Benidorm offers a support service for seniors at the Municipal Library

Benidorm City Council has launched a support service for seniors at the municipal Central Library, aiming to improve the experience of senior users, one of the groups that most frequently visit these facilities. Ana Pellicer, Councilor for Historical and Cultural Heritage, explained that this support service is one of the initiatives promoted by her department as part of the certification the city obtained at the last edition of Fitur for its "Commitment to Seniors" from AENOR.

"We are the first destination certified for its best practices in services, infrastructure, and projects promoted to improve care for older residents and tourists, and we put this commitment into practice every day, implementing actions to reinforce it and ensure that it reaches all seniors, in every one of the services provided by the City Council," Pellicer stated.

The Municipal Library's support service for seniors is aimed at all people aged 60 and over who use the reading room or the book lending service. According to the councillor, "Any user over this age can request it by going to the lending desk, where the Library staff can guide them in choosing their reading material." Ana Pellicer explained that "many users arrive with clear ideas about the books they are looking for or that interest them, but we also encounter users who don't know what they would like to read, who are unaware of the new releases we are adding to our catalogue, or who, for these very reasons, feel hesitant and end up not visiting the Library anymore." "And that is precisely what we want to avoid with this service," she continued.

"By understanding their tastes and preferences, the staff can guide them to find the books they want, both with personalized recommendations and with advice based on their interests, thus making the facilities a more accessible space for reading." The head of Historical and Cultural Heritage encouraged users to use this service, expressing her hope that "age will never be a reason to abandon the reading habit."

First certified destination

Last January, Benidorm became the first destination to certify its Commitment to Older People by AENOR. This recognition was granted during the Fitur tourism fair and once again establishes Benidorm as an example for other cities and destinations in Spain and abroad.

This certification, designed to recognize organizations that actively work on inclusion and quality care for older people, has among its key objectives: facilitating the understanding and use of services by assisting older people with complex activities or products, ensuring their accessibility and ease of implementation; strengthening trust by implementing messages and actions that support older people's confidence in the services they use; and offering quality care by ensuring processes focused on the customer experience and providing added value in every interaction. Likewise, it pursues a commitment to sensitive sectors, such as banking and online, to demonstrate its commitment to digital inclusion and adapted care contributing to the 2030 Agenda by focusing on the Sustainable Development Goals related to social inclusion and equality.

To award Benidorm the Certification of Commitment to Elder Persons, AENOR took into account some of the actions the city has been carrying out for years in various areas to promote the integration and full inclusion of this group, as well as the municipal commitment of the City Council to continue improving excellence in tourist services and training in specialized care, training at least 30% of municipal and contracted staff to improve care for the elderly.

Ana Pellicer recalled that, in addition to the support service at the Library, "we recently opened the Senior Care Office in the Maravall Administrative Extension and we have a decalogue to ensure that older people receive good care in all municipal services and facilities." It includes precepts such as respect and dignity; personalized attention; clear communication; universal accessibility; active participation; confidentiality; ongoing training; safety and well-being; transparency; and a commitment to continuous improvement.