North Lake County Public Library (Polson, Montana)

Established in 1912, the North Lake County Public Library is located in Polson, Montana (pop. 5,100), and serves several rural communities in the northwestern part of the state. The area’s natural environment (which includes Flathead Lake, the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi) makes Polson a popular place to retire; at present, just over 1 in 5 residents is over 65. One of the library’s key goals, explains director Abbi Dooley, is to “make sure that we are able to best serve those who choose to live their remaining days in our beautiful area.” Aware of the fact that “with an aging population come various health issues,” in recent years, the library has used LTC funding to make significant progress toward that goal — initially by becoming the first library in Montana to install a hearing loop, and then through the purchase of a Lucynt projector. These new assistive technologies have made the library more accessible to individuals with hearing loss and dementia. Beyond that, they’ve improved people’s quality of life in a place where (as technical services librarian Angela Claver puts it) “there aren’t many resources or forms of help.”

Dooley first learned about the LTC initiative in 2023, when the library was breaking ground on a major renovation to make the building fully ADA compliant. “[The LTC initiative] definitely looked interesting,” Dooley remembers, as “we were already very focused on accessibility.”

In response to feedback from patrons with hearing-related disabilities, Dooley and her staff began to look into ways to upgrade the library’s sound system. They soon hit upon the idea of installing a hearing loop—a technology that uses underground copper wires to transmit sounds from a microphone through the telecoils (t-coils) in hearing aids and cochlear implants. When installed in public venues, hearing loops improve clarity and understanding by amplifying speech and reducing background noise. 

This solution spoke directly to the library’s goal: ensuring that hard-of-hearing patrons would be “able to clearly hear speakers in our community room as well as communicate with staff at the circulation desk.” Upon receiving LTC funds, the library hosted a community conversation in which a representative from OTOjOY made а presentation and shared a video on hearing loops. All attendees either used assistive hearing technologies themselves or had a spouse who did. After seeing how commonplace this technology is in other countries (where public spaces like grocery stores, schools, and libraries are often required to have hearing loops installed), everyone quickly rallied around the library’s idea. “Overall it was a great conversation,” Dooley says. Attendees “asked excellent questions, and the feedback from everyone was really great.” 

The community conversation gave the library the support needed to move the project forward. As the library was already closed for remodeling, the timing couldn’t have been better. “It was just a natural tie-in since we would have the floor all ripped up and needed to put down new carpet,” Dooley recalls. The installation went smoothly, and with the passage of time, the library has figured out how to effectively promote and integrate the hearing loop into its programming efforts. To ensure proper use of the technology, staff talk to both presenters and patrons about the loop—and the need to make use of microphones. As hearing aids need to be adjusted by an audiologist before they can be synced up with the hearing loop, the library also provides headphones and handheld devices to anyone who wants them. Some prefer this approach. Speaking of one particular patron with hearing loss, assistant director Mallory Witham explains how “he never wears his hearing aids, but he loves coming to programming here because he can use the headset.”

The best thing about the hearing loop is that patrons can use it discreetly. As the library learned from its community conversation, hearing loss is “one of those things that people are often embarrassed to admit they have.” With the hearing loop, patrons can avoid these embarrassing situations. The technology alleviates the stigma around hearing loss and obviates the need for “forced intimacy” (that is, having to disclose personal information about oneself as a condition of receiving disability accommodations).

The hearing loop is particularly valuable when the community room reaches peak capacity (59 occupants) — and on those occasions when the library has to open the side doors to accommodate additional patrons. By cutting out background noise, the loop makes it much easier to hear when there are many people in the room.

Word of the library’s hearing loop is spreading throughout the area. After attending an event in which the library showcased its new technology, a member of a local church “went ahead and funded one for their congregation as well.” Staff have also discussed their hearing loop at retreats hosted by the Tamarack Federation (which represents libraries in western Montana) and at ALA conferences. 

“Hopefully we can be that inspiration to encourage other libraries to put a loop into their community rooms,” Dooley says. 

The library’s success with the hearing loop inspired Dooley and her staff to think about other assistive technologies that could be beneficial to people with disabilities. After serving as the library’s representative to a local senior living facility, Claver began gathering local contacts and doing outreach to learn about available services for people with dementia (and their caregivers). One day, she noticed a van parked next to the Montana State University (MSU) Extension Mobile memory café with the words “Angel Care Services” on it. Led by Danika Lisk, the Polson Angel Care home health and respite company  provides a variety of dementia-related services throughout the area.

Soon Lisk, Claver, and other library staff got talking. “We found out that we had a lot in common,” Dooley says. It turned out that Angel Care was in need of a different location for the memory café program they run for people with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. As the library began considering a second LTC grant focused on people with dementia and their caregivers, Witham began researching assistive technologies designed with the needs of this audience in mind. One piece of equipment seemed particularly promising: a projector made by a company called Lucynt that offers access to over 160 games that promote social interaction, physical activity, and mental stimulation. Designed specifically for people with dementia and other cognitive disabilities, the projector seemed an ideal addition to the library’s assistive technology devices. 

After securing a second LTC grant, the library hosted a conversation to “find out if this was something the community needed and would be receptive to.” In addition to inviting local residents with dementia and their caregivers, the library reached out to representatives from Western Montana Aging Services, the Alzheimer’s Association, the Alzheimer’s Montana Association, the MSU Extension, a local caregivers’ group, seniors’ centers, and the police department.

As with their first conversation, the library got “really positive feedback” from attendees. Participants supported the purchase of related materials such as fidget blankets, memory kits, music, a Yamaha keyboard, animatronic animals, tablets with preloaded games, and technologies for recording people’s life stories. They also voted in favor of buying the Lucynt projector, which Dooley calls “the centerpiece of the grant.”

Located in the library’s community room, the projector is calibrated to work on two tables. It’s equipped with different game options for people with early, middle, and late stage dementia, and includes a sound system. Players move images on the screen with their hands, and can also interact with the musical components embedded in different games.

The projector has been a big hit. After installing it, the library hosted a second community conversation dedicated to demonstrating the technology’s use (in addition to showcasing other items purchased with the grant). “It was very popular at that event,” Dooley remembers, adding that “the whole group wanted to take turns with it.” Since then, the library has incorporated the projector into several programs, including Lisk’s memory café. Lisk says that memory cafe participants “love it,” noting that “it’s so easy to play the games.” 

Given the technology’s possibilities, staff have also talked about establishing a regular drop-in program when the projector will be "open and available to the public," though this will require staff oversight, as users may need instruction and assistance while using it. But it’s clear the library has only begun to tap the projector’s potential. “We haven’t even fully explored everything it can do,” says Witham. Moving forward, the library is exploring new ways to use the technology, including for families and children on the autism spectrum — something the Lucynt projector would be very useful for. 

The library’s new assistive technologies are “making an impact on the community,” Claver shares. Staff have already witnessed moments where patrons with “a great experience” tell others, “oh, hey at the library they have this really cool thing!” Based on this, Claver fully expects that both the hearing loop and the Lucynt projector will be “broader in usage than we even realize now.” Whitham also thinks that programs and services incorporating these new technologies will become even more popular over time: “I think we're going to see it grow in the next few years.” Lisk agrees, sharing how “word of mouth is going far in this community!”

As the library creates a more welcoming, accessible environment for people with disabilities, the impact of their work is beginning to resonate more broadly throughout the community. Perhaps most noticeably, the library’s technological upgrades are raising disability awareness. The act of scheduling memory cafés alongside other programs means that people who do not have dementia are more often interacting with those who do. These interactions are “normalizing” dementia, Witham says, and “bringing empathy to everyone.” Witham also says that the experience of observing younger patrons make use of the library’s dementia-friendly games and equipment has raised her own awareness. "It's been surprising to me, and educational to see that it's not just somebody in their 80s who starts to have dementia,” she says. “It can be any age.” As another example, Dooley shares how police officers who attended the first community conversation for the library’s second grant learned some new approaches for helping people who have memory loss. 

Staff have also seen how their technological upgrades benefit people regardless of their disability status. This has been particularly observable in connection with the hearing loop. Their experiences have shown the library that this technology “makes a difference even for those who don’t wear hearing aids to be able to hear,” Dooley shares. Along similar lines, Claver notes that “you don’t need to have memory loss to have fun with the projector.”

Staff have also learned that they have a lot to offer others in the Montana library community. By sharing their experiences with adding assistive technologies and services, the library is looking to continue playing a leading role in expanding access and services to people with disabilities.