar way to AIM’s door-to-door delivery service.

Fourth, I would recommend that Enoch Pratt offer some sort of technology classes, using the public computers in its Hampden branch. With transportation to the library available, I think many residents would be receptive to improving their computer skills.

Fifth, I would recommend that Enoch Pratt contact Roland Park Place, in order to learn more about the services offered to residents there. This would help give the library additional ideas on how to better serve the lower-income community of seniors in Hampden.

Sixth, I would recommend that Enoch Pratt further contact AIM and SMOC as well as other organizations that work with older/disabled populations in Baltimore in order to organize potential partnerships for future programs.

Finally, I would recommend that Enoch Pratt continue conducting field research on the more isolated members of the senior community in Hampden—this would get a wider view of how vast the community in Hampden is, and how better to serve everyone, regardless of socioeconomic status.