












































Always Room for Mindfulness


173

Always Room for Mindfulness
Creating a Contemplative Space in Your Library
Karen Adjei, Ask a Librarian Apprentice, University of Colorado Boulder
Sarah Hagerman, Engagement Programming Specialist, University of Colo-
rado Boulder
Megan E. Welsh, Associate Professor and Interdisciplinary Arts and Humani-
ties Librarian, University of Colorado Boulder

ABSTRACT CU Boulder Libraries created a Mindfulness Room by embracing 
a whole learner perspective, in which patrons can meditate, pray, learn, and 
be inspired. Although initiated by Muslim students seeking a place to pray 
at a secular, public university, the Mindfulness Room has transformed into 
a space that encourages all to explore mindfulness practices in the midst of 
stress and burnout in an academic setting. The presentation emphasized 
how the space signals to students that libraries support the spiritual, mental, 
and educational aspects of being a college student, thus positively impact-
ing the student experience as a whole. The presentation situated the project 
in broader trends of mental health initiatives in libraries, and discussed the 
contents of the mindfulness room, including a non-circulating collection, as 
well as future related projects. Speakers reflected on learning opportunities 
and challenges that arose from balancing multifaith and secular perspec-
tives in a single, welcoming space.

INTRODUCTION

This Listen and Learn presentation was designed to introduce to 
Atla professionals how mindfulness can be embedded into library 

LISTEN AND LEARN SESSIONS



174  ATLA 2023 PROCEEDINGS

spaces that any community member can embrace, by showcasing 
the Mindfulness Room at the University of Colorado (CU) Boulder 
Libraries. The presentation aimed to make visible the work of the 
Religious Studies librarian and personnel responsible for develop-
ing and implementing outreach programming in a public, secular 
institutional setting. While spiritual formation is a more obvious 
component of religiously-affiliated institutions’ missions, the fact 
of which is reflected by many library professionals and institutions 
represented in Atla, this presentation aimed to show how public, 
secular universities can support the whole learner in their person-
al spiritual or secular practices by dedicating space for meditation, 
mindfulness, and contemplation. Each patron in these spaces may 
personally affiliate with a distinct religious or spiritual background, 
or may embrace secular humanism or atheism, but, regardless, des-
ignated mindfulness spaces support patrons in stepping away from 
rigorous academic work in order to embrace rest and connect with 
their own thoughts. The presentation aimed to reveal unique lessons 
and approaches to supporting the whole learner within librarianship 
that can translate across various institution types, hopefully inspir-
ing conversations across Atla to further embark on such work, re-
gardless of individual or institutional affiliation. More explicitly, the 
session hoped that attendees would have the following take-aways:

1. Attendees will understand the value of the mindfulness 
space at CU Boulder and consider how a mindfulness space 
may add value in their own libraries, as well as consider 
ideal qualities of a space for contemplation.

2. Attendees will learn more about employing a whole learner 
perspective to library work so that they may consider how 
to apply this philosophy in their own settings, especially as 
a way to complement interfaith perspectives.

3. Attendees will gain an understanding of mindfulness book 
collection development, room policies, and meditation sup-
plies to include in the space. 

The session began with presenter introductions as well as a brief 
overview of institutional context, highlighting that CU Boulder is a 
large, public (secular), R1 institution, with over 30,000 students, and 
that the CU Religious Studies department offers classes to support 
undergraduate and Masters level degrees in religion while also sup-
porting students who take these classes to meet general education 
requirements, as an elective, or for personal interest. The presenta-



LISTEN AND LEARN SESSIONS  175

tion moved through five sections, with two group activities embed-
ded throughout: 

• Section 1: Value of mindfulness & meditation
• Section 2: Developing a culture of mindfulness
• Section 3: Creating space for mindfulness
• Section 4: Developing a mindfulness collection
• Section 5: Maintaining a mindful future

SECTION 1: VALUE OF MINDFULNESS AND MEDITATION

The first section of the presentation began with the founder of mind-
fulness-based stress reduction Jon Kabat-Zinn’s definition of mind-
fulness: “The awareness that arises from paying attention on pur-
pose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally” (Kabat-Zinn 
2013, 0:25). The positive effects of meditation or other mindfulness 
practices on stress and overall well-being have been well-studied 
and documented (Astin 1997; Davidson et al. 2003; Grossman, Nie-
mann, Schmidt, and Walach 2004). Meditation can reduce stress 
(Astin 1997), increase coping for those with mental health disorders 
(Grossman, Niemann, Schmidt, and Walach 2004), support resilience 
after traumatic events (Rogers 2013), and boost the immune system 
(Davidson et al. 2003). These benefits alone speak to the power of 
mindfulness meditation. 

The presentation further established the context of mindfulness 
in library and information science, situating itself in recent scholarly 
communications and pedagogy within the field, in particular draw-
ing from the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) 2023 
Conference. Presentation anecdotes pulled from this conference 
highlight how the demanding environment of college life makes de-
veloping personal resilience crucial (Rogers 2013), as well as the abil-
ity to navigate stress and work positively with others (Oman 2008). 
Figures pulled from ACRL conference presentations showed that the 
percentage of students diagnosed with or treated for anxiety disor-
ders had effectively doubled between 2008 and 2018 (Nazmi et al. 
2019). Especially in a “post” COVID-19 reality, which has seen more 
student disengagement as well as increased mental health struggles 
among both students and those who support them (such as librar-
ians), there has been an increased focus on campus mental health. 
According to a recent survey, almost 75% of university presidents 



176  ATLA 2023 PROCEEDINGS

list student mental health as their “most pressing issue” (Clark and 
Taylor 2021).  Meanwhile, the academic library is often the second 
most visited place on a university/college campus after the student 
center (Grimes and Salvesen 2023, 19). As conversations from the 
ACRL 2023 Conference reveal, there are many academic and social 
imperatives and implications of incorporating mindfulness into aca-
demic library spaces and programming. One such example of library 
initiatives entering into these conversations to meet student needs is 
“Mindfulinlis,” a resource that is specifically geared towards those 
learning about or practicing mindfulness in library and informa-
tion science. (More information about this resource can be found 
at: https://mindfulinlis.wordpress.com/.)

The following mindfulness practices were shared with the audi-
ence, who were encouraged to use these in their daily work or within 
their broader institution: 

Meditation: 
• Loving Kindness Meditation
• Body scan meditation
• Various prayer practices

Contemplative Writing: 
• Writing for self-reflection, contemplation, or introspection 
• Writing to build compassion, consider different perspec-

tives, and foster openness
• Answering simple yet effective prompts such as “How did it 

feel to….?”
• Freewriting

Contemplative Reading: 
• Lectio divina, which includes the four separate steps of 

reading, meditating, praying, and contemplating on a text
• Reflecting on short texts such as poems or quotes. Reflec-

tion could entail reading aloud (alone or with a group) or 
savoring a specific word or phrase

Movement-based Meditation: 
• Walking meditation and prayer
• Dance 

https://mindfulinlis.wordpress.com/


LISTEN AND LEARN SESSIONS  177

• Yoga
• Labyrinth walking meditation

Art, focusing on the creative process, rather than the out-
come:

• Intuitive drawing
• Collage (zines)
• Mandala/pattern drawing
• Prayer drawing/coloring

Contemplative Reflection: 
• Classroom exercises that encourage students to reflect on 

their experience via prompts

SECTION 2: DEVELOPING A CULTURE OF MINDFULNESS

Presenters shared how at CU Boulder there is a growing interest in 
developing a culture of mindfulness. Resources such as the Renée 
Crown Wellness Institute (https://www.colorado.edu/crowninstitute) 
and the Contemplative Resource Center (https://www.colorado.edu/
center/contemplativeresource) support wellness initiatives both in 
and outside of the classroom, while the student wellness center of-
fers a meditation series and other activities focused on stress reduc-
tion. Other campus resources include the Mindfulness at the CU Art 
Museum initiative as well as a meditation series on campus: Mind-
fulness and Everyday Life (https://www.colorado.edu/hr/2022/04/20/
mindfulness-everyday-life). 

At CU’s University Libraries, similar support programs for student 
and community wellness have been created including meditation, 
yoga, relaxing finals activities, and LibGuides aimed at addressing 
mental health and stress. The Learning & Engagement Team at the 
University Libraries has also collaboratively read and discussed 
Contemplative Practices in Higher Education by Daniel Barbezat and 
Mirabai Bush, first as a joint learning activity, and later presented as 
a workshop to the teaching librarian community of practice within 
the Libraries. Contemplative classroom practices, as well as the ex-
pansive family of mindfulness practices, vary, but all can be charac-
terized by an emphasis on introspection and reflection. 

The following recommendations were shared with the audience 
as ways to consider starting a mindfulness project at their institution: 

https://www.colorado.edu/crowninstitute/
https://www.colorado.edu/center/contemplativeresource/
https://www.colorado.edu/center/contemplativeresource/
https://www.colorado.edu/hr/2022/04/20/mindfulness-everyday-life
https://www.colorado.edu/hr/2022/04/20/mindfulness-everyday-life


178  ATLA 2023 PROCEEDINGS

• Explore your own curiosity and practices  
• Find others who are invested, especially across depart-

ments
• Locate and investigate existing campus resources
• Connect with library users and ask about their needs or 

ideas for library support services 
• Be creative!

At this point in the presentation, the presenters facilitated the first 
of two group activities. Participants were asked to answer the follow-
ing question through an online response platform: “How do you — or 
might you — foster mindfulness in your library spaces?” This then 
generated a word cloud from participant responses (see figure 1).

FIGURE 1 Session word cloud

SECTION 3: CREATING SPACE FOR MINDFULNESS

Audience members transitioned into the third part of the presenta-
tion by watching a news broadcast video which provided campus 
context about the importance of dedicated space for students to en-
gage in contemplation and personal religious practices. Discussed in 
the video, Muslim students had petitioned for prayer space at CU’s 
Engineering Center in 2015. The Muslim Student Association and the 
CU Student government lobbied administrators to designate quiet 
spaces for student reflection. In 2016, a quiet space opened in the 
University Memorial Center (the student union at CU), and in 2017 
another quiet space opened in CU’s Engineering Center (two years 
after the Muslim Student Association petition), which is where stu-
dents wanted the space initially. 



LISTEN AND LEARN SESSIONS  179

This campus context serves as an important backdrop to the even-
tual creation of the Libraries’ Mindfulness Room. Prior to the open-
ing of the Libraries’ Mindfulness Room, Muslim students would pray 
wherever they could find a quiet space, often in stairwells or hall-
way corners, but still very much in public and with other patrons 
walking by. These spaces were not welcoming, and they did not fa-
cilitate an environment that embraces a whole-learner perspective. 
In December 2018, the Libraries’ Senior Associate Dean convened 
the Libraries’ Mindfulness Task Force and acknowledged the library 
as a central place on campus to support the whole learner, includ-
ing their mental and emotional needs, and their desire for a space 
to rest and reflect. 

In 2019, the Task Force began its work by identifying possible 
spaces for the room, curating a list of furnishings to be submitted for 
purchase, and, eventually, deciding on room use policies. The Task 
Force also accepted donated prayer rugs and cushions from the Mus-
lim Student Association. A presenter explained how — acting as a 
Task Force member and in her role as Religious Studies Librarian — 
she solicited suggestions for purchasing titles from CU students and 
colleagues and from Atla colleagues to form a small, non-circulating 
collection which was placed in the room (see figure 2). In January 
2020, the Mindfulness Room was opened for use. Two days before the 
campus shifted to fully online learning, the Mindfulness Room was 
scheduled to have a more robust grand opening with a panel discus-
sion on the importance of mindfulness in education, but that event 
was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (The announcement 
highlighting the Mindfulness Room is available at: https://www.colo-
rado.edu/libraries/2020/02/05/mindfulness-room-norlin-now-open.) 
In Fall 2021, CU Boulder, University Libraries, and the Mindfulness 
Room fully reopened. Currently, the Mindfulness Room is a peace-
ful, well-loved space on campus, with 2,253 admittances in the last 
year. The room is accessible to faculty, staff, and students affiliated 
with CU Boulder.

After learning about the context and timeline of the Libraries’ 
Mindfulness Room, presentation attendees participated in a Think/
Pair/Share activity, and discussed the following question with a 
neighbor or in the Zoom chat: “Who at your institution would most 
benefit from a mindfulness space in your library?” Participants were 
asked to share what they had discussed with the larger group. One 
participant commented on how the theological library that they 

https://www.colorado.edu/libraries/2020/02/05/mindfulness-room-norlin-now-open
https://www.colorado.edu/libraries/2020/02/05/mindfulness-room-norlin-now-open


180  ATLA 2023 PROCEEDINGS

work at naturally lends itself to a mindful space through its archi-
tecture. Yet another participant talked about students from various 
backgrounds who would most benefit from mental health or mind-
fulness programs and resources on campus. One of the presenters 
shared statistics from the ACRL 2023 Conference presentations with 
similar observations: students who most need such resources may 
come from a background of low socio-economic and educational sta-
tus, may have a disability, or may have been previously incarcerated. 

SECTION 4: DEVELOPING A MINDFULNESS COLLECTION

In this section, presenters shared an overview of the collection devel-
opment process for the Mindfulness Room. Presenters described how 
title suggestions were solicited from the Atla community through the 
Atlantis listserv, and they highlighted other outreach efforts within 
the field to develop a collection development policy. The presenters 
emphasized how outreach to various communities and networks 
helped develop an engaging collection and ways to think about main-
taining that collection (see figure 2). The current physical collection 
contains 41 books in the room, including two copies of the Quran. 
More recently, the Mindfulness Room collection has expanded to in-
clude eBooks. Due to early ordering deadlines and time constraints in 
Spring 2023, the presenters discussed how they shifted from purchas-
ing additional print materials and focused instead on purchasing 
ebooks. These ebooks were selected based on the presenters’ desire 
to highlight various mindfulness practices and spiritual beliefs. All 
ebook titles (and additional information on the Mindfulness Room) 
are visible on the Mindfulness Room guide online: https://libguides.
colorado.edu/mindfulnessroom. 

https://libguides.colorado.edu/mindfulnessroom
https://libguides.colorado.edu/mindfulnessroom


LISTEN AND LEARN SESSIONS  181

FIGURE 2 Non-circulating collection in the CU Boulder Libraries Mindfulness Room. 
Photo by Megan E. Welsh

The presenters also shared an overview of a more formalized col-
lection development policy that is currently being created. In order 
to create this collection development policy, the presenters are con-
sulting a policy provided over the Atlantis listserv, which will help 
compare and contrast existing collection development policies at CU 
Boulder, as well as current library school course material focused 
on collection development strategies.



182  ATLA 2023 PROCEEDINGS

SECTION 5: MAINTAINING A MINDFUL FUTURE

The final section of the presentation went over lessons learned from 
this project and plans for the future. Lessons learned included the 
following:

• Collection development can take on a variety of forms and 
is ongoing work.

• It is important to understand how personal librarianship 
style and work is influenced by mindfulness practices, and 
how this translates into a public space.

• It is also important to be intentional about outreach on 
campus.

Future plans for the Mindfulness Room and activities relating to 
the space include:

• Hosting a zine workshop on the theme of mindfulness
• Aligning engagement, outreach and programming with the 

2023–2024 CU Boulder One Read, The Book of Joy, by the 
Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmund Tutu, to help share 
mindfulness practices of contemplation, as well as practic-
ing and embodying joy across the campus community. 

• Continued collection development work, including finaliz-
ing a collection development policy for print and ebook titles 
to be added to the Mindfulness Room collection, and solicit-
ing more purchase suggestions from the campus community

• Creating a book club/contemplative practice group
• Highlighting some of our Mindfulness Room titles around 

campus using the Libraries’ outreach tricycle, “InfoMotion”

Finally, presenters encouraged attendees to reflect on the infor-
mation they gained from the presentation and how they might want 
to plan and implement mindfulness activities and spaces in their set-
tings. The presenters asked attendees to:

• Consider patron interests and needs
• Consider how to better use space in the library (and be cre-

ative!!)
• Consider how to collaborate with colleagues, departments, 

and local communities and organizations
• Consider how to incorporate mindfulness practices into 

their librarianship practice.



LISTEN AND LEARN SESSIONS  183

CONCLUSION

Mindfulness has become an important part of the library profession 
as more students need support navigating college campus commu-
nities as well as mitigating various stress factors throughout one’s 
academic career. Indeed, many academic library leaders are tak-
ing greater notice of the various mental health struggles that stu-
dents face, especially in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. 
Librarians can meet these unique needs of patrons by embracing a 
whole-learner approach when incorporating various mindfulness 
practices and resources into library spaces. Especially in spiritually 
diverse or even secular contexts, libraries can facilitate a welcom-
ing environment for all patrons regardless of their spiritual or faith 
backgrounds. They can engage with mindfulness resources in order 
to support the whole student throughout their academic journey. 
This presentation gave an overview of embedding mindfulness ac-
tivities and a physical space dedicated to mindfulness at a secular, 
public institution, providing the audience with key questions and 
considerations for implementing similar mindfulness initiatives in 
their own library setting.

REFERENCES

Astin, John A. 1997. “Stress Reduction through Mindfulness 
Meditation: Effects on Psychological Symptomatology, 
Sense of Control, and Spiritual Experiences.” Psychotherapy 
and Psychosomatics 66 (2): 97–106. https://doi.
org/10.1159/000289116.

Barbezat, Daniel P., and Mirabai Bush. 2013. Contemplative 
Practices in Higher Education: Powerful Methods to Transform 
Teaching and Learning. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Baydoun, Shatha, and Ava Brillat. 2023. “Trauma-Informed 
Pedagogy for Revolutionary Inquiry: Using Reflection to 
Repair and Re-Engage Students.” In Forging the Future: The 
Proceedings of the 2023 ACRL Conference. Chicago: American 
Library Association. https://www.ala.org/acrl/sites/ala.
org.acrl/files/content/conferences/confsandpreconfs/2023/
TraumaInformedPedagogy.pdf.

Clark, Briana C.J, and Morgan Taylor. 2021. 2021 Fall Term Pulse 
Point Survey of College and University Presidents, Part II. 
Washington, D.C.: American Council on Higher Education. 

https://doi.org/10.1159/000289116
https://doi.org/10.1159/000289116
https://www.ala.org/acrl/sites/ala.org.acrl/files/content/conferences/confsandpreconfs/2023/TraumaInformedPedagogy.pdf
https://www.ala.org/acrl/sites/ala.org.acrl/files/content/conferences/confsandpreconfs/2023/TraumaInformedPedagogy.pdf
https://www.ala.org/acrl/sites/ala.org.acrl/files/content/conferences/confsandpreconfs/2023/TraumaInformedPedagogy.pdf


184  ATLA 2023 PROCEEDINGS

https://www.acenet.edu/Documents/Pulse-Point-Survey-
Fall2021-Part2.pdf.

Davidson, Richard J., Jon Kabat-Zinn, Jessica R. Schumacher, 
Melissa A. Rosenkranz, Daniel J. Müller, Saki F. Santorelli, 
Ferris Urbanowski, Anne Harrington, Katherine Bonus, 
and John T. Sheridan. 2003. “Alterations in Brain and 
Immune Function Produced by Mindfulness Meditation.” 
Psychosomatic Medicine 65 (4): 564–70. https://doi.
org/10.1097/01.psy.0000077505.67574.e3. 

Grossman, Paul, Ludger Niemann, Stefan Schmidt, and Harald 
Walach. 2004. “Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and Health 
Benefits.” Journal of Psychosomatic Research 57 (1): 35–43. 
https://doi.org/10.1016/s0022-3999(03)00573-7.

Kabat-Zinn, Jon. 2013. “Jon Kabat-Zin Defines Mindfulness.” 
NourFoundation. February 23, 2013. Educational video, 4:32. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPNEmxWSNxg

Nazmi, Aydin, Suzanna Martinez, Ajani Byrd, Derrick Robinson, 
Stephanie Bianco, Jennifer Maguire, Rashida M. Crutchfield, 
Kelly Condron, and Lorrene Ritchie. 2019. “A Systematic 
Review of Food Insecurity among US Students in Higher 
Education.” Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition 14 
(5): 725–40. https://doi.org/10.1080/19320248.2018.1484316. 

Oman, Doug, Shauna L. Shapiro, Carl E. Thoresen, Thomas G. 
Plante, and Tim Flinders. 2008. “Meditation Lowers Stress and 
Supports Forgiveness among College Students: A Randomized 
Controlled Trial.” Journal of American College Health 56 (5): 
569–78. https://doi.org/10.3200/jach.56.5.569-578.

Rogers, Holly. 2013. “Mindfulness Meditation for Increasing 
Resilience in College Students.” Psychiatric Annals 43 (12): 545–
48. https://doi.org/10.3928/00485713-20131206-06.

Salvesen, Linda and Neil Grimes. 2023. “Bridging the Gap: How 
Academic Libraries Can Support the Mental Health and 
Well-being of Both Our Students and Ourselves” PowerPoint 
presented at ACRL, Pittsburgh, PA, May 15, 2023. https://
custom.cvent.com/7473937172574D83922896B076666C45/files/
3d0b6a5132ac48bfbc70a86c0079f3d7.pdf

https://www.acenet.edu/Documents/Pulse-Point-Survey-Fall2021-Part2.pdf
https://www.acenet.edu/Documents/Pulse-Point-Survey-Fall2021-Part2.pdf
https://doi.org/10.1097/01.psy.0000077505.67574.e3
https://doi.org/10.1097/01.psy.0000077505.67574.e3
https://doi.org/10.1016/s0022-3999(03)00573-7
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPNEmxWSNxg
https://doi.org/10.1080/19320248.2018.1484316
https://doi.org/10.3200/jach.56.5.569-578
https://doi.org/10.3928/00485713-20131206-06
https://custom.cvent.com/7473937172574D83922896B076666C45/files/3d0b6a5132ac48bfbc70a86c0079f3d7.pdf
https://custom.cvent.com/7473937172574D83922896B076666C45/files/3d0b6a5132ac48bfbc70a86c0079f3d7.pdf
https://custom.cvent.com/7473937172574D83922896B076666C45/files/3d0b6a5132ac48bfbc70a86c0079f3d7.pdf

