‘DARE’ to read differently: C-H library launches collection for readers with disabilities
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Books offered as part of Chartiers-Houston Community Library’s DARE Collection use weighted fonts, wider letter, word and line spaces, and additional white space as compared to traditional books, shown at left.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
The DARE Collection is on prominent display at Chartiers-Houston Community Library, which launched the inclusive offering of books and reading materials earlier this month. The collection is funded through memorial donations.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
The DARE Collection at Chartiers-Houston Community Library offers books with weighted fonts, additional white space and audio components, along with reading strips, for readers with dyslexia, autism and other disabilities. Library manager Susan Strnisha and staff look forward to adding to the collection, which launched earlier this month.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Susan Strnisha demonstrates how a reading strip, available for checking out at the Chartiers-Houston Community Library, aids in focused reading. The reading strip is part of the library’s new DARE Collection.
Photos: Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Chartiers-Houston Community Library and other area libraries have offered Wonderbooks for a long time, but recently Chartiers-Houston added more read-along titles for various ages as part of its DARE Collection initiative.
Susan Strnisha and her staff had been bouncing between work and a one-day virtual conference all morning when the Chartiers-Houston Community Library manager sat down, no expectations, for a 10-minute lightning round.
“That 10 minutes completely changed the way that I felt we were serving some of our patrons,” said Strnisha. “I thought, there’s a potential need out there that we’re not even aware of.”
Last week, the library announced its new DARE (Dyslexic and Autistic Reading Engagement) Collection, inspired by those 10 minutes Strnisha spent in February learning from Kim Priest, director of the Mary Cotton Library in Sabetha, Kan., at the Big Talk from Small Libraries event.
“Their collection was called Dyslexic and Autism Reading Enjoyment. I changed ‘enjoyment’ to ‘engagement,’ and I changed it for a reason: We wanted all kids to feel like they have an opportunity to participate,” Strnisha said. “Yes, we all want to read for the fun of it, but for the struggling readers, we wanted … to make sure that engagement was more of the focus.”
The DARE Collection offers readers of varying levels and any disability the chance to get lost in the wonderful world of literature. Books with weighted fonts and extra white space anchor letters to pages, allowing readers to focus on the written word. Bright highlighter reading strips also aid in focus.
“As a child starts reading on their own, that white space helps them focus in on the words, on the pictures, so that they can relate and maybe use context clues to help them figure out words they’re not reading yet. The bottom of the words and letters are weighted, they are thicker, and it weights them on the page so that those letters and those words don’t jump around as much. The words and lines are spaced out so that it’s easier for them to focus in on the word that they’re reading at that time,” said Strnisha.
Books detailing life on the autism spectrum offer comfort and answers. Wonderbooks, with built-in audio and page-turning cues that allow readers of all levels to follow along as the story is narrated by an engaging orator, have been available throughout the WAGGIN system, but are now part of the DARE Collection.
“(Wonderbooks) were already popular. Even the earliest readers who couldn’t read every word yet felt like they were reading because they were able to follow along and knew when to turn the pages,” Strnisha said.
The DARE Collection focuses on dyslexia and autism – two very different diagnoses, Strnisha said – based on information presented at the Big Talk from Small Library’s conference. The collection exists not as a way to diagnose young readers, but as a way to make reading more accessible.
“(The DARE Collection) is not going to be an overall one-stop shop solution for everybody, but it may help those who may be struggling. They may have gotten a new diagnosis and they think, ‘I can’t read, I’m having a hard time with these smaller prints.’ This (collection) could potentially show a parent, if this font is more appealing, you may want to have them tested. I want it to be a starting point for you if you’re struggling,” Strnisha said.
“As far as the dyslexic-friendly fonts, I had a hard time finding things in our system and that’s when I went, OK, this is a need that maybe we are not even aware of. I hope other libraries will maybe pick up on this, if they haven’t already.”
The DARE Collection, funded through memorial donations many made in memory of beloved Char-Houston teacher Mary Jo Ross, who passed earlier this year, boasts everything from toddler tales to young adult chapter books. Strnisha hopes to expand the collection to include more young adult and adult literature, classics, and more varied focus tools, as need becomes apparent and funding becomes available.
She’s targeting young readers first, since that’s when the Chartiers-Houston library sees a dropoff in visits and engagement.
“Here, we see a dropoff when they get close to that third-grade level. We see them when they’re young, we see them when they’re teens, we see them as adults, but that third through fifth or sixth grade, we have a hard time with,” she said. “Is it declining because they’re struggling and they’re not wanting to say, or make it known, that they’re having a hard time reading? I’m hoping that something like this may spark; that if they are struggling and that’s why they’re not coming to the library as much, then there is stuff for them now.”
That stuff graces a tall bookend shelf labeled – in large, weighted font – and situated near the circulation desk. Many times, Strnisha said, patrons don’t realize their library offers a service or program until they ask. She hopes that the designated library section and social media posts draw attention to the collection.
“We are always trying to find different things here to add to our services. We want to make reading and our programs enjoyable for everyone,” Strnisha said. “As soon as this was brought to my attention, I felt I needed to jump on it. It’s a collection that we all are becoming very proud of. We’ve all worked hard. The collection is for all. We wanted to call it something and keep it separate so we could hopefully show that there are opportunities and there are materials out there. There’s something for you at the library, too.”
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