All-Ability Activity Kits for Teens and Adults
Salt Lake County Library
Innovation Synopsis
The County Library wanted better ways to support the teens and adults with intellectual disabilities in our neighborhoods who visit our branches. Our All-Ability Activity Kits support individuals, families, and groups with opportunities to engage with learning and each other through independent activities and projects.
Challenge/Opportunity
The County Library has a number of day centers, schools, and residential facilities for teens and adults with intellectual disabilities who make regular visits to our branches. Sometimes these groups come to the branch for a specific program or event, but it is often without a specific agenda. We wanted a way to welcome these groups to the library, and help them learn what the library has to offer. Creating kits for these groups became an easy way to foster connections.
Key Elements of Innovation
Our goal with each kit is to facilitate opportunities for adults and teens with intellectual disabilities to create connections, inspire creativity, and learn. Each quarter three themed kits are developed and then distributed monthly. Each kit contains fun facts about the topic; supplies and instructions for a craft or activity; supplemental word searches, mazes, and coloring pages; and information about future library programs. Kits are designed for a group of teens or adults who are visiting the library, and although they are easy to enjoy in the branch, they can also be taken back to the center, school, or facility for use there. The kits have been a helpful tool to welcome groups to the branch, encourage them to come visit on a regular basis, or even as an outreach tool to local groups and schools. A group of up to 40 teen and adult volunteers has been instrumental in preparing materials and assembling the kits.
Achieved Outcomes
Since the program launched in 2024, we have distributed 1,872 kits to teens and adults with intellectual disabilities. Kits are designed for up to eight people, so these kits have served 7,662 individuals. Addressing the demand, the number of kits produced has steadily increased as groups have made visiting branches a regular part of their activities. We’ve also received positive feedback from the individuals and their groups:
• “With our clients we feel more welcome and connected to our community allowing them to engage in the activities and our clients really look forward to going to the library.”
• “We like how welcoming and kind they are to our clients. It is a relief to know they have a place that opens their doors.
The kits have also increased demand and attendance for in-person programming. In early 2024 we had three branches offering programs, which has since doubled to six branches with more planning to add programs in 2026.
