Questions and answers with Elliot Hasselfield, Library Coordinator, SSCY Family Resource Centre
1. What is the SSCY Family Resource Centre?
The SSCY Family Resource Centre is an information and loan service located inside the SSCY Centre. We aim to empower families by providing access to high-quality resources including books, toys, adapted books with picture communication symbols, and adapted recreational equipment. Our focus is on providing resources for children and youth with disabilities and additional needs, as well as their caregivers, families, educators and service providers.
2. Who has access to these loans?
Anyone can sign up for a library card! Our regular clientele includes teachers, clinicians, families and the general public.
3. What is the purpose of your library?
We are a small library that supports the children and families who use SSCY services, as well as others across the province. Our most popular book sections for parents and clinicians include Autism Spectrum and Communication, and we have a big selection of parenting resources. We also have a rich collection of children’s books showcasing diverse experiences and highlighting inclusion.
Reading is a practice that can create empathy between very disparate points of view. Our collection of books features kids with disabilities, kids from diverse cultural backgrounds, and kids who are neurodivergent— this allows parents and educators to promote an understanding beyond what makes us different and towards what we have in common. Through books like “What happened to you?”, “We need everyone” and “All my stripes”, for example, children are able to better understand their peers who may look or think differently than they do. The library also supports awareness days for different disabilities and conditions throughout the year.
In addition to books, we loan specialized toys and recreational equipment for clients to trial at home or at school—this allows children and youth to try devices that they might not otherwise have access to, before committing to buying them. Clinicians are also welcome to loan toys and recreational equipment to families for use at home or school.
4. How do people access the library?
We’re located in the SSCY Centre, at 1155 Notre Dame Ave, in the old Christie cookie factory building. The SSCY Family Resource Centre is on the west side of the SSCY lobby right behind our beautiful tipi. We’re open Monday to Friday from 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM.
5. What kinds of collaborations are you part of?
We recently partnered with the RCC Research Department to provide access to completed research that has been done with the participation of our SSCY families. We have a selection of knowledge translation materials displayed in the library for review and available for loan-- and since the Research Department is located in the library, we’ve been finding some creative ways to showcase research and engage families.
[photo] Caption text: A bicycle-riding frog invites people to read a study on the benefits of adapted biking.
In partnering with RCC Research, we want to decrease the knowledge gap between research and clinical work by providing access to research in a way that is accessible to families, clinicians and the public.
6. Are there any other services you’d like to highlight?
As an information professional and a non-clinical member of the health care team here at SSCY, I connect people with information that is going to be helpful to them, in whatever format makes the most sense for their lives. Every question that someone asks is an opportunity for me to learn, whether it’s about services here at SSCY or in the wider community, or about a specific aspect of parenting a child with a disability.
Family members are eager to support their loved ones through the various challenges of growing up. Even though I don’t have all the answers, I try to meet them with compassion, openness and willingness to help them find out.
7. What can people expect when they visit the SSCY Family Resource Centre?
We are trying to create a vibrant and engaging family space within the SSCY Centre, so that families can take a break, regroup and recharge from sometimes stressful medical and therapy appointments. There are couches and colouring sheets available, and families are encouraged to sit and read to their kids. SSCY Centre also now offers snacks to our families through our SSCY Greeter, and families are encouraged to come in and take a break. We also have a public use computer.
8. Any final words for researchers or our other readers?
I just want to let people know that we’re here, serving families, clinicians and everyone who is involved with our community! Please talk about our services to clients and families you encounter, and reach out to me if you’d like our library brochure or any other information. You can also watch our Breakfast at SSCY from February 2025: https://rccinc.ca/knowledge-sharing/sscy-family-resource-centre-and-sscy-amenities/.
I’m also open to being part of the knowledge translation process—if researchers want to reach out to me, I could provide feedback on how to make the results of their studies more understandable for the lay reader. I hope that this could help make this important research more accessible to a wider audience.
Published January 5, 2026
About the author
Elliot is the Library Coordinator at the SSCY Family Resource Centre and has worked at the Rehabilitation Centre for Children since 2018. After obtaining their Masters of Library and Information Studies (MLIS) in 2011, they proceeded on a meandering career path before finally finding their place at the SSCY Family Resource Centre ten years later. When they are not library-ing, they’re likely to be found canoeing, biking, playing music, or crocheting with a very special black cat on their lap.