Kid’s Room Accessibility Update

After a year of planning, ordering, waiting, and finally several weeks of intense activity, the Brimfield Public Library District’s Kid’s Room accessibility update is almost complete. In February 2024, the American Library Association awarded BPLD with a $20,000 Libraries Transforming Communities: Accessible Small and Rural Communities (LTC) grant to update its spaces to better meet the needs of children with sensory processing disorder and learning disabilities.

The Library used a portion of the LTC grant funds to replace the large, traditional furniture and seating in the Kid’s Room with appropriately sized, sensory-friendly options. The rest of the funding was used to purchase new shelving to accommodate the Library’s growing collections of youth audiobooks and educational kits. Additional Library and donor funding made it possible to fully transform the room with a calming color scheme and interactive sensory wall panels. The Library is still waiting on a few delayed elements, but is thrilled that children and their families are already enjoying the sensory-friendly furniture and more accessible play space.

Although the LTC grant-funded update is nearing completion, the effort to make the Library more accessible is far from over. As an extension of the Kid’s Room accessibility project, the Library is in the process of updating its Meeting Room so that it can double as a Sensory Room. Once completed, individuals who need headphones, a weighted lap blanket, fidgets, and other sensory tools will be able to access them without having to ask for the Sensory Kit at the front desk. Have additional ideas for how the Library can make its spaces, collections, and programs accessible and welcoming to all? Please tell us!

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