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Using Play Activities to Power Positive Breaks

In Academic Libraries

Glyneva Bradley-Ridout

Liaison and Education Librarian

Gerstein Science Information Center, University of Toronto

glyneva.bradley.ridout@utoronto.ca

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Background

This presentation is based on findings from two prior investigations:

Bradley-Ridout, Glyneva. "Making the Case for Play in Academic Libraries." Canadian Journal of Academic Librarianship 12 (2026): 1-9. https://www.erudit.org/en/journals/cjalib/2026-v12-cjalib010759/1124839ar/
Bradley-Ridout, Glyneva, Grace Bourret, Angelique Roy, Mikaela Gray, Kaitlin Fuller, and Maggie Gordon. "Examining the impact and motivations of play in academic libraries: A cross-sectional study." Journal of Play in Adulthood 7, no. 1 (2025): 79-97. https://search.informit.org/doi/epdf/10.3316/informit.T2025112800015401545229247

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WHY THIS TOPIC?

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Events and programs created as opportunities to play/ have fun as one of the primary purposes

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People love them!!

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Research Questions

What is the supporting evidence and justifications for play events in academic libraries?

What is the impact of play in academic libraries on student outcomes?

Drawing from examples in adult psychology, “impact” was defined and measured across three dimensions: 1) enjoyment of the event, 2) satisfaction with the library, and 3) sense of belonging within the campus community.

What motivates students to participate in play events in academic libraries?

Focus for today

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Population

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Recruitment

Each library hosted a play-based event in December 2024

Research team approached participants

Verbal and written consent was obtained

Given questionnaire and $5 gift card

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Demographics

93 participant's total. Of these:

85% were undergraduate students
97% were under 29 years old
86% were domestic students
80% lived off campus

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Motivations

Activity	Mentions a specific element of the specific activity being done (eg. specific mention of bracelets or puzzles, etc.).
Break	Mentions taking/ needing a break, taking time away from something else (like studying), a distraction from something else, or needing to turn one's brain off
Boredom/Tired	Mentions feeling bored or tired of studying/work/other action
Community	Mentions the desire to create something for someone else, to participate in a collective, to help something/someone else, or to contribute to something
Convenience	Mentions the duration of the event (eg. quickness), proximity to the event, or location of the event
Creativity	Mentions the desire to be creative or artisitic
Fun	Mentions fun, playfulness, or enjoyment
Other	Does not align with any of the other categories
Relaxation	Mentions feeling or needing to feel relaxed or to unwind
Social	Mentions friends or peers, in the context of learning about the event from them, doing the event with them, or making something at the event for them
Stress	Mentions 'stress', or wanting to 'destress'
Wellbeing	Mentions an element of mental health, wellbeing, wellness, etc.

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Needing to take a break was the highest motivation, applied to 50% of all responses, and applied twice as frequently as any other code. This finding was consistent across all recruitment sites.

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Motivations

Code	Description	Frequency n (% of responses that received that code)
Break	Mentions taking/ needing a break, taking time away from something else (like studying), a distraction from something else, or needing to turn one's brain off	47 (50%)
Activity	Mentions a specific element of the specific activity being done	26 (28%)
Fun/ Enjoyment	Mentions fun, playfulness, or enjoyment	26 (28%)
Community	Mentions the desire to create something for someone else, to participate in a collective, to help something/someone else, or to contribute to something	24 (26%)
Stress	Mentions 'stress', or wanting to 'destress'	20 (22%)
Social	Mentions friends or peers, in the context of learning about the event from them, doing the event with them, or making something at the event for them	17 (18%)
Convenience	Mentions the duration of the event (eg. quickness), proximity to the event, or location of the event	15 (16%)
Creativity	Mentions the desire to be creative or artistic	14 (15%)
Other	Does not align with any of the other categories	9 (10%)
Wellbeing	Mentions an element of mental health, wellbeing, wellness, etc.	8 (9%)
Relaxation	Mentions feeling or needing to feel relaxed or to unwind	5 (5%)
Boredom/Tired	Mentions feeling bored or tired of studying/work/other action	4 (4%)

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LET’S TALK ABOUT

BREAKS

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Post secondary students

College and university students today face increasing levels of stress, burnout, and other mental health challenges.
Studies have documented rising rates of anxiety, depression, and exhaustion among student populations (Arian et al. 2023; Baldwin et al. 2017)

“I needed a brain break and am very stressed. Things like this are so fun!! I love a craft.“

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Academic libraries

Academic libraries aim to support student success

Students engaged in play or identifying as playful were less likely to engage in unhealthy coping strategies (Manguson and Barnett 2013)

Connection between playfulness and higher self-esteem, intellectual ability, academic success (Proyer 2011)

It's a little fun break where I can focus on something so my mind doesn't wander to other worries (exams, etc) but it's not very stressing because there is no result I'm trying to achieve so I find it really fun! It distracts from worrying about other stuff.

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Study breaks = study success

For students, healthy and restorative breaks from studying are essential.

The importance of taking breaks during periods of studying and learning has been widely researched, and the positive effect that breaks can have in education is proven (Immordino-Yang et al., 2012)
Breaks have been shown to improve recall, attention, productivity, and academic performance (Ginns et al. 2023)

I [participated] because it is a good break from studying, which we all need. A good small distraction can help in increasing our focus.

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“bad” breaks

Prolonged and frequent use of cell phones and social media has been shown to have a negative correlation on the outcomes typically associated with taking a break.

During breaks, students may, and often do, turn to media usage to disconnect from learning (David et al., 2015)
The use of social media by university students was shown to decrease motivation and hinder academic performance (Flanigan & Babchuk, 2015)
Playing video games and social media multitasking negatively predicted cumulative GPA (Lau, 2017).
Students are generally aware of this, and seek out “good” break activity options

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"I wanted to participate as a brain break from studying and writing papers because it allows me to take a moment away from studying but also my phone. I like to take a walk to the space, participate in the activities, and talk in a non-studying environment with my friends."

"I like play-based activities. I think they're a good idea because they're something you can do during study breaks instead of going on your phone and social media..."

“To distract myself and procrastinate from doing schoolwork but in a way that feels meaningful, productive, and actually makes me happy”

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If we consider one of the main roles of the library is to support academic success (including through providing study space), then play is in direct support of this goal

Academic libraries can provide the opportunity, space, and permission for play and creativity
When given the option, students will choose play or creativity as a healthy break option
Healthy breaks support healthy study and supports overall wellbeing
Academic libraries, therefore, are a logical place on campus for play events to occur

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EXAMPLES

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The code for “activity” where the participant mentioned the activities being offered as a motivation for participating, was applied to 28% of responses.

Despite each site offering unique play and creative options, this finding was consistent across all sites

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What this illustrated to us what that it doesn’t seem to matter what types of playful activities are offered in academic libraries.

Students appreciate and get benefits from simple and low-budget activities just as much as others.

Offering play in the library at all is more important than what kind of play is being offered.

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“I really enjoy the puzzles! And I come to [name of library] cuz I can take a break at the play event! “

“The creativity of creating a button is a nice way to get my mind off my work for a while. I feel less stressed and left with a nice and pretty gift.”

“I was getting tired of studying and needed a break. I saw the stand and decided to make a gingerbread man. It was fun since I normally don't set aside time or think to do crafts in my spare time but I really enjoyed it! “

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VISION BOARDS

Poems created by isolating words from a larger text
Materials needed: ripped pages from books or magazines, markers

BLACK OUT POETRY

Great for the new year/ new semester
Materials needed: old magazines or book jackets, glue sticks, and sheets of paper

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GIANT CROSSWORD

Tip: the globe and mail has free ones each year, and a backlog collection!

COLLABORATIVE COLOURING

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FINISH THE DRAWING

MAKE YOUR OWN FORTUNE

Blank paper and the template / instructions is all that is needed for this!

Print copies of paper with random lines – the task is to use imagination to finish the drawing

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Finding more inspiration

Programming Librarian

programminglibrarian.org/browse-programs

r/Libraries

Playful Activity Library

playfullearningassoc.co.uk/playful-activity-library-explore-entries/

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THANK YOU!

glyneva.bradley.ridout@utoronto.ca

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References

Arian, Mahdieh, Amirreza Jamshidbeigi, Azadeh Kamali, Zahra Dalir, and Tayyebeh Ali-Abadi. 2023. “The Prevalence of Burnout Syndrome in Nursing Students: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” Teaching and Learning in Nursing 18 (4): 512-520. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.teln.2023.04.015.
Baldwin, Debora R., Kerry Towler, Michael D. Oliver, and Subimal Datta. 2017. “An Examination of College Student Wellness: A Research and Liberal Arts Perspective.” Health Psychology Open 4 (2): 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1177/2055102917719563.
David, Prabu, Jung-Hyun Kim, Jared S. Brickman, Weina Ran, and Christine M. Curtis. 2015. “Mobile Phone Distraction while Studying.” New Media & Society 17 (10): 1661-1679. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444814531692.
Flanigan, Abraham E. and Wayne A. Babchuk. 2015. “Social Media as Academic Quicksand: A Phenomenological Study of Student Experiences in and Out of the Classroom.” Learning and Individual Differences 44: 40-45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2015.11.003.
Ginns, Paul, Katherine Muscat, and Ryan Naylor. 2023. “Rest Breaks Aid Directed Attention and Learning.” Educational and Developmental Psychologist 40 (2): 141-150. https://doi.org/10.1080/20590776.2023.2225700.
Immordino-Yang, Mary, Joanna A. Christodoulou, and Vanessa Singh. 2012. “Rest is Not Idleness: Implications of the Brain's Default Mode for Human Development and Education.” Perspectives on Psychological Science 7 (4): 352–364. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691612447308.
Lau, Wilfred W. F. 2017. “Effects of Social Media Usage and Social Media Multitasking on the Academic Performance of University Students.” Computers in Human Behavior 68: 286–291. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.11.043.
Magnuson, Cale D. and Lynn A. Barnett. 2013. “The Playful Advantage: How Playfulness Enhances Coping with Stress.” Leisure Sciences 35 (2): 129–144. https://doi.org/10.1080/01490400.2013.761905.