Families of children with special needs face many challenges. Visits to the library can be fraught with crowds, noises and even the possibility of unwarranted public judgement. Past attempts at registration-only programs for these families proved largely unsuccessful due to the unpredictability that they deal with every day. Finding a way to increase comfort and lower the barrier of access for this underserved group became necessary as we expanded our role in the community.

Two elements continue to make this innovation productive and successful: the willingness of branch staff to host families before public hours and the partnerships with outside advocacy groups who agreed to help us reach our target audience. We expect that these partnerships will deepen and provide us with the firsthand feedback from the special needs community that e need to develop programs which meet their needs and allow them to effectively utilize our resources.

In addition to increased access to library materials for children with special needs, we expect to leverage our mild successes with the "Sensory Browsing Hour" into new programs, both in and out of the library, targeted at the special needs community. Our partnerships with these groups have already led to regular outreach opportunities, increased visibility among a previously underserved community and more regular contact and collaboration with special education departments in local schools.