Westchester Library System

The Westchester Library System, in partnership with Lifetime Arts, Inc., and the American Library Association's Public Programs Office, will demonstrate a new and robust model for public libraries to deliver and sustain meaningful instructional arts programs for an aging population. The field of creative aging, which focuses on the beneficial and powerful role of the arts in enhancing the quality of life for older adults, is increasingly recognized as an important contributor to positive aging. Partnering library systems are the Brooklyn Public Library, Clinton Essex Franklin Library System, New York Public Library, and Westchester Library System. By demonstrating approaches for implementing creative aging programs in urban, suburban, and rural library systems, this project will be an example for similar capacity-building initiatives in libraries across the United States.