Online Content Analysis of Ontario Public Libraries’ Sensory Programming and Service Offerings

Abstract

Sensory storytimes and other similar sensory programming and services, are those which have been specifically designed to respect the needs of autistic children and/or children with sensory processing disorders, even while also being open to a range of neurodiverse attendance. These programs and services are important ways in which public libraries can work to become more inclusive spaces. Nonetheless, sensory storytimes and other sensory programs and services are not as widely offered at Canadian libraries as they could be. In order to concretize and draw attention to this gap, this paper describes our content analysis research, conducted in July 2021, of Ontario Public Library (OPL) websites and their sensory programming and services listings. Although we found that some OPLs are offering sensory storytimes, as well as other sensory programming and services, we emphasize that offering and advertising these programs and services effectively remains an area of growth potential within Ontario.