The concept of learning and education is often synonymous with libraries. Libraries have been educational centers almost since their inception. Andrew Carnegie considered public libraries educational centers for everyone when his foundation funded the construction of over 2,500 public libraries in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The public library was the center of education for new immigrants coming to the United States, in the early twentieth century, wanting to obtain citizenship information. It is a place to learn about current events and, more recently, a center for lifelong learning that has been embraced by public libraries as an important part of their mission statement. Libraries promote lifelong learning by offering computer classes and a computer lab, services and programs that promote reading through book clubs and current affairs groups. They promote cultural literacy through speakers, music, festivals, and other cultural events and are a meeting place for test preparation and English-as-a-second-language classes (Elmborg, 2016 Gilton, 2016). “Lifelong learning” is a term used to describe formal and nonformal learning from birth to grave. Public libraries have generally divided their population into three age groups—childhood (birth to twelve years), young adult (thirteen to seventeen years), and adults (eighteen years and older). Lifelong learning for the younger population often refers to learning that takes place in an educational institution. Lifelong learning for the adult population refers to learning obtained after one completes a formal education program and can be found in a variety of settings, including libraries, museums, and senior centers. Library program- ming and services for the adult population often includes the entire adult population, which covers a wide spectrum of ages and life events (Okobi, 2014 Von Doetinchem, 2019). The adult population is a large and diverse population, and their needs change as they age. At the younger end of the spectrum, adults are beginning careers and establishing families. In the middle years, they are raising children, switching careers, and sending their children off to college and jobs. They may be caring for an elderly family member and trying to save for retirement. At the other end of the spectrum, adults sixty years and older are planning for retirement they may be dealing with health issues, which restrict their mobility or need to plan for long-term care. Within every community there will also be cul- tural, economic, and racial factors that impact the needs and experiences of the adult population. The one- size-fits-all approach may have been enough at one time, but in the twenty-first century libraries need to understand the needs of the entire adult population and plan programs and services that meet these needs. The baby boomer generation, those born between 1946 and 1964, started turning sixty-five in 2011 and have had a major impact on older adult services and programming. This generation is healthier and better educated, supports libraries, and wants to continue learning. Due to technological and health advances more people are living longer, into their eighties and nineties. Some are mobile, and some are living in senior facilities, or with family members. They attend adult day care and memory cafés or may have early-stage dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. INTRODUCTION
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