10 ways to make your library more accessible to neurodivergent students

Natalie | Children's Book Specialist

Natalie joined Peters after working with Upper KS2 and KS3 children as a school librarian. Prior to this, she completed an MSc in Information and Library Management and worked at the University of Birmingham’s library for over 10 years.

As part of our review team, Natalie has access to the full breadth of the children’s book market and reads everything from picture books to older teen fiction. In her downtime, she enjoys reading mysteries and light popular fiction.

meeT OUR team

How to create a neurodivergent friendly library

Create a welcoming environment within your library design 

1. Consider lighting. Do you have to use overhead strip lighting? Could lamps or fairy lights be used (at least during quiet reading sessions) to reduce the sensory impact?

2. Identify any noise issues in the library. This could be buzzing computer monitors, chatting from nearby classrooms, or hard floors that reflect noise. Is there anything you can do to mitigate this?

3. Create social and private reading areas. If you are able to provide a separate room for those experiencing sensory overload, that would be ideal, but space often does not permit this. Instead, is there a children's reading corner that could be made ‘softer’ with bean bag seating, sensory cushions, lower lighting and partitioning to reduce noise?

4. Provide sensory accessories for students. This could be a selection of fidget toys, lego, and coloured overlays for students to use, if budget allows. Sensory furniture such as touch tag beanbags and cordoroy and fleece cushions offer students similar tactile and visual stimulation and are ideal for those quieter library corners or sensory rooms.

Shelve books your students relate to

5. Set up a ‘shelf help’ section with neuro-affirmative health and wellbeing titles which students can access. This makes titles easier for students to browse and borrow without having to ask. It also helps to counteract misinformation that students may pick up from other sources and empower them postively.

6. Provide disability positive books. This is probably the most important step in making all students feel welcome in the library. Ensure you have books with nuanced, multidimensional, and neurodivergent characters which students see themselves in.

Peters reading recommendations for teen and YA books with neurodivergent protagonists:

Make library information clear and direct

7. Put up signs to direct students around the library. This makes it clear to students where to check out or return books or where they can use a computer. Images as well as words will help.

8. Try to give as much as notice as possible if you have to make changes to how the library runs. For example, if the library has to close one lunchtime for a meeting. Again, provide information signs: in this example, post signs as to when the library will be open again. For many students, the library is a safe space, and not having access to it when they think they will may be distressing.

Use online access to your advantage

9. Promote the tasks you can do online via your library catalogue. These tasks include renewals or reservations, so that students can do these remotely. This not only reduces the need for interaction for students who find this difficult, but provides them with a way of looking things up in their own time. This will give them space to process the information.

10. Create a ‘walk-through story’ of how to use the library. A good example can be found here. It would also be useful to include photos of the library staff or student librarians, so students know who they can talk to if they need help.