Miejsce Biblioteki Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego w życiu osób starszych

Abstract

Aging of Polish society has become more and more noticeable in the recent years. That is why state institutions and community organizations take up actions aiming at raising the quality of elderly people’s lives. Widely understood activating of senior citizens prevents their loneliness and social isolation, as well as it allows them to stay independent for a longer time. A scientific library, which collects books, magazines, newspapers, offers access to the internet and electronic sources has great potential to meet the needs of older people in terms of their intellectual development. However, are seniors interested in the research library collections? Not knowing the answer to this question, authors of the article have conducted surveys among the inhabitants of Lodz (163 people). They were asked whether and to what extent older people benefit from the Library of the University of Lodz, what motivates them and what discourages visits to the Library of Lodz. We have also studied reading interests of the elderly, access to the internet and participation in the activities offered by educational institutions. The results of the survey were discussed in the article.