About Our Job
The Denver Public Library (DPL) is a growing urban library system that serves the City & County of Denver. DPL sees more than 4 million visitors every year across its 27 locations, serves Denver’s most vulnerable communities through outreach and mobile services, hosts thousands of programs a year, and manages a collection of more than 1.4 million physical and digital materials. We believe a strong library is vital for a strong community. DPL is committed to serving the evolving needs of Denverites through inspired programming, diverse collections, culturally-representative spaces and equitable policies & procedures.
For more information, go to denverlibrary.org. Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.
DPL’s Older Adult Services (OAS) Department serves people aged 50+ across all aspects of library service in all 27 locations and beyond. We have pioneered a positive aging approach that is research-based and rooted in the most current understanding of geriatric psychology, neurology, neuroplasticity, and the developmental stages of adulthood.
At DPL, we view age as a gift, and we provide older adults with the information, services, and programs they need to have a fulfilling, meaningful, connected, and healthy older adulthood. At the same time, we recognize the real challenges of aging, especially among older adults who are economically disadvantaged, those who are living with a physical or cognitive disability or medical condition, those who are unhoused, and those who are members of a marginalized community.
We have a culturally aware and intersectional approach to our work, recognizing that the experience of aging is impacted by other identities, including but not limited to race, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, language, religion, and ability. We also work intergenerationally, and we seek to support older adults who are raising children and grandchildren. We provide services and programs in a number of different languages, including English and Spanish.
The Older Adult Services Department has six overarching goals. For folks age 50+ in Denver, we:
- Work toward a library, community, and culture that is age positive and anti-ageist and that treats older adults with warmth and respect
- Provide opportunities for connection
- Create experiences that cultivate joy
- Provide opportunities for learning and growth
- Provide resources (tech, tools, information) to solve problems
- Foster a sense of intrinsic worth
Our Strategic Areas of Focus for people 50+ include
- Intergenerational Engagement
- Anti-Ageism
- Legacy/End of Life (grief information, life review, advance care planning)
- Creative Aging (programs and services that use creative engagement to enhance life and wellbeing as people age)
- Wellbeing (mindfulness and movement)
- Brain Matters (Services for people with memory loss, caregivers, health equity)
- Lifelong Information (Technology, health, financial wellness, government benefits, etc.)
- Lifelong Learning and Growth (programs and services that feed people’s curiosity and need to learn across their lifespan)
While the OAS LPA will work in all of the Strategic Areas of Focus listed above, this position will work primarily in Lifelong Information, Lifelong Learning and Growth, and Legacy/End of Life. For this reason, the ideal candidate has experience related to these areas of focus.
- If you are hired as the OAS Library Programming Associate you will:
- Provide customer service to library patrons.
- Assist in the creation of programming menus and materials for system wide focus months.
- Field customer questions and requests about OAS programs and services.
- Manage program budgets.
- Handle internal communication for OAS programs and services, including but not limited to content creation to promote OAS program and services within the library system.
- Stay up to date with training and internal communications regarding external program marketing.
- Handle external communication for OAS programs and services, including but not limited to social media content creation, flyer creation and distribution, and writing high quality and informative program descriptions for DPL’s monthly Engage magazine and library website.
- Work toward creating an anti-ageist library and community.
- Advise library staff and others in the community about best practices in serving older adults.
- Take a culturally-responsive, intersectional approach to your work.
- Build and maintain community relationships through outreach to senior living sites, assisted living and skilled nursing facilities, and organizations that support older adults.
- Create and facilitate programs at branch libraries, at offsite community partner locations, and outreach locations in the program service areas listed above.
- Work with the Adult Services team to provide programs and services for older adults throughout Denver that meet the social, emotional, and developmental needs of people as they age.
The ideal candidate for this position has:
- Familiarity with and investment in Denver Public Library's Mission, Vision, and Values
- Ability to work occasional evenings and weekends
- Ability to work remotely and at any of our 27 locations on various days at various time
- Ability to facilitate group conversations
- Ability to thrive working in an environment with constant public contact with people from all backgrounds and age groups, including people without English language proficiency.
- Ability to travel all over Denver and present programs and services in geographically diverse locations
- Knowledge and experience in developing and presenting programs for older adults and/or programs for the dementia community.
Only applicants who meet the following minimum qualifications will be considered:
- At least two years of related experience preferred
- A Bachelor's degree in a related field of study (for example, gerontology, social work, physical therapy, music therapy, occupational therapy, art therapy, psychology, education, and so on)
The following qualifications are strongly preferred, but not required:
- Applicants who are themselves older adults (that is, age 50+) are strongly encouraged to apply.
- Please provide a resume and cover letter with your application highlighting your relevant skills. Your cover letter should explain with specificity why you are interested in the position. Applicants are strongly encouraged to provide a cover letter but it's not required.
- Demonstrated knowledge of the needs of older adults.
- Proficiency in a language other than English
- Experience programming for older adults and/or people with Alzheimer’s/dementia