Warwickshire County Council’s library service has secured funding to provide a new sensory mobile library.
Called the Discovery Den, the mobile library will provide a safe and inclusive space for children, young people, and adults with additional and more complex needs.
Through the Libraries Improvement Fund, administered by the Arts Council England, the County Council has secured funding worth £373,000 over three years. This funding will be used to purchase a new electric mobile library and enables the library service to extend its sensory support.
The Discovery Den will be fully equipped and accessible with an immersive and interactive sensory room environment. The vehicle will support engagement with children and adults through creativity and imagination, stimulating senses and building confidence, as well as social and literary skills.
The new mobile library will be taken out into local communities across the county, reaching people who might otherwise find the traditional library experience more challenging. It will extend the library service, continuing to offer a free, inclusive, and welcoming space.
The Discovery Den will host an extensive library of equipment to enable parents and carers to test things out. There will also be a selection of specialist books. The library service will work with partners to develop a range of sessions to support children, young people, and adults with additional needs.
Cllr Yousef Dahmash, Portfolio Holder for Customer and Transformation, said:
“We are absolutely delighted to continue our journey working with the Arts Council England having secured funding from the Libraries Improvement Fund for our Discovery Den sensory mobile library.
“It will offer an inclusive, comfortable, and safe space for children, young people and adults with additional and more complex needs and enable them to enjoy a variety of sensory resources which aim to entertain, energise or calm, those who might otherwise find being in a library challenging.
“We are already embracing sensory support as part of our child friendly offer in Warwickshire Libraries, with our sensory story time sessions, accessibility guides and resources available to borrow when visiting, and the Discovery Den will enhance this further. It enables us to take the library service into local communities across the county supporting and inspiring an ongoing journey of discovery, connection and imagination.”
Sensory play is recognised as one of the most important methods of educating all children from an early age, as our senses support how we learn about the world around us and our relationship to it. However, a person with additional needs such as autism, learning disabilities, or sensory impairments may have more difficulty with this which can impact their personal development. Sensory play can make a huge positive difference, as it can help to build nerve connections in the brain, develop speech and language skills by engaging with the environment, and be a great way to calm anxiety and improve focus. Find out more about Warwickshire Libraries’ sensory support., and for more information about the sensory activities available at Warwickshire Libraries, visit the service’s Eventbrite webpage.
Later this year the Council will launch two new electric mobile libraries to update the current mobile library fleet. The two bright, modern, and attractive vehicles will be similar in size to the current vehicles and offer the same reliable service, whilst being fitted with a lift each to provide improved accessibility for customers. They will also enable the service to be delivered in a more environmentally friendly and sustainable way, producing zero emissions and reducing local air and noise pollution. To find out more, visit www.warwickshire.gov.uk/mobilelibraries, or you can contact the mobile library service team by email at mobilelibraryservice@warwickshire.gov.uk or by phone on 01926 851031.
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