CURRENT POSITION Manager, Grabill Branch, Allen County Public Library, IN DEGREE MLS, Indiana University, 1995 FAST FACT Wolfe is a four-year breast cancer survivor! FOLLOW Facebook: groups/libraryprogrammingidd; acpl.lib.in.us; bit.ly/AllenCountyHostsIDDClub Photo by Michael A. Foley

All Abilities Welcome

Rebecca Wolfe often saw groups of adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDD) brought to her library by activity leaders from social service agencies; many times they ended up just watching a movie. Seeing an opportunity to make their library time more meaningful and engaging, she founded the monthly All Abilities Club (AAC), which offers crafts, games, literacy activities, music, and guest speakers to adults with IDD and caregivers.

Extending programming to local agencies serving adults with IDD, Wolfe weaves together story times, music, movement, and literacy elements through read-alouds, poetry, and puppetry. She also leads book clubs with discussions and collaborative crafts. Wolfe learns her patrons’ names and stories, then chooses activities tailored to their interests.

Wolfe mentors colleagues, showing them how to facilitate programs at their branches so adults with IDD have programs close to home, and founded and moderates a 600-member Facebook group for interested library staff. In 2023, Allen County Public Library (ACPL) conducted 194 programs for 2,854 adults with IDD, with Wolfe herself leading 124 programs. This year, ACPL will host 53 AAC sessions, with Wolfe leading 102 in-house and outreach programs.

Historically, adults with IDD had to choose between children’s or adult summer programs, if included at all. In 2023, Wolfe introduced All Abilities Bingo Cards to ACPL’s summer program; participants document achievements like greeting library staff, finding their branch’s restroom, and reading books for 10 minutes. In its first year, 542 participants completed the cards, receiving new books as prizes.

“This is what it’s all about,” Wolfe says, “creating community for everyone in our service area, particularly those from groups who are often overlooked in our society.”