Paths to a Mindful School Library

Understand how the library can heighten stress

Appreciate the prevlance of Adverse Childhood Experiences and trauma

The student mental health crisis predated the pandemic

Library rules and regulations can reinforces existing power structures

There are limits to grit and resilience

Emotional intelligence and Social-Emotional Learning

There is an ongoing need for empathy in our people-centered work

Provide for sensory experiences and self-soothing

School can be overwhelming 

What Makes for a Mindful Library Space?

Conduct a visual information Inventory

Think beyond decoration

Provide opportunities to engage the senses

Make the space flexible

Prioritize real accessibility

Appreciate the possibilities inhernet in the library as liminal space

Adopt the affective aspects of the Information Search Process 

Gallery spaces have an expectation of uncertainty

Student stewardship of spaces, collections, programs, dispays

Develop procedures and policies for positive interactions

Quiet study Is still relevant

Incorporate reflection as an integrated part of instruction

Offer practice in democracy and group dynamics

Develop productivity processes that aid in automaticity

Craft mindful information literacy instruction

Explore slowing down reading and research

Use the journal as a tool to combat speed

Offer dedicated space and time for rest and reflection

Focus on process not product

Become a whole-school advocate for students

Practice social-emotional awareness

Offer students opportunities to self-regulate

Share a range of own skills and strategies with the school community

Incorporate physical fitness and well-being in the library

Emphasize activity rather than exercise

Play is mental as well as physical

Experiment with meditation or focus training, yoga or stretching, and breathwork

Explore the senses and demonstrate other methods of physical regulation

Understand the importance of reading

Understand that students are owed reader's advisory

Offer your school community mirrors, windows, sliding glass doors, and prisms

Create a culture of literacy throught broader reading promotion throughout your schools

Seek connections for yourself and others

It's okay to seek help

Try social work concepts for holistic patron services

Practice self-care with deliberation

Whole-Person librarianship can lead to stress and burnout

Be emotionally present

Build in trauma sensitivity