In a short time, one local Puget Sound community is moving forward in their efforts to connect people with hearing loss to their world: Bainbridge Island Public Library is now looped!

Rick Faunt (left), owner of Now Hear This!, prepared for the copper wire with help from his assistant, Rick Diaz (center), and Bob Bosserman, chair of facilities for BPL. The loop slipped easily under the carpet.

The Community Room at the Bainbridge Island Public Library received its loop installation on June 15. Rick Faunt of Now Hear This! installed the loop, which was funded by the Rotary Club of Bainbridge. 

Bob Bosserman and Rick Diaz test the loop in the BPL Community Room.

Good signage will point you toward this large, popular community space—a space that can now be enjoyed by more people.

The sign at BPL’s Community Room reminds patrons to make the T-coil switch.

Nearly half of Bainbridge Island residents are over 50, the age group most likely to experience hearing loss. That means as many as 3,000 Bainbridge residents can better engage with their communities, thanks to these loops.

What a great example of responding to the real needs of a community.