Books for Alzheimer's Care Facility?

[Big Dave]

Aloha,

I'm about to open an Alzheimer's care facility for people with early to mid stage Alzheimers.
http://www.halekuike.com/

We will have a nice little library and I want to stock it with meaninful books and publications the residents and their family members will enjoy. Staff will also flip through the books with residents to reminisce. I did buy several books from Reminisce Books that have titles such as "School Days", and "When the Banks Closed, We Opened our Hearts."

I would appreciate suggestions since this is not a topic I know very much about. Due to short term memory loss, I don't think novels will work. I think picture books, maybe short poems, classic children books and that type of thing would be popular. Books from the 1930's and 1940's would be great. Most of our residents will be women, so topics that appeal to women are a priority. Maybe a couple of sports related books for the men.

I just purchased two Norman Rockwell books on ebay. I've also been purchasing Life Magazines from the late 1930's. I'm hunting for bound versions of National Geographic from the 1930's and late 1940's (after the war).

Most of our residents will have been born between 1915 and 1920. Books that they remember from childhood to teen years would be great. It would be nice to have some coffee table books that are not too heavy, like the thinner Norman Rockwell books. With Christmas coming up, that could be a good theme for a couple books.

At night time, we may read poems and other short stories to create a calming routine and help cue people for bedtime.

Thank you for your help.
Dave

 

[novella]

The books of the photographs of Ansel Adams, Alfred Stieglitz, and Henry Fox Talbot might be right. They are so absorbing, mainly lacking in deprivation, and some are very meditative.

 

[Ashlea]

You might try short story collections for those with decreased attention spans. O'Henry, etc. You might also ask for donations, especially if you are looking for older books.

 

[Big Dave]

Thank you for the replies...

Good suggestions. I appreciate it.

Ashlea: Regarding the short stories in O'Henry. How short are they? Can they be read in less than five minutes? Besides the short term memory loss and ability to track a story...some people might become restless in longer short stories. I think classic short stories that were very popular in the 20's may be successful because there is a good chance that the residents will remember the story from childhood. I've been a nursing home administrator for a long time and have always been surprised to see how clearly people remember Christmas stories and all those rhymes from early childhood. Some people who can no longer carry on a conversation at all can recite rhyme after rhyme as long as you get them going with the first line. (Especially school school teachers.) Amazing.

Novella: Are there specific titles that you would suggest. The meditative ones sound good.

We are currently planning out the book case and it's fairly small. In has a couple of slanted shelves to display magazines and a couple of shelves for books. I need quality not quantity.

Mahalo,
Dave