Academic libraries can be intimidating, especially for students who have children. Academic libraries are often geared towards silent study, and students who have small children may feel anxious about interrupting that silence. Community college libraries serve many untraditional students, including students who take care of small children. How do we combat their feelings of intimidation in a college library and create an inviting space for them and their children?
In Do You Want to Dance? Inclusion and Belonging in Libraries and Beyond, Christian Lauersen states “diversity is being invited to a party. Inclusion is being asked to dance.” My experience working at a community college library has shown me that it’s easy to invite students and say everyone is welcome, but true inclusion requires specific and individual efforts to show students that they belong in a space.
At my job, I noticed we had a few students who came in with young children. They’d usually come to the front desk to request a book and leave as soon as they got their materials. While talking with the library workers at the desk, they sometimes had to run after their child or anxiously tell their child to quiet down as their child got increasingly antsy standing by their side. We could invite them to use the library and reassure them that they were welcome, but we weren’t “asking them to dance” and showing them that they were welcome in the space. I set out to change that.
My main inspiration came from the family-friendly study room at the Harold B. Lee Library which has a play fort, story books, rocking chairs, and much more. We did not have the space or funding for anything quite as extensive, but I looked for ways we could adapt their service to fit within our much smaller space.
Through grant funding, our team was able to create two spaces centered on inviting and including students who had children. The first space is a children’s waiting area in the lobby. Children who come in with their adults can immediately go to the small table, grab a book, play with toys, color, or otherwise occupy themselves while their parent gets the assistance they need at the circulation desk.
The second space is a child-friendly study room. This space is reservable for up to 4 hours a day per student. The space has a white board, table, and computer like our other study rooms. It also has a child-sized table, picture books, toys, outlet covers, and corner protectors on all the sharp edges.
Both spaces have been very popular, and we’ve received a lot of positive feedback from students and staff members. Students who would usually leave right after picking up materials now sit with their children in the waiting area and play with them. They don’t have to rush out of the library to avoid disturbing the peace. By creating spaces designed for their needs, we have asked them to dance with us in the library.
Hi @adalie, I appreciated this library’s consideration of showing students with children how welcome they are to belong and stay comfortable in the library! Growing up, my siblings and I benefitted from the toy-lending library at a community school for adults. What a joy to see how your library put money into designing a study room where students with children can stay together. What’s next, family-friendly study snacks? At my public library, summer meals would be timed to begin immediately after family storytime ends.
Hi Adalie,
Wow, so cool you guys were able to get grant funding and implement those services! It really is a perfect example of the Lauersen quote you included.
One point I took away from the lecture on Hyperlinked Communities was the idea of holistic care in libraries. I think this is a great example of that as well! Not only are you/your library addressing the information needs of students, you are also acknowledging and addressing some of their personal needs.