World Alzheimer's Day is observed on 21 September and is a day to raise awareness about Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia.

At Waimakariri Libraries, we strive to be dementia friendly for our aging community and have been recognised as Working To Be Dementia Friendly by Alzheimers New Zealand!

One of the ways we do this is through our Dementia Friendly Collection consisting of curated suitcases called 'A Suitcase Full of Memories'. Each suitcase is themed to evoke memories through items and reading material and can be borrowed for 3 weeks with your library card. We currently have the following themes available, On the Farm, In the Garden, and At Home.

Monthly, two of our staff run the Next Chapter Group in collaboration with Dementia Canterbury. Participation in this group is on a referral basis only and Dementia Canterbury refers people living with dementia | mate wareware  to the group if they think it may be beneficial to their journey. At this stage, about 10 people attend each month with varying stages of dementia | mate wareware. The session runs for 90 minutes and aims to be a fun, social time for adults with dementia | mate wareware.

For those who have not been referred to the Next Chapter Group, Waimakariri Libraries host alternative groups which have a similar focus like our Shared Reading Groups and the Talking Cafe at Oxford Library. While these groups are not explicitly for those living with dementia | mate wareware the groups create connections with others through conversation and through literature, helping participants to understand other perspectives and lived experiences.

You can also find books about dementia in our catalogue.