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The Paul V. Galvin Library at the Illinois Institute of Technology was the happy recipient of the RAILS My Library Is... Grant, which allowed us to purchase items to better support our students. The library is a two-story building with an open floor plan and no individual study rooms. Most of the study space is located on the upper level, which boasts 16-foot-high ceilings. While this layout is conducive to group study and collaboration, it can make using the library difficult for neurodivergent students with sensory sensitivities.
Approximately 10% of our student population self-identifies as neurodivergent. The funds we received allowed us to purchase print books for the collection, Happy Lights to help with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), and items for tranquility kits. With the grant funding, we were able to add 23 print books to our collection. These new additions cover neurodiversity in general as well as specific topics such as autism, ADHD, and dyslexia. We also purchased five Happy Lights to help students manage SAD. Many of our students come from other states and even other countries and are unaccustomed to—and often unprepared for—the cold, dark Chicago winters.
Finally, we purchased items to create tranquility kits for students. Our goal was to assemble kits containing items that could help ease anxiety while studying in the library.
Each kit contains:
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Disposable foam earplugs
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Hand sanitizing wipe
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Fidget ring
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Fidget spinner
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Magnetic fidget toy
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Mindfulness/wellness cards
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Sensory maze mat
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Stress ball
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Worry stone
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Fidget stick
In November 2025, we held an event on National Stress Awareness Day to introduce these resources to our campus community. Our goal was to showcase some of the new books, as well as examples of the tranquility kits and Happy Lights, so that students, faculty, and staff could see and interact with the items. As a result of this event, several items were checked out that same day.
Moving forward, we will continue to promote these resources through displays and social media posts. We know from experience that raising awareness across campus about new resources can take time, but well-timed posts and events around midterms and finals should help us get the word out. By providing books and coping tools tailored to our unique library environment, these resources aim to support neurodivergent students while also educating the broader campus community and encouraging a more inclusive culture that respects cognitive and sensory diversity.
Today's blog post was written by Nichole Novak, Head of Reference and Instruction Services at the Paul V. Galvin Library.
This project was made possible by the My Library Is... Grant.