Six years since the day everything changed, the library at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School brims with resources to promote mental health. There’s a “Zen den” for resting and decompressing, a therapy dog named River, yoga equipment, a button-making station and smartboards that display videos of crochet lessons.
Librarian Diana Haneski, River’s owner, puts a lot of thought into what to include in – and exclude from – the library’s collections. She opted to remove a Civil War-themed book with a rifle on its cover, for example, and to avoid other materials with imagery that could be upsetting. And she’s made sure to include a range of literature that offers students an escape from daily life, including sci-fi novels and youth-oriented magazines.
Haneski, 63, winner of this year’s national “I Love My Librarian” award for her public service, sees such escapism and mental support as essential for herself and her students.
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