My Library Is...A Welcoming Space for All Users

  • Academic
Sensory kits in the library

College can be a difficult time in a young person’s life. It may be the first time that a student has been away from home for a long period of time.  College may be a place where a student does not know anyone and has to navigate building new relationships on their own.  It is a time when the student is responsible for everything they do, and may not be able to fall back on their parents or teachers.  This period of unprecedented change and personal development is much more difficult for students who have physical, mental, or social disabilities. One of Benedictine University’s hallmarks is hospitality, defined as an openness to others or welcoming people who are different. The library chose to demonstrate this hallmark by providing all patrons with access to adaptive social and physical supports. 

What We Did 

Working in collaboration with the Benedictine University Office of Academic Accommodations and Accessibility, a selection of items were purchased and organized into five sensory kits for students to check out and use while on campus.  These items included: 

  • sound-cancelling headphones and case 
  • weighted blankets 
  • happy lights 
  • white noise machines 
  • soundproof earmuffs 
  • wraparound sunglasses 
  • fidgets 
  • calm strips 

Additional items were made available as single-item checkouts. Extra fidgets and calm strips were available at the library service desks for use as needed.   

Several books were added to the circulating collection as professional development tools for faculty and staff in working with neurodivergent students. 

A small variety of other supports were purchased, including: 

  • Headset with noise-cancelling microphone for talk-to-text   
  • Functional Hand Universal Handle   
  • Microsoft adaptive mouse   
  • Microsoft adaptive mouse tail & thumb support   
  • Adaptive loop scissors (6 pack)  
  • Variety of door handle cuffs/extensions 
  • Genio Notes 

Our Community’s Response 

Fidgets and calming strips were the most popular items from the RAILS My Library Is... grant purchases and provided the most unsolicited comments.  For example, 

  • A student brought another student to see if her favorite fidget was available.  The student was under a lot of pressure with four exams that week.  The student was very excited to receive the fidget tangle saying that “this is going to help me so much” and “you made my day”. 
  • “I play with this one every day in class.” 
  • “I love this!” 
  • “This is the best section of the library!”   
  • “Wait, I can keep it?  This is awesome.  Thank you, thank you.” 
  • The Interim Director of the Office of Academic Accommodations and Accessibility sent a student to see if there were any squishes she could have.  I took the student to my office to get one, letting her choose the color she wanted. I told her it was hers to keep. “Wow, this made my day!  Now I have something to look forward to.”  Her stress was high due to midterms. 
  • "The {spikey} ring calms me, especially when I need to focus." 
  • “I am glad you have fidgets because I am nervous right now for my test." 
  • "The fidgets allow me to put something in my hand to calm me." 
  • "I think it was the fidget that helped me do good on my exam." 

Genio Notes is starting to gain some traction.   

  • "I like how Genio allows me to come back to class at a later point." 
  • "Its' a cool program that I like."  
  • "I am excited to keep using it in classes I was struggling in."  
  • "I used it at the school I was at so I am glad I had the option of using it here." 

Future Plans 

Based on the positive responses we have received from students and the senior administration, we are planning to  

  • absorb fidget and calming strips purchases into the library’s operating budget and 
  • convert 2-3 study rooms into sensory-friendly study rooms during the summer of 2026. 

Final Words 

We are grateful to RAILS for providing this grant opportunity.  This project helped us identify needs that we were not meeting.  With this project, we have found a new way to be hospitable and welcoming others.  The conversations we have at the service desks about the sensory items have given us new insights into the needs of our students.    

Today's blog post was written by Luann DeGreve, Associate University Librarian at Benedictine University. 

This project was made possible by the My Library Is... Grant.