Library of Living Minds | Yen Yi Chiang

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Problem

The trend of increasing chronic loneliness within cities places significant pressure on public healthcare, emphasizing the urgent need for innovative, just-transition services in cities like London to address this challenge effectively.

Solution

"The 'Library of Living Minds' is a social prescribing service available in local libraries, designed to empower individuals aged 65 and older to transition smoothly from working life to retirement. This initiative fosters the sharing of knowledge and the formation of interest-oriented communities, ensuring continuous engagement and promoting healthier ageing."

Discover

Background

In UK, nearly 1/4 of the population will be over 65 by 2040 and 36% of them experience chronic loneliness, which poses a large public healthcare burden as 70% of total health and social care spending in England attributed to the elderly and $9k cost per lonely person per year to the government. The number of isolated elderly in the UK is increasing with 36% of people over 65 experience chronic loneliness.

Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea:
the loneliest area in London

We chose to further investigate the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea which has approximately

16.5% of the population aged 65 or over

45-50% of single households

The borough has seen a steady increase in retirees, often with backgrounds in high-skilled, high-status professions such as finance, law, education, and creative industries, reflecting the area’s education levels. Loneliness and a lack of purpose are particularly prominent among elderly individuals aged 65-70 who have recently retired from long-term positions. This highlights the importance of helping these individuals find a sense of purpose and strengthening community connections as a primary source of support.

What do most elderly people in the borough go every day after they retire?

We visited several communities and public venues. Here's what we found out: most of the retired elderly aged 65-75 went to the library mostly 6 days a week and usually stayed up to 5-6 hours a day. (Average time spent by our observation in five local libraries)

Define

Key Insights

The Need for Purpose-driven Productivity
After retirement, individuals often lose their occupational identity, leading to a need to redefine their values and goals. This can result in psychological stress and emotional challenges. Places like libraries provide an opportunity to maintain a daily routine and stay productive. However, many retirees spend their time in libraries simply watching the news, playing chess, or checking emails, which can not fully address their desire for purposeful engagement.
The Need of Social Integration for Retirees
Work often plays a significant role in shaping people’s social lives, and retirement can lead to major changes in these social circles. As a result, many retirees increasingly rely on casual interactions, such as chatting with local librarians, to fill the void. However, this growing dependence can place an additional burden on librarians, reducing their ability to focus on providing public services. To address this, fostering new social connections and helping retirees find renewed meaning and purpose within their local communities becomes crucial. Promoting social integration can enhance their well-being and reduce the strain on public service workers.

HMW

How might we reinstate a sense of purpose to isolated retired elderly in London through local libraries in the next 10 years?

Develop

Our design strategy is to create a participant-led network that empowers elderly individuals over the age of 65 to engage with interest-based communities in a way that aligns with their preferences. This approach aims to help them build meaningful, ongoing connections and enrich their lives. Skill sharing holds great potential for fostering a sense of purpose, as it allows the elderly to share their unique professional knowledge accumulated over their careers. This, in turn, can lead to stronger social connections and improved mental well-being.

Listen: To cultivate the elderly self-value through community building and positive learner feedback
Connect: To connect the elderly with skills to share and learners, fostering skill-sharing sessions at reasonable fees
Facilitate: To support effortless, customisable skill-sharing sessions for elderly sharers with toolkits and initial support from librarians

Intervention Strategy

Deliver

Hypothesis testing

Our main hypothesis for our prototype testing was that

If we facilitate a participant-led skill-sharing network through local libraries will provide retirees aged 65 and over with social integration and a renewed sense of purpose.

Additionally, we've identified two systemic constraints that may cause failure. Firstly, if there is no common interest or knowledge shared between the elderly as sharers and learners. Secondly, if the sharing session does not build meaningful interaction.

In our initial pilot session, we focused on the theme of 'Photojournalism,' a topic that garnered interest from two out of five elderly participants. This session, held at Brompton Library with six Gen Z participants, received positive feedback. Our survey showed participants use descriptors such as

'engaging,' 'connecting,' and 'genuine'

to characterise the experience, aligning with the criteria of providing meaningful social interaction(NHS social prescribing metrics). Notably, participants stayed longer than anticipated, and both librarians and elderly participants expressed enthusiasm for future sessions.

Business Model

The Library of Living Minds (LLM) operates as a social enterprise, serving as a bridge between local libraries, councils, and healthcare organizations such as the NHS to offer social prescribing activities in libraries. Although libraries are key partners, LLM remains an independent entity that collects data, sets up programs, and provides expertise. Revenue sources include collaborations with businesses like the Library of Things and long-term NHS social prescribing funding, which aim to reduce healthcare costs related to elderly loneliness. This model also aligns with the existing need for libraries to attract more visitors, as council funding is often tied to foot traffic. Over time, the model becomes sustainable by having elderly participants lead sessions.