{"id":62,"date":"2026-07-28T18:26:41","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T18:26:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/lauraskor\/?p=62"},"modified":"2026-07-28T18:36:45","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T18:36:45","slug":"reflection-blogging-the-power-of-stories-inclusion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/lauraskor\/2026\/07\/28\/reflection-blogging-the-power-of-stories-inclusion\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflection Blogging: The Power of Stories & Inclusion"},"content":{"rendered":"

At the end of April, my family and I had the pleasure of exploring a few places in Ireland, including the city of Limerick, which we adored. On a beautiful sunny day, we walked around People’s Park, and naturally my kids were drawn to the playground. In addition to the in-ground trampoline, something stood out to me\u2014a board at children’s height covered in little pictures that could be used to indicate emotions, activities, and directions. I was intrigued and pointed it out to my family, but in the bustle of international travel, I quickly forgot about it. Then came our INFO 287 module on The Power of Stories and Kylie Carlson’s story about her sons’ autism and the ways in which the Yarra libraries are serving people like them (Library 2.0, 2020). Carlson showed a picture of a library communication board that they use for patrons who do not have speech or require more visual methods of communication.<\/p>\n

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It turns out the communication board I saw in Limerick was one way that the People’s Park playground was designed to be inclusive and accessible to all children. Opened in 2023, it also features the aforementioned trampoline as well as a “fully accessible roundabout… and sand digger, while other equipment is thoughtfully designed for accessibility through transfers\u201d (Lynch, 2023). The playground was designed “to provide children of all abilities and ages with an environment that fosters inclusive play, accessibility, and boundless imagination\u201d (Lynch, 2023).\u00a0 These are all goals that this course has been emphasizing for our libraries, and I love visual communication boards as a symbol of how these ideals have been instituted in some libraries.<\/p>\n

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Communication board created by Scope Disability Services for Hays Paddock Playground in Boroondara, Australia, that includes instructions for how people can use the board. https:\/\/www.scopeaust.org.au\/business-solutions\/park-and-playground-communication-boards<\/p><\/div>\n

As one Missouri Parks and Recreation department put it, the presence of these boards “ensures that every child has an opportunity to communicate and engage with their surroundings\u201d while also promoting public awareness of communication barriers and encouraging learning for everyone (JC Parks, n.d.). I appreciate this approach because storytelling and story keeping are our superpowers as library professionals, but making sure that everyone is able to tell their story in their own manner is a challenge that we must continually address.<\/p>\n