Highland Springs Resident Volunteers Operate Extensive Mini-Library Network in North Dallas

The Highland Springs senior living community in North Dallas has developed an innovative volunteer-operated library system that serves as a model for resident engagement and intellectual enrichment. The Book Nook network, managed entirely by resident volunteers, features four distinct mini-libraries offering an extensive collection of reading and entertainment materials.

More than 70 dedicated residents volunteer their time to maintain the system, which is overseen by a steering committee comprising four head librarians, associate librarians, and administrator Katherine Young. Each head librarian leads a committee for their specific Book Nook location, with committee sizes ranging from 12 to 31 members. Young, one of the first retirees to move to Highland Springs in 2006, brings unique experience to the role, having worked with librarians early in her career as a foreign service officer and director of a cultural center in Mumbai, India.

The collection maintains approximately 4,900 items accessible through a user-friendly online catalog known as TinyCat. The system focuses exclusively on leisure reading and activities, featuring fiction, nonfiction, bestsellers, large-print books, audiobooks, periodicals, DVDs, and puzzles. Some shelves even showcase works authored by community residents themselves, adding a personal touch to the collection.

Each Book Nook location specializes in specific types of materials, with some carrying more paperbacks, others more hardbacks, and three locations providing access to daily newspapers including The Wall Street Journal and The Dallas Morning News. The collection remains current through resident donations of gently used books and funds allocated for purchasing new materials. Donations are processed in the Book Nook Annex storage room, where volunteers organize items based on specific criteria.

The operational efficiency extends to resource management, with excess materials either donated to local public libraries for their annual friends of the library sales or sold to Half Price Books to raise additional funds. A unique courier system allows volunteers to transport books between the four locations, enabling residents to check out materials from one Book Nook and return them to any other facility within the network.

This volunteer-driven initiative demonstrates how senior living communities can foster intellectual engagement and social connection among residents. The program requires no specific library experience from volunteers—organization skills, people skills, and a passion for reading serve as the only prerequisites. As Young explains, "It's a love of books and an opportunity to engage with residents that drew me to working with the Book Nook." The system not only provides access to reading materials but also creates meaningful volunteer opportunities that contribute to residents' quality of life and sense of purpose.

The Highland Springs model offers valuable insights for other senior living communities seeking to enhance resident engagement through volunteer-led programs. By leveraging residents' expertise and passion for reading, the community has created a self-sustaining system that promotes intellectual stimulation, social interaction, and resource sharing. This approach to community-based library services could inspire similar initiatives in retirement communities across Texas and beyond, demonstrating how resident-driven programs can significantly impact quality of life in senior living environments.