By Susan Ingram

Highland Springs, an Erickson Senior Living community in North Dallas, Tex., boasts a range of amenities for residents to enjoy, but one–or four–really stand out.

The Book Nook, a network of four mini libraries across campus, offers an impressive collection of fiction, nonfiction, best-selling, and large-print books, as well as audiobooks and periodicals. DVDs, puzzles, and books authored by Highland Springs residents can even be found on certain shelves.

The network is run by a steering committee comprising four head librarians, associate librarians, and administrator Katherine Young, one of the first retirees to move to Highland Springs in 2006.

“Each head librarian leads a committee for their Book Nook–people who have volunteered or have been recruited. Each committee varies in size from 12 to as many as 31,” explains Katherine.

To keep shelves stocked and sorted, more than 70 dedicated residents also volunteer their time to the Book Nook.

Book lovers unite
Katherine, who worked with librarians early in her career, loves that she’s able to pursue her passion for reading in retirement.

“I was a foreign service officer and a director of a cultural center in Mumbai, India, which included a library. I had a staff of professional librarians who taught me everything I know today,” she says. “It’s a love of books and an opportunity to engage with residents that drew me to working with the Book Nook.”

Kathy Skinner, a former pediatric nurse, now heads the Book Nook for the Cypress Landing residence building. She volunteered in the Plano Public Library system before moving to Highland Springs 14 years ago.

“I moved in on a Friday, and by the next week, I was volunteering in the library,” she recalls. “Highland Springs only had one library at that time. I had already talked to the woman in charge when I had visited, because I love books.”

While many Book Nook volunteers have library experience, it is not a requirement.

“One of our head librarians was the associate library director at University of Texas at Dallas. Another was an elementary school librarian. One was a high school math teacher, and one of our newer head librarians was a CPA,” Katherine says. “My point is, the only requirements are that you must be organized, like people, and, above all, love books!”

Lots to choose from
In addition to paperback and hardback copies of books, the Book Nook network offers approximately 4,900 items through a user-friendly, online catalog known as TinyCat.

But for this group of bookworms, reading is all about relaxation.

“All of our Book Nooks focus on leisure reading. We don’t have reference books, technical books, or textbooks,” Katherine says. “We concentrate on leisure reading or leisure activities, including audiobooks, DVDs, and periodicals.”

And each Book Nook specializes in a specific type of item. For instance, some carry more paperbacks, others more hardbacks, and three of the Book Nooks feature access to daily papers, including The Wall Street Journal and The Dallas Morning News.

Behind the scenes
Thanks to residents’ generous donations of gently used books and funds for the purchase of new books, DVDs, and periodicals, the Book Nook’s collection remains up to date.

All donations land in the Book Nook Annex, a storage room on campus, where resident volunteers organize everything based on a list of criteria.

“We box up what we can’t use, and our transportation team moves those donations out to one of our local public libraries, where they sell the books as part of their annual friends of the library sale,” Katherine says. “If we have excess copies or books we can’t shelve, we sell them to Half Price Books to raise funds.”

Volunteering together
Katherine, grateful to be surrounded by hundreds of peers who share her passion for reading, sings praises of the volunteers who help make the Book Nook network so successful.

“We have several gentlemen, our Book Nook couriers, who transport books among and between the four Book Nooks. Books checked out in one may be returned to any Book Nook,” she explains. “Plus, we have volunteers who process the books with stickers and labels.”

To learn more about affordable, independent senior living at Highland Springs, request your free brochure to get the scoop on amenities, floor plans, and so much more.

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