Young Adult

Stress Less at Resnick Library

Feb 11, 2016

$1-50

Byline

Carrie Fishner, Outreach & Instruction Librarian, Mildred & Louis Resnick Library, SUNY Delhi, N.Y.

This program was held during finals week of the fall 2015 semester. We offered a variety of options for students to take a break from studying and "stress less." Some specific options were coloring, therapy dogs, board games, free coffee and snacks in the evening hours, and making stress balls. We partnered with several groups on campus (Wellness Peer Educators, Residence Hall Association and Veterinary Science majors) to offer a wide range of programming.

Advanced Planning

The goal of this program was to provide stress relief for students during a very high-stress time of the semester, finals week. I started planning about six weeks prior to finals week. I contacted several departments and organizations around campus to see who might be interested in sponsoring or offering an option during this time frame. While many groups were interested, not everyone followed through in actually committing to the program.

Marketing

I started promoting the week before events began. I used our library Facebook page to post reminders/photos; placed fliers around campus and in the residence halls; and used our campus electronic sign boards to post fliers. Some programs were more successful than others; I think this had to do more with timing than the program itself.

Budgeting

There was very little cost for the library. We worked with other departments and organizations to help fund the program, with each group providing the funding/resources needed for their offering.

Day-of-event Activity

For each activity, one librarian would meet the group and make sure they had what was needed. This generally included a table and making sure that the signage was posted pointing people to the right area. Board games were loaded onto a book cart and moved to a prominent position near the circulation area.

Program Execution

Students really took advantage of the opportunity to participate in stress relief activities. Over the course of the week more than 100 students participated in one or more activities; feedback was generally that this was a lot of fun and was much needed. We had requests to repeat certain activities again or to extend the time that they were offered. The free coffee and cookies were a huge hit. Board games did not go over as well as expected; I think this may have been more about the time of day they were offered than lack of interest.

Advice

I would recommend starting early. Look outside the library to gather help and resources from across campus. Don't forget to contact student organizations; many of them try to offer programs for students anyway, and there is a good chance they would want to partner with you.