Angelica Ramos
Contributing Writer
MONTGOMERY COUNTY – Virginia Association of Commonwealth’s Counties Deputy Director, Katie Boyle, presented the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors (BOS) with their Best Large County Achievement Award at the Oct. 28 BOS meeting.
The award was given for the Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library’s Sensory Museum Program.
The Virginia Association of Commonwealth’s Counties works with county officials to speak for, foster and safeguard the interests of each individual county and their residents in order to best provide for said residents. Boyle explained in her presentation to the board of supervisors that the achievement awards program began to recognize counties for their creative approaches to services they offer to their public.
“We had three volunteer judges this this year,” Boyle said, “and they followed several guiding principles when selecting winners including: whether the program offers an innovative solution to a problem, situation or the delivery of services, whether the program promotes intergovernmental cooperation or cooperation with private enterprise in addressing a problem or situation, and whether the program provides a model that other local governments may learn from or implement in their own localities.”
According to Boyle, Montgomery County has been awarded nine previous achievement awards and this would be Montgomery County’s tenth award. Kareem Khan, the director of the Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library, addressed the board regarding the award.
The Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library hosts a sensory museum program to provide for patrons with disabilities. The sensory programs were originally aimed at teens and adults, but children and the young at heart also enjoy these programs.
“The Sensory Museum,” Khan said, “is intended to meet the needs of patrons with disabilities. We launched it in 2023. It’s a program typically held after hours in the library’s community room but has also been successful during regular operating hours.”
“We dim the lights to reduce over stimulation from fluorescent lights and calming music is played while the overhead projector projects visually stimulating images around the room,” Khan continued. “Patrons can visit stations containing different tactile or visual sensory experiences such as water beads, rice bins, Zen Gardens, kinetic sand, glow painting with black lights, fiber optic lamps, plasma ball lamps, water painting, a sensory light projector in a tent that shines calming patterns and colors of lights onto the canopy of the tent. Occasionally, local therapy dogs participate in the program.
“As they leave, the Sensory Museum program participants may choose a fidget toy as a tool to use in stressful or overwhelming situations,” he continued. “Patrons of all ages have enjoyed this program remarking it’s been very helpful for their neurodivergent teens and for neurodivergent cells. Sensory play can bring out a playful side in someone and help them unwind due to the positive response to the Sensory Museum. We have implemented it on a semi-regular basis throughout all branches of the MFRL system and we’ve kind of extended the effort with sensory kits that a neurodivergent person who have sensory processing issues can check out and use while they’re in the library, with things to busy their hands, with noise canceling headphones, so this was in response to the need because you know as we work to make sure that nobody is excluded from our service, from our facilities, we’re aware that persons with disabilities have a history of being excluded throughout libraries.”
Boyle presented the board of supervisors and library staff with a plaque award commemorating the Sensory Museum and Montgomery County’s work.