Sophia's INF330 CPD Blog

For this topic on diversity in libraries, I have chosen to explore how the needs of children and youth with various neurodivergences or disabilities (and by extension their families), can be supported by libraries. I would also like to note that I do not identify as a person living with any form of neurodiversity or disability that impact the way I access libraries. Any comments made are generalisations based upon the information I have been presented with and I hope to not disrespectfully represent anyone here.  For this activity, I watched the webinar Including the neurodivergent community in library space, service, & programming (Richert & Jacobs, 2022). I use the word ‘neurodiversity’ as an umbrella term to encompass the cognitive diversity of the human brain “[in having] a unique way of thinking, feeling and functioning” (Helprin, 2025, p. 1), with no two people’s neurological abilities to process information being the same, due to differing cognitive development and ...

For this post, I chose to explore the Children’s Book Council of Australia’s (CBCA) 2025 Book of the Year Awards . Book awards such as this one, are great ways to identify and celebrate works of excellent literary merit, particularly if they gracefully explore complex themes such as morals, illness, gender, ethnicity or culture in a manner that is affirmative or educational (Kidd & Thomas, 2017). Considering that “Stories help children understand how society perceives their culture as well as the cultures of … others, thereby influencing their social and identity development.” (Naidoo, 2014, p. 1), this list provided me with a number of titles to further explore filling the gap of learning of notable or significant authors and titles relevant for younger readers. Having this knowledge now means that I can help them to find media that can benefit them in developing a unique sense of self, becoming informed of different perspectives to known or unknown issues and lessening stigma of ...

Extended reality (XR) technologies (an umbrella term encompassing virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) technologies), can have a thriving place in libraries if introduced with the intent of enhancing learning and engagement for each user group. In particular, AR technologies could greatly benefit children by sparking a curiosity in learning new information through the monitored use of technology in a library setting. I watched the webinar Augmented reality and virtual reality in the library: Opportunities for learning , hosted by Naseej Academy, with guest speaker Lauren Hayes. This webinar was a sound introduction into XR technologies, with Hayes (2021) offering some insightful information about how these technologies are being used currently. She also spoke on the likelihood of these technologies becoming commonplace in higher education and workforce settings, making it worthwhile to introduce them to children to gain some insight to their applications and functions. I also learnt o...

  Note . From “IMG_0393” [Photograph], by Amy G, 2015, Flickr ( https://www.flickr.com/photos/apple_pathways/16335234728/in/photostream/ ). CC BY 2.0.