Abstract:

Major life transitions (as retirement or reallocation) can negatively impact the emotional well-being of older people. However, various forms of intervention and support in community and especially in third space to life transition in the older adulthood are still neither sufficiently developed nor researched. In the framework of information and communication sciences, information institutions such as libraries, in addition to their traditional role as mediators between information and users, also appear in the role of supporting activities through the implementation of various inclusive programs. In this way, it is possible to strengthen the social skills of users and personal development of all age groups, supports their active participation in the community and contributes to social inclusion. When you add to that various artistic and cultural projects with members of less visible parts of the community, of different generational groups, such as people of the third age, the results of the study speak in favor of achieving social influence and fulfilling the mission of libraries in the context of social inclusion and the development of democratic processes and strengthening social capital.

This paper deals with the evaluation of the success and satisfaction of the participants of the pilot program of the inclusive project of inter-generational collaborative learning and social interaction through the strengthening of chess skills and the application of information and communication technology (mobile applications) called "It's your move", which was carried out during September and October 2023 in the public library "Vladimir Nazor" in Zagreb, Croatia. A qualitative research approach was applied. Considering the content of the activity, a double purposive sample of participants ( age >18=8; age <65=13) was used. The sample related to learning chess includes retired chess players (n1= 3) and older elementary school children (n2=5), and the sample related to learning mobile applications includes retired chess players (N1=12) and older elementary school children (N2=12). The participants evaluated their involvement in the program positively and expressed high satisfaction with the results of the transfer of knowledge and skills. This program represents a good and sustainable peer mentoring practice in the scope of „third space“ support to life transition of elderly people as well as the inclusive in-service learning to the library staff.

Keywords:

Community engagement, inter-generational collaborative learning, library as a supportive profession, support to life transition, third age people.