Creating sensory-friendly spaces directly aligns with our institutional strategic goals related to student success and DEIA initiatives. More specifically, a focus area under the Penn State strategic goal of enhancing student success is a “Focus on student mental health and financial literacy”. As stated earlier, students’ mental health has suffered since the beginning of the pandemic and sensory-friendly libraries will be one way we can offer respite to distressed students to counteract some of the overwhelming feelings they may be experiencing on campus.

Sensory-friendly libraries also address our strategic goal related to “Foster Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging” by addressing multiple focus areas related to this goal, such as creating robust communities of support for faculty, staff, and students of all backgrounds and closing DEIB gaps to create a more inclusive environment for all students.

Penn State Presidential Vision & Goals

Penn State University Libraries Strategic Goals 2020-2025

Penn State Libraries Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) Commitment Statement