New initiative will see library share 'music and memories' with Cork nursing home residents 

CORK City Libraries launched a new initiative, Music and Memories boxes, recently at the Bon Secours Care Village on Mount Desert Lee Road.

The boxes contain 30 pictures of Cork from the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, and among these images are a contribution from The Echo’s archives.

They also contain 15 music CDs from this era, four dementia friendly books, and a dementia friendly jigsaw puzzle, with the boxes serving as a memory toolkit.

This pilot project, funded by the Cork City Council Innovation Fund, will see the boxes delivered to 10 nursing homes in Cork City, and activity co-ordinators in the nursing homes will use the books and pictures to encourage memories and conversation and connectivity.

Old pictures and photographs can improve memory function and prolong cognitive ability, helping to alleviate isolation and depression in Alzheimer’s and dementia sufferers.

The CDs are specially selected to reflect the popular music and songs from this age group’s era, as music and songs are often retained in memory long after other recollections have disappeared, and music therapy is widely accepted as a way for dementia sufferers to engage and connect socially.

A box of new items will be supplied to the nursing homes by Cork City Library LibraryLink service each month.