Senior Outreach Services

Senior Services Overview

The Farmington Community Library offers programs designed to meet the information needs of underserved or inadequately served target groups, such as disabled, homebound, senior citizens in independent/assisted living and nursing homes.

The Farmington Community Library provides services to older adults at the William Costick Activities Center and at over twenty-five senior residences including nursing homes, assisted living and independent living facilities. These services include book deliveries for deposit collections, and non-deposit collections, monthly book clubs, senior stories, memoir writing, poetry workshops, Book Buddy visits, and computer classes. To view the full list of outreach sites and the visit schedule, click the Senior Outreach Visits tab above.

The Senior Outreach Coordinator, Anna Granch, determines the monthly book and media delivery schedule, plans programs at outreach sites, orders large print books for both the Farmington Hills and Farmington locations, weeds the collections and selects books and other media for each outreach site.

Senior Outreach Staff

Anna Granch
Senior Outreach Coordinator
(248) 848-4311
anna.granch@farmlib.org

Thanks for visiting the Senior Outreach page! My name’s Anna, and I’m the Senior Outreach Coordinator at the Farmington Community Library. I started at the Farmington Community Library in November 2021, and I’m very excited to be serving the senior residents of Farmington and Farmington Hills.

I earned a Master of Library and Information Science degree from Wayne State University in August 2020. I also have a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of Michigan - Dearborn. My hobbies include volunteering in my community, creating handmade greeting cards, reading horror fiction, and spending time with my fiancé and tortoiseshell cat.

If you have general questions or comments about Senior Outreach Services, please reach out to me at (248) 848-4311 or anna.granch@farmlib.org.. I’d love to hear from you!

Library Programs & Events for Seniors

The Farmington Community Library offers a variety of programs and events of interest to the senior population listed below.

For more information about other programs and events, check out the library’s Events calendar. You’ll be sure to find something of interest! If you have suggestions for adult/senior programming you’d like to see at the Farmington Community Library, contact Anna Granch, Senior Outreach Coordinator, at (248) 848-4311 or anna.granch@farmlib.org. She’d love to hear from you!

Memoir Writing

Join fellow writers for our monthly Memoir Writing sessions! Attendees will be given a series of prompts to reflect on, write about, and share with the rest of the group. Prompts will be provided by the facilitator.

Memoir Writing sessions occur every first Tuesday of the month from 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM in Conference Room B at the Farmington Hills location (32737 W 12 Mile Road).

Poetry in Motion

Join fellow poets and poetry lovers for our monthly Poetry in Motion sessions! Each session will focus on a different aspect of poetry and will have a portion where attendees write their own poems and share out with the group. If you have a favorite poem or have written poetry of your own, please bring and share!

Poetry in Motion sessions occur every third Wednesday of the month from 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM in Conference Room B at the Farmington Hills location (32737 W 12 Mile Road). Adult poets of all skill levels are welcome.

Healthy Living Series

Join us for our monthly Healthy Living Series presentations, a collaboration between the Farmington Community Library and Beaumont Health! Professional staff members from Beaumont Farmington Hills visit the library and present on a variety of health topics, such as fall prevention, the heart’s relationship with the brain, optimal nutrition, stress management, advanced directives, and more.

Healthy Living Series presentations occur monthly at the Farmington Hills location (32727 W 12 Mile Road). Check our event calendar for this month's presentation details, date, and time.

GetSetUp Virtual Classes

Click here to access the GetSetUp website.

The Library of Michigan and Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) are partnering to support the ability of older Michigan residents to access live, online virtual classes on a variety of topics through GetSetUp.

GetSetUp offers virtual classes on a variety of topics including technology, meditation, brain fitness, art, cooking, financial planning, aging in place, and more. Fees for classes for the Michigan community are WAIVED using this code: MICHIGANHEALTH while booking a class. Visit the GetSetUp website and get learning today!

Book Buddies Homebound Delivery

What is Book Buddies?

Book Buddies is a free delivery service available for homebound senior residents of Farmington/Farmington Hills who are confined to their homes due to advanced age, illness, or injury and have no household member available to retrieve library items on their behalf. Residents must have a valid Farmington Community Library card in order to use this service. If you don’t have a valid Farmington Community Library card, contact Anna Granch, Senior Outreach Coordinator, at (248) 848-4311 or anna.granch@farmlib.org to get one set up.

How Do I Sign Up for Book Buddies?

To sign up for Book Buddies, contact Anna Granch and request to be enrolled with Book Buddies. Anna will ask for the following information:

- First and last name
- Birthdate
- Home address
- Phone number
- Material type you’d like delivered (books, DVDs, CDs, books on CD, large print, etc.)
- Favorite genres (fiction, nonfiction, mystery, romance, best sellers, etc.)
- Favorite authors
- Other reading interests/needs you’d like to share

How Often Will I Get Deliveries?

Delivery schedules are coordinated between the homebound resident and Anna or a Book Buddies Volunteer.

What items can be requested through Book Buddies?

Patrons can request the following items:

- Regular print books
- Large print books
- Books on CD
- Music CDs
- DVDs
- Magazines

How many items can I check out through Book Buddies?

At this time, there is no limit on the number of items that can be checked out through Book Buddies.

Who will deliver the items to my home?

Anna or a Book Buddies Volunteer will deliver and retrieve items.

Will I be charged overdue fines for items checked out through Book Buddies?

The Farmington Community Library is fine free, so no overdue fines will be charged. However, patrons are responsible for lost and damaged items and will be billed for any items lost and damaged.

Senior Outreach Visits

Anna Granch, the library’s Senior Outreach Coordinator, currently makes monthly visits to the following senior assisted living facilities, nursing homes, and memory care facilities in Farmington/Farmington Hills for large print book distributions and programs:

American House - every first Wednesday of the month
Anthology of Farmington Hills - every third Friday of the month
The Baptist Manor - every first and third Wednesday of the month
Beaumont Commons (Independent Living Plus) - every third Friday of the month
Beaumont Commons (Apartments) - no set schedule
Brookdale Senior Living - every first Monday of the month
Canfield Care Manor - every third Monday of the month
Carrington Place - every second Monday of the month
Costick Center - every fourth Tuesday of the month
Farmington Place - every fourth Tuesday of the month
Farmington Hills Inn - every third Thursday of the month
Freedom Square - every second Friday of the month
Halsted Place - every second Wednesday of the month
Haworth Center - every third Thursday of the month
Home Sweet Home - every third Monday of the month
Medilodge - every second Tuesday of the month
Orchard Manor - every fourth Monday of the month

Large print books are delivered to each facility, and residents are able to select books to read. Anna also provides programs for senior residents, which include (but aren’t limited to): memoir writing/sharing, poetry readings, arts and crafts hours, storytimes, library card sign up days, and general book discussions.

Large Print Books

The Farmington Community Library offers select titles in large print to accommodate people who have low vision. Check out the following links to browse our large print selections:

New Large Print
View new large print titles available in the library’s collection.

The Library's Catalog
Browse our full selection of large print titles. Click on “Large Text” in the upper left-hand corner of the page to enlarge the page’s text size. Use the filters on the left-hand side of the page to narrow down search results.

The Library’s Books to Go Section
View our selection of large print titles offered in the Books to Go service. Titles in our Books to Go section can be used for book clubs/discussions, since there are multiple copies available.

BiFolkal Kits

The Farmington Community Library offers multisensory BiFolkal kits used for triggering memories and relaying information. These kits have been used for programming at senior assisted living facilities, nursing homes, and memory care facilities, and have props used for generating activities and conversations.

The library has kits associated with the following themes: Remembering the fifties, Remembering fun and games, Remembering fashion, Remembering birthdays, Remembering fall, Remembering automobiles, and Remembering music.

These kits are located in the general Large Print section at the Farmington Hills location.

The Oakland Talking Book Service (OTBS) is a free service, administered by the Rochester Hills Public Library, that loans talking books and magazines, large print books, Braille and talking book players to eligible Oakland County residents of all ages. If you are unable to read or use standard printed materials as a result of temporary or permanent visual or physical limitations, you qualify for service. A talking book player and materials will be mailed at no cost as Free Matter for the Blind.
- Oakland Talking Book Service (OTBS) Website

To apply for the Oakland Talking Book Service, visit their “Apply for Services” page to access their online application and printable application.

For additional questions about the Oakland Talking Book Service, contact the Rochester Hills Public Library at (248) 650-7150 or OTBS@rhpl.org

Tours for Seniors

Are you a senior who’s new to the library and doesn’t know where to begin? Contact Anna Granch, Senior Outreach Coordinator, at (248) 848-4311 or anna.granch@farmlib.org to schedule an individual or group tour of the Farmington Hills location! Tours can be anywhere between 30-60 minutes. Tours will begin in the Farmington Hills lobby next to the self-checkout machines.