American Library Association Landscape Report: Aging Together
The American Library Association (ALA) has released a landscape report, "Aging Together," that examines how public libraries support older adults' health and well-being.
The report provides a view of the library programming environment through a review of existing literature on programs to advance health, social connection, end-of-life care and caregiver support. It finds that libraries generally concentrate their efforts in four areas: leisure, lifelong learning, health and digital technology. Although data is limited, evidence suggests these programs improve older adults’ knowledge, well-being and sense of community.
This landscape report, part of the initiative Aging Together: An Evaluation of Library Programming for Older Adults, precedes a final report expected in February 2027 that will provide an in-depth analysis of library services for older adults, along with recommendations and best practices.
ALA also published a blog post, "Aging Together: What Libraries Are Learning About Serving Older Adults," which shares highlights from a session at the 2026 Public Library Association (PLA) Conference where four library workers shared how their libraries are approaching this work.
Read and learn more about the report.
Read the blog post.
Learn more about ALA.
Learn more about JAHF's co-support of ALA.
Original post 3/26/26 updated 6/8/26
