PRESENTATION

Libraries are a place for all. As librarians and related staff, we strive to make sure that everyone who spends time inside one is made welcome and feels like they are meant to be there. This is true not just for public and community libraries but school-based, academic libraries as well. Many different types of people visit and use academic libraries; students, staff, visiting academics, members of the community and more walk its halls every day. However, one group that can often be overlooked in the academic library world (either accidentally or deliberately) are people who are neurodivergent. This large and diverse group can include autism, adhd, tourettes, depression, anxiety, learning disabilities, chronic migraines and more.

However, academic libraries are not always built or organised with neurodivergent users in mind. Sensory overload from the physical environment, staff who do not have an understanding of how the neurodivergent mind works, resources that are designed without them in mind, confusing signage and many more factors can often affect neurodivergent users and how they use (or don’t use) the library. So how do academic libraries cater for this group of people, to make sure they also feel just as welcomed as neurotypical people? What can academic libraries do better? What do they already do well?

This presentation will explore topics such as neurodivergence and library spaces (both physical and digital), services and resources that academic libraries can provide to support specific challenges neurodivergent users may have, services like accessibility and more.