{"id":60309,"date":"2019-09-12T11:46:50","date_gmt":"2019-09-12T15:46:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=60309"},"modified":"2019-09-12T17:23:31","modified_gmt":"2019-09-12T21:23:31","slug":"busy-boxes-for-children-available-at-brock-library","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2019\/09\/busy-boxes-for-children-available-at-brock-library\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Busy boxes\u2019 for children available at Brock Library"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brock Library is hoping to make it easier for students to hit the books with children in tow.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018Busy boxes\u2019 filled with craft materials, puzzles and children\u2019s books can now be checked out at the library\u2019s Ask Us desk.<\/span><\/p>\n

Funded by <\/span>BU 4U Retention and Graduation Grants<\/span><\/a>, the busy box initiative was launched at the beginning of Fall Term and has begun to pick up traction.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe were thinking about different initiatives we could introduce to support student wellness and this seemed like a great fit,\u201d said Liaison Librarian Jennifer Thiessen. \u201cThis was one way we can support our students who may be coming in with their children as well as caregivers who find themselves in a similar situation.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

It was a colleague at Ryerson University Library who introduced Thiessen to the concept of the boxes, which was then modified for use at Brock.<\/span><\/p>\n

The plastic totes are filled with craft materials, construction paper, notepads, pencil crayons, puzzles and storybooks meant to keep youngsters occupied while their parent or caregiver studies or works on assignments. Two versions are available: For ages three to six and ages six to 10.<\/span><\/p>\n

They can be checked out from the library for 24 hours at a time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to make coming to the library and using its resources as convenient as possible for students,\u201d said Evelyn Smith, Marketing and Communications Co-ordinator and Reference Assistant. \u201cIt\u2019s about looking at a student as a whole person and recognizing the various avenues of support we can offer to help make life easier for them and to help them destress.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Through the Brock retention grants, the library also recently increased its collection of board games, cards and Lego, and introduced a section of wellness-related reading materials this summer.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got a lot of practical, sensible reads on how to manage life,\u201d Smith said. \u201cThese are not self-help books, but touch on topics like strategies for getting enough sleep, managing money as a young person, cooking, friendship, disconnecting from your devices and decluttering.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve been circulating quite well.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The grants also allowed the library to introduce happy lights, which mimic sunlight, and to partner with Student Wellness and Accessibility Services to <\/span>offer space for counselling and mental health drop-in sessions<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

While the majority of the wellness materials are available in the James A. Gibson Library, a small selection of puzzles, games and one happy light are also available at Brock\u2019s Map, Data and GIS Library in MCC 306. <\/span>Library resources are available to all members of the Brock community, including students, staff and faculty members.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of research that supports student wellness being a factor in succeeding in University, so it\u2019s one of our focuses,\u201d Thiessen said. \u201cIt\u2019s important that we\u2019re not only a place you go to get resources for assignments but also where you access supports of different kinds as well.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Libraries are reinventing themselves, Smith said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNow we\u2019re looking at where there is a need in the community we serve and how we can fill it,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Library staff are \u201calways open to new ideas and want to hear more about what students need,\u201d Thiessen added.<\/span><\/p>\n

She encouraged anyone with thoughts on potential new initiatives the library could take on to email her at <\/span>jthiessen@brocku.ca<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

For more information on the library’s games and ‘stressbusters,’ visit brocku.ca\/library\/use\/borrow\/games-stressbusters<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Brock Library is hoping to make it easier for students to hit the books with children in tow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":60311,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7484,7,1,4],"tags":[2701,8249,3682,25,8248],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60309"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60309"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60309\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60325,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60309\/revisions\/60325"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60309"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60309"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60309"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}