Monthly Advocates program provides library access for everyone

Penguins still get cold, even underneath those feathers. They also have transparent eyelids to help them see underwater when they swim.

These birds were the main topic of conversation at the Weston Public Library on Jan. 20 at an event for adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities.

Every month, the library hosts members of Advocates, an organization that provides services for people with developmental disabilities and mental health challenges, for a morning of reading and arts and crafts.

Tatanya Flannery, one of three library employees behind the monthly event, said there is a lack of programming for adults with developmental disabilities, and the Advocates program helps fill that gap.

“The role of the public library is to serve our patrons, and these are the patrons who visit every day,” Flannery said.

The program began three years ago after Eric Dwinnells, program manager for community-based day supports at Advocates, asked the library to display an art project inspired by masks around the world that program members had made.

“We’d come here to visit before and I knew they had a nice gallery space,” he said.

Library staff offered to host a monthly program for Advocates, which brings members into the library for different arts and crafts activities and offers a chance to socialize. Every month has a different theme. January’s was penguins, but past meetings have highlighted the fire department and the post office, among other topics.

“People usually don’t offer to do programming for us,” Dwinnells said. “They’re so understanding and good [at] working with us.”

After Adult Services Librarian Kim Viglas finished reading picture books, the group moved to the arts and crafts portion of the session. Participants brushed blue ink over outlines of mountains and added penguin stickers to their winter landscapes.

While working on crafts, some got up to peruse the rack of library books that had been selected for them.

Dominique Viglas, the technical services librarian assistant, helped put books into bags and pack away the art projects for people to take home.

“We’ve been doing it for a while now. It’s a really rewarding experience and we’ve built some great relationships,” she said. “It’s nice to do something different from the day-to-day, and interact with people one-on-one and bring the library to them.”

Dwinnells and the library staff helped everyone back into the vans, bidding farewell until next month.

“It’s nice to be out in the community and see what that means to be part of it,” Dwinnells said.