Five ways your school library can support wellbeing by Alison Tarrant, School Library Association

June 29th 2021

Alison Tarrant, CEO of the School Library Association, shares her five top tips for making your library a safe space that supports student mental health and wellbeing, including providing topical resources and making room for creativity.

1. As a quiet space

An important aspect of wellbeing is having time and space to reflect and consider what is actually going on and how you feel. A quiet space helps us to do this – but I don’t mean a silent space. Much learning and important socialising happen in a school library. For some this is a space that allows them to engage with one another, which is easier and preferable to trying to engage with a whole group in the playground. There’s a sense of it being a safe space, with someone being there to observe and intervene – and even to give pupils a purpose.

2. Through access to resources

The library provides access to resources which support mental health and wellbeing, as well as many other topics – puberty, divorce, establishing friendships etc. These resources can be browsed and read in snippets rather than just borrowed, and books can be left for a particular student to ‘happen across’. There are particular reading collections, such as Read Well, which can provide access to support in a low-key way.

3. As a place for hobbies and creativity

School libraries can help children to find and develop their area of expertise, their skill or hobby. Finding something which is ‘your thing’ can improve a child’s sense of self, and of pride, giving them a moment to shine. Creativity is an outlet, and the way that school libraries work – in facilitating lots of different activities at once, and lots of different interests at once – means that they provide the perfect space for this, whether that’s in dedicated ‘maker’ spaces or simply in providing paper, pencils and a table.

4. By providing reading as an escape

Reading builds relationships, whether through the closeness of being read to, or through the shared emotions of experiencing a story. Reading also provides an escape. Quite often this is attributed to reading fiction, and the absorption into another world, and the removal of the reader into another world, but this also happens with information books. The power of the wonder of discovery, of finding something out for the first time, can be captivating and the discussions that ensue celebrate the love of learning.

5. Through the support of library staff

The dynamic of library staff can also be a support for children’s wellbeing. The incidental conversations which happen in break times, or while browsing for a book, can reach to the heart of many issues, like family and friendships. The conversations around books can provide protection to discuss topics which are closely held.

Follow Alison on Twitter @fictious_cat