Hello and welcome back to another blog post! This month’s post is going to highlight a new resource available to students at UBC: The Guide to IKBLC for Neurodivergent Patrons. I worked on developing this guide last summer, along with Emma Cornelius, a former librarian at IKBLC. I’m excited to share our work with you today and to explore the ways this resource may be a useful tool for you.
What is the Guide to IKBLC for Neurodivergent Patrons?
The guide is a web page containing information on library services, sensory environments, accessibility supports, and etiquette and behaviour expectations at IKBLC. It contains drop-down menus that provide descriptions of spaces and services available. It also contains a section with instructions for accessing library services. These instructions were designed to be as clear and direct as possible, designed for students who are new to using libraries and who benefit from specific instructions.
Where can I find the guide?
The guide is hosted on the Chapman Learning Commons website. You can find it at this link, or navigate to “Our Space & Equipment” on the home page, and then to “Guide to IKBLC for Neurodivergent Patrons.”
Who is the guide for?
The guide is open to everyone and will hopefully prove beneficial to a wide range of people, even if you do not identify as neurodivergent. At the same time, the guide’s design keeps neurodivergent students in mind, and aims to meet specific needs that may not be met by other resources.
As an autistic person, I designed the guide with the neurodivergent community in mind. I continually returned to the guiding question of, “What would have helped me as a new student?” I have found in my own experience that entering new spaces can be uncomfortable, and lacking information about what the space will be like only amplifies my anxiety. I hope this guide will provide the information needed for students like me to feel more confident entering the library.
What can the guide help me with?
The guide can help with multiple needs that are common in the neurodivergent community. We have created sections that you can click through to open the information relevant to you and your needs. Here is an overview of the guide’s contents:
Our section, “Sensory Experiences in IKBLC,” addresses the need to locate spaces with specific noise or light levels, as well as other sensory conditions. You can find quiet spaces, scent-free spaces, spaces where movement and stimming is welcomed, and spaces with natural or controllable light levels. The sensory experiences section can also address the need to be explicitly told about social and behavior expectations. These are often automatically known to neurotypical people, but must be manually learned by neurodivergent people. You can use this section to locate areas where it is okay to talk, eat, or move, without the ambiguity of having to figure out if it’s okay.
Our section “Helpful Services at UBC Library” addresses the need for help with university skills that neurodivergent people commonly struggle with, including time management, focus, working in groups, and appointment anxiety. Find links to support services on campus, as well as embedded toolkits and tutorials.
Our section “Using Library Services: What to Expect” aims to help with the need for specific instructions for how to complete processes or procedures in the library, especially those involving interactions with other people. Again, what is “obvious” to neurotypical people often must be learned manually by neurodivergent people, and understanding unfamiliar processes has been a source of frustration for me in the past– which is why I’m so happy to address the issue now. We have provided step-by-step directions for how to complete some of the most common procedures you may encounter in the library.
A final note:
Libraries are some of the most forgiving places to have questions or be unsure of expectations! As information professionals, we love answering questions, welcoming uncertainty, and working with students who don’t have existing experience with libraries. We do not judge students for not knowing how something works. And, a good number of us are neurodivergent too 😉
I hope this guide helps you feel more confident walking into the library and making use of all the resources we have to offer. If you would like to leave feedback or suggestions for the guide, please fill out our Chapman Learning Commons Feedback Survey, which is linked here and is also accessible at the bottom of the guide.
Thank you, as always, for reading this blog post. I wish you luck on all of your final projects and exams as this term comes to a close. I will see you again next month for the last post of 2024!
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