Cal State East Bay Collaborates in Music & Memory Book-to-Action Project

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  • May 6, 2015

Cal State East Bay is collaborating with Hayward Public Library and other community agencies in the powerful Music & Memory Book-to-Action Project, which involves community members reading a book, seeing a film, and then engaging in a community service activity that relates to the subject of the book and film.

Similar to a traditional book club, the Book-to-Action project provides an opportunity to collectively read and discuss Dr. Oliver Sacks’ book “Musicophilia: Tales of Music & the Brain.” Sacks is a professor of neurology at the New York University School of Medicine and the author of several books.

Book-to-Action participants also see the movie “Alive Inside,” which follows Dan Cohen, founder of the nonprofit organization Music & Memory, as he fights the healthcare system to demonstrate music’s ability to combat memory loss and restore a sense of self to those suffering from it.

Participants then put their newfound knowledge into action by engaging in community service. Locally, members of the Hayward community are invited to participate in community sing-alongs and other musical events with seniors in places where they live and gather.

“The project is a true collaboration of many different CSUEB departments and community agencies and exemplifies how we can collectively contribute to the public good when we work together,” said Andrea Wells, community partnerships coordinator in the University’s Center for Community Engagement.

CSUEB got involved in the program in December 2014 when Sally Thomas, librarian at the Hayward Public Library, approached Wells to see how the University might participate. Shortly thereafter, two students in the Pioneers for Change program, supervised by Wells and Thomas, began contacting senior homes to set up music events and reaching out to faculty to ask for their help.

“We are seeing a rich interaction of CSUEB scholars and students, nonprofit agencies, and the public library and community members we serve in discussions related to developing a healthy framework for aging and support for those who are living with communication disorders like aphasia and age-related diseases like dementia and Alzheimer’s,” Thomas said. “There’s an incredible amount of interest in the healing power of music and its ability to bring the young and old together.”

The University’s Leadership Employee and Enrichment Program (LEEP) bought 150 copies of “Musicophilia: Tales of Music & the Brain” and distributed them for free to members of the campus and local community who registered or attended at least one event.

In addition, Nidhi Mahendra, chair of the Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders, is speaking about the impact of memory impairments at the film screenings. She and her class organized a poster session on campus and a performance at Hayward City Hall by The Aphasia Tones, a Cal State East Bay chorus composed of persons learning to live with aphasia.

Several University partners are collaborating, including the Center for Community Engagement, LEEP, School of Arts and Multimedia, and the departments of Communicative Sciences and Disorders, Music, and Human Development. Community partners are the Hayward Public Library, Alzheimer's Services of the East Bay, Eden Housing's Josephine Lum Lodge and Hayward High School.

Faculty, staff and community members are invited to participate in upcoming events. Scheduled events in May include:

  • Thursday, May 7, noon: “Musicophilia” book discussion in Room 2250 at the CSUEB Library
  • Wednesday, May 13, University Theatre:
    • 11:30–noon: Poster session and refreshments hosted by the Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders in honor of Better Hearing and Speech Month
    • Noon–12:15 p.m.: Remarks by Nidhi Mahendra, chair of the Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders, and Hayward Public Librarian Sally Thomas
    • 12:15–12:30 p.m.: Performance by CSUEB Choir conducted by Department Chair Buddy James, School of Arts and Media
    • 12:30–1:45 p.m.: Screening of “Alive Inside”
    • 1:45–2:15 p.m.: Discussion about the film led by Xeno Rasmusson, assistant professor of human development
  • May 21, 3 p.m.: Community music event at Josephine Lum Lodge, 2747 Oliver Drive, Hayward.

For more information or to get involved in a local civic engagement activity by volunteering in an upcoming music-sharing event with seniors, register at: