Emporia State’s William Allen White Library was recently awarded a $10,000 grant from the American Library Association (ALA). The grant, called “Libraries Transforming Communities: Accessible Small and Rural Communities,” is intended for libraries that serve populations of 25,000 or less and are located at least 5 miles away from urbanized areas, based on the Institute of Museum and Library Services’ criteria of “small and rural” libraries.
310 libraries across America were chosen for either $10,000 or $20,000 grants to “increase the accessibility of facilities, services, and programs to better serve people with disabilities,” per the ALA website.
WAW Library intends to use these funds to implement two new sensory rooms on the 1st and 4th floors of the building. The project is spearheaded by Terri Summey, a professor in the School of Library and Information Management.
“There are two populations that can use (these sensory rooms),” said Summey, “One is neurodivergent individuals who might be diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The other is individuals who can suffer from sensory overload very easily.”
The sensory room to be located on the 1st floor will be a safe space to “go and decompress,” geared toward neurodivergent students. Summey said that the plan is to put this sensory room in one of the medium sized study rooms and to add a swipe card access so the room can be accessed by students 24/7.
The room on the 4th floor, which will be installed in an alcove, is meant for the more general population– both neurodivergent and neurotypical individuals.
“Some students are very stressed or might suffer from anxiety,” Summey said, “and this room would be a place they can go to relax.”
Summey described the ideal vision for these rooms, with the primary structure implementing soundproofing, variable lighting and more comfortable furnishing. The rooms would also be equipped with sensory items such as lava lamps and interactive LED lighting, scent diffusers, fidget items, sound machines, stress relief activities, and peppermint candy. All of these elements would create a grounding, relaxed atmosphere for students to “get away from the world.”
“It’s already a big transition for any student to come in as a freshman. There’s a lot of things to handle. If you are neurodivergent, there are more things to handle,” said Sumney.
She credited ESU’s smaller campus and town as reasons why many neurodivergent people choose to attend the institution.
“Because of our size, we are a place that draws people in. We have smaller class sizes, and it’s easier to create relationships with others,” she said.
As part of the grant requirements, Summey will be hosting a “community conversation” to get ideas from many different people on how to fully optimize these spaces for the needs of ESU students. She is tentatively planning a hybrid in person and online event to be held during dead week. She also encourages anyone to reach out to her with ideas if they cannot attend.
