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STRESS LESS

Photo courtesy of University of Delaware Library

Library combats finals pressure with stress-relieving activities

To help students cope with the stress of Finals Week, the University of Delaware Library offered a variety of fun activities from May 19-26 to give a brief respite from studying.

Dubbed “Stress Less @ Club Morris,” the program of stress relievers included adult coloring, jigsaw puzzles, visits from therapy dogs, yoga, board games and UDairy ice cream. The Morris Library activities were conceived and organized by the Library Social Media Committee and by staff from the library and University Museums.

“Student reaction was wonderful,” said Sandra Millard, interim vice provost and director of libraries. “My thanks to all our staff who came up with creative and fun ways for our students to cope with the stress of finals.”

For example, on May 19 an event called “Paws for a Break” brought 10 therapy dogs to the Information Room, where students could interact with them and ask questions of the handlers. Five dogs returned on May 22 and free UDairy ice cream was offered to the first 50 visitors. 

 “It was fun to watch the faces of some students approaching the entrance gates with a look of, ‘What the heck is going on?’ and then see them bust out with smiles saying ‘Dogs!’ as they dove right in,” said Marie Seymour-Green, associate librarian and electronic resources librarian and one of the event organizers. “It is very gratifying. I heard one student say to his friends, ‘This is the best thing to ever walk through those doors.’”

Also popular with students have been the coloring posters and pages and jigsaw puzzle stations. “The coloring has been enthusiastically received. We’ve had to replenish the coloring pages several times,” Seymour-Green said.

Yoga in the Library on May 23 attracted a small but enthusiastic group of students and staff. The student Yoga Club cosponsored the event and led the session in the 1941 Lecture Room. Members were excited to have held the event in the library and said they are hoping to do so again.

Board Games Night took place on two separate nights, May 22 and 23. Nico Carver, assistant librarian in the Student Multimedia Design Center, worked with the student Board Games Club to coordinate these events. Board Games Night proved to be so popular that additional tables had to be added. Carver reported that he received enthusiastic comments from participants throughout the evening, including “Board Games! Cool!” and “I wish this was here every night!”

This is the first year that the library has offered finals week activities. Library staff said they have enjoyed seeing the enthusiastic response the events have generated and are eager to collaborate with other student organizations and programs to develop ideas for future Stress Less @ Club Morris events. 

 

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