This winter local homebound seniors will have a chance to enjoy a new high-tech way of reading thanks to an innovative new Brentwood Library program that will serve as a countywide model.

Under the program, they will have the opportunity to borrow Kindle Touch eReaders to access popular books and magazines through the library.

“Many people could benefit from them. It can read to you and you can adjust the size of the type,” local Contra Costa County Library Commissioner Shirley Peck said. “We aren’t the first library to do it, but it is quite unique.”

Last spring, Brentwood Mayor Bob Taylor approached local librarians with an idea to donate Kindles to the Brentwood branch for circulation among homebound seniors and hospital patients. According to senior community library manager Liz Fuller, Taylor had just given his wife an eReader for Christmas and thought that it would be a great way to help people who loved reading but could no longer visit the downtown library. “It is going to be quite an attribute,” Taylor said. “Brentwood will be the pilot program for the county. The library system would like to implement this countywide.”

Nine months later after much planning and outreach, Fuller presented the new service at the Brentwood City Council meeting this week. Each device costs about $250 with accessories, pre-loaded reading materials popular among seniors and warranties. They will be circulated in the next few weeks.

Funding came from a $3,500 grant from the California State Library with about $1,000 remaining to purchase future books and devices. Taylor noted that the city contributed no money to the project.

“The prices are so reasonable,” Fuller said of the eReaders. “It is seven and a half ounces, which is good for someone who has trouble holding books. Finding the seniors was the hardest part.”

The library identified potential clients through the countywide Meals on Wheels and Senior Outreach Services’ Friendly Visitors Program, which also provided volunteers who could be trained to deliver and help seniors with the eReaders.

The volunteers make regular companionship visits with seniors who are often interested in reading, but gave up the hobby due to low income, arthritis, poor eyesight and other health issues, according to program manager Susannah Meyer.

“Isolation can affect physical and mental health quickly,” she said. “We surveyed and met with our senior friends and asked them about content, including books and magazines. Taking on that hobby again is very empowering to them.”

Meyer added that they hope this eReader program will draw more homebound seniors into their existing program. Fuller said that the library plans to expand this into a whole eReader service in the future.

“If you know someone who is a shut-in or would like to do so, this is a miraculous invention that could help a lot of people,” Taylor said.

For more information on the program, call the Brentwood Library at 925-516-5290.

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