This week’s guest post comes from Renee Grassi. Renee is the Head of Children’s Services at the Glencoe Public Library. She was recognized as a 2012 Library Journal Mover and Shaker for developing Sensory Storytime, a storytime designed especially for children with special needs. You can follow her on Twitter at @MissReneeDomain where she tweets about kid lit, libraries, and advocacy for people with disabilities. A great big Thank You to Renee for providing such a great contribution to our series!

When I launched Sensory Storytime back in 2010, I’ll be honest—I had no idea what to expect. Sure, I spent hours prepping stories and activities. Sure, I collaborated with stellar local special education teachers asking their advice about nearly every detail. Sure, there was a full program of ten children registered with a waitlist that included seventeen more kids. Sure, I promoted the program like crazy sending out flyers to NSSED, our local special education district. I even posted flyers on local disability-focused blogs and sent out information to our community’s homeschool families. “Sensory Storytime: Stories and Emergent Literacy Activities for Children with Special Needs” was going to be a brand new program for our small North Shore community. It was also one of the first times a program like this had been launched by a public library in the north suburbs of Chicago. My fear factor was definitely a ten. Happily, I survived to tell the tale. I guess survived probably doesn’t accurately explain what happened. I would say that what happened would be best described as The Ripple Effect.

The Ripple Effect happens a lot in public libraries. You know—that phenomenon when one library develops a new service. Then, word gets out and patrons from surrounding communities start talking about it. Then, they go to their home library and say “Why don’t you have (insert new service here) at this library?” Then, the first library shares their process about said service and those other libraries figure out a way of adapting it to fit the needs of their individual communities. This is what I love most about librarians—we aren’t afraid to share. When it comes to programming and library services, there isn’t a copyright on an idea. And when other librarians come a ‘knocking, we open our doors, sit them down, and tell them everything they want to know so that they can replicate it in their town.  This is essentially what happened with Sensory Storytime.

While perusing library blogs one day, I became moved and motivated by one particular ALSC Blog post and the ideas of one inspirational librarian, Tricia Bohanon Twarogowski.  Her post started by asking a question “‘Why begin a new storytime program for children with special needs and their families?’ The answer: to provide support for a vastly underserved area of our population. Efforts to provide special needs programming are an important aspect of library service which results in numerous rewards for families, communities and libraries.’” The library community I was serving at the time was not the most ethnically or economically diverse. I was searching for a way to really make a difference. But after reading Tricia’s post, I quickly realized one simple fact. Whether large or small, rural or urban, all library communities serve patrons with special needs.

After I launched my program, The Ripple Effect continued to spread. Librarians from surrounding libraries contacted my library to observe Sensory Storytime. I met with dozens of other librarians talking about my planning process and how the program was designed. I talked about selecting books for special need storytimes, as well as how to choose music for this audience. I also talked about how Library Social Stories are great tools to support children with special needs with making library visits for the first time. I also shared information I learned from other special education teachers about how to make public libraries more inclusive to special needs populations. There are so many resources I used to help me learn about serving patrons with special needs, and, of course, I shared these with them as well. And now, many other libraries in the Chicagoland area are hosting their own Sensory Storytime programs, including Arlington Heights, Oak Park Public Library, and Skokie Public Library—to name a few.

But how do we find our audience? This can sometimes be the most challenging part of the process, but I think it can be as easy as having a conversation. I have spoken with many parents of children with special needs about libraries. These are devoted parents who have done nothing but be their child’s number one cheerleader and champion. The truth is that many of these parents may think that the library is not the right place to take their child. This could be for many reasons—the library space isn’t accessible; the (perceived) noise requirement at a public library might not be suited for their child’s behavioral needs; maybe they have had negative experiences at other public places. It’s our job as librarians to confront those misconceptions and create opportunities for conversation about the value of public libraries.

Special needs services and programming can be viewed by some as a trend. If by trend, one means “a current style that emerges as popular that will one day end,” I would disagree 100%. People with special needs have always been and will always be part of our community. There are people in every single one of our library communities who experience disability as a lifelong reality. So, it’s important for us to examine current practices and change our attitudes, and make public libraries and their services accessible to all regardless of race, religion, gender, or disability. If by trend, one means “a general direction in which something is developing or changing,” I would agree 100%. We in libraries are just beginning to scratch the surface of what we can do to help better serve patrons with disabilities. Our knowledge is growing, with more and more resources becoming available for library staff to learn about inclusive programming. We are making connections with other librarians in the profession and gathering ideas about innovative programs and services. Most importantly, we are reaching out to patrons with special needs directly and asking them “What can the library do better to serve you?” Let’s challenge ourselves to keep The Ripple Effect flowing in our communities. 

Our guest post today was written by Anthony McGinn. Anthony is the Marketing Coordinator at Glen Ellyn Public Library. He writes about a wonderful program that meets the needs of high school students in a unique way. WebJunction Illinois truly appreciates this fabulous contribution!

The Glen Ellyn Public Library’s greatest mission has always been to provide the highest level of quality services and programs to our unique community. Some of the finest young minds in the Chicagoland area reside in Glen Ellyn. These high school students have lofty career aspirations and a competitive drive to achieve high grades in the hope of receiving admission to a revered university.

To address our high school student population’s need to achieve high grades, The Glen Ellyn Public Library created Late Night Study, a three day event coinciding with the District 87 high school finals schedule.

During Late Night Study, our library extends its operating hours past our usual closing time, allowing students an opportunity to study late into the evening. And students take advantage of every moment. Each day, we serve over 125 students, providing them with a safe environment, the latest research databases, and Illinois State certified high school teachers who provide tutoring.

Additionally, we organize our main auditorium into a study break room, offering students free food (including pizza and chicken-caesar sandwich wraps from local restaurants) and beverages (including hot chocolate and coffee).

Late Night Study provides our library with an opportunity to market our services and programs to the teenage crowd. For example, one of our library’s biggest programs, a miniature golf event called Swinging Thru the Stacks, was scheduled to occur the weekend following Late Night Study. We used Late Night Study as an opportunity to market Swinging Thru the Stacks to the teenage crowd by strategically placing promotional items near study areas and by talking to students about the event while in the study break room. Not only did some students attend the golf event, but even more volunteered to help us organize and execute the program.

Teen Late Night Study is one of our most valuable and appreciated programs. District 87 School Superintendent David F. Lawson recently wrote our library a letter that reads:

We sincerely appreciate the attention your staff gives our students and the wealth of resources available to our students and their families through the Glen Ellyn Public Library. As students study for final exams, the library’s group hours, group study space, safe learning environment and refreshments make an important time in the school year less stressful for students.

If the Glen Ellyn Public Library can offer programming and services that make the school year a little less stressful for local students, then we feel that we are accomplishing our overall mission: to serve the needs of our unique community.

Have you created programs to meet specific needs within your community?
We would love to hear about them in the comments.