Bibliotecas públicas natalenses e a oferta de serviços à pessoa idosa

Abstract

This work addresses the role of public libraries in Natal, regarding the elderly, who are currently a growing population. The general objective was to map the services offered by the public libraries of the capital of Rio Grande do Norte: The Câmara Cascudo State Library and the Professor Américo de Oliveira Costa Study Center and School Library, the specific objectives were listed as follows: Identify in the literature which are the services offered by public libraries to elderly people; Check whether in the libraries studied there is any action aimed at the elderly public; Highlight the social role of the public library; Suggest services and activities that can serve the elderly population. The methodology used consisted of bibliographical research and interviews. As a result, it was found that in these libraries there is a lack of actions for community elders and that among them, only one offers a specific activity for elderly citizens. With this, it is highlighted that the mentioned public libraries need to understand and incorporate into their daily lives the social role that is inseparable, as it is part of the public nature of their format, as well as the importance of creating partnerships for the success in the integration and democratization of the Library public to the elderly.