Birstall library group raises funds for specialist resource to help people with dementia and children with educational needs

Friends of Birstall Library, with the help of grants from Batley and Birstall Community Fund and the Community Plus, in addition to a private donation, have been able to raise enough money to purchase a Mobii system, an interactive machine which provides motion-activated projections for care contexts, including those with special needs or dementia.

The projection system beams images, sounds and music from a wide variety of applications onto horizontal or vertical surfaces, with users being able to interact with many different environments.

“We’re hoping it is going to be a big resource,” said Stephen Walker, chair of the library group. “It will be of great help to the community in that it will help both children with learning difficulties and older people with dementia and Alzheimers.”

Believed to be the first of its kind available to library users in North Kirklees, local schools have already expressed an interest in their children having access to the resource when the new academic year starts in September, when Mr Walker expects the Mobii to be delivered to Birstall Library, which is based on Market Street.

He said: “We heard about a library in Sandal that had got one and some of us in the group went across for a demonstration, and we decided we would raise some money to buy one because there isn’t one in this are at all in Kirklees.

“We thought it would be a good thing to have for the community. It will be a community resource where they can come into the library and have a different experience.

“Local schools and groups have shown an interest and our next step is the delivery of the machine, which will be accompanied by initial training. We are hoping to make it a launch event for the library, and community, when the schools are back after the holidays.”