Village De Memoire celebrating re-opening of Residents’ Library, new Computer Center

The residents of Village De Memoire can once again check out their favorite novel or even email their grandchildren.
After Village De Memoire I and II merged at the end of 2012, renovations began at the Ville Platte nursing home facility. Due to that ongoing construction, the library had to be closed as it was used as a temporary office space.
“They began renovating immediately after the merger so all the office personnel had to be move into the library,” Village De Memoire Community Manager Frances Blood said. “So at that point no one could use the library.”
Even though the major areas of the facility were rededicated in July 2014, many other areas such as common rooms, the beauty shop and the library still needed to be renovated and upgraded, and that is exactly what has happened.
Due to the large amount of donations it received of books, Village De Memoire expanded the space of its library by adding more shelves but also added five new desktop computers as well. Now residents not only have a new library to enjoy, but also a computer center, a puzzle center and racks of magazines and newspapers.
“The residents can do their social media and everything like that,” Blood said. “They can contact friends and families and stay in touch with everyone. And if they need to print something they can do that as well.”
The only hurdle left for Blood was having someone there to run the library, which is open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1 to 3 p.m.
“We had to add more library shelves to accommodate the donation of books that we received and we added the computers which was great but we didn’t have anyone to volunteer to be the librarian for us,” Blood said.
That all changed when Callie Wilkerson agreed to serve as the Resident Volunteer Librarian.
“I absolutely love reading,” Wilkerson said. “I have been reading since I was three-years-old. It is a way to travel that doesn’t cost you a lot of money. That is what I say when trying to encourage our residents to come to the library. It is a hobby of mine that I wanted to share with the residents.”
For both Blood and Wilkerson, it was of dire importance to reopen the library for those who call Village De Memoire home.
“It was extremely important,” Blood said. “A lot of our residents are not able to go out, so the more we offer them on site the better for them.”
Added Wilkerson, “Even if they don’t check out a book the library and computer center is just a way for them to socialize. This gets them out of their room and gives them something to do. Everybody likes to play bingo but not everybody likes to play bingo everyday.”