Rutland Library Service is dedicated to welcoming all visitors and making our services as accessible as possible.
Autism / ASD
We have a comprehensive collection of Autism titles for loan. These titles, identified by a jigsaw symbol on the spine, cover topics such as: diagnosis (including late diagnosis), sensory processing issues, fussy eating, behaviour, women on the spectrum, autism & employment, and much more.
The collection is continuously developing and complements physical improvements to make Rutland Libraries more autism-friendly. You can browse autism stock online at https://emlib.ent.sirsidynix.net.uk/client/en_GB/rutland/search/results?qu=autism&st=PD
Additionally, we have had book stock recommended to us by parents such as lift-the-flap children’s non-fiction that we have purchased or had donated.
Access
We have pre-visit guides to help plan a trip to one of our libraries. These are a tour with pictures in the form of a booklet. They are specific to each of our libraries. The purpose of these is to help pre-teach what the structure and routine of a library experience will be like. We hope that individuals will gain a visual familiarity with their own library so that they can feel comfortable during their visits, be able to use the services, and interact comfortably.
All four libraries are accessible using wheelchairs.
Oakham Library and Ketton Library have disabled accessible toilets.
SENsory Grab Bags
We have developed bags of sensory aids to support families with their visit when accompanied by a child with SEN, or a child on the autistic spectrum.
The bag can be borrowed for free from the information desk for the duration of the visit. There are six packs, one each at:
- Oakham Library
- Uppingham Library
- Ketton Library
- Ryhall Library
- Rutland County Museum
- Oakham Castle
Packs include a map of the building, sensory toys (age restrictions aply to some toys – there is a guide in the pack), and ear defenders. A fan of symbols and a copy of the photo pre-visit guide are included to help with communication.
These packs are intended to enhance your visit and reduce stresses with children. We would welcome feedback on the usefulness of the packs, of the contents, and whether parents/carers have any suggestions for improvements.
Dyslexia
Oakham Library has coloured overlays available at the front desk to use during your visit. Children’s dyslexia-friendly books have an orange dot on the spine to identify them.
We have taken on board comments from children who use these books and have now separated them out in our libraries, to help with browsing.
We welcome suggestions of dyslexic-friendly stock, we are always looking to expand our range. Books that are identified as dyslexia-friendly are identified with an orange dot at the top of the spine, these include a growing range of adult titles.
There is a Quick Reads collection of shorter stories available for adults.