Skip to content
Stories

Making Space for Wellness at Odegaard Library

January 7, 2026

Hey Huskies! We know you contain multitudes—the stress of classes, the excitement of campus life, friend dynamics, work responsibilities and endless study sessions. Carrying all those multitudes can get heavy! Aligned with campus-wide efforts to support student care and well-being, UW Libraries newest addition will help to lighten your load, even if only for a few minutes between classes.

We’re thrilled to introduce a space designed just for you: the Odegaard Library Wellness Room: 3rd floor, Room 326

Image Wellness room with resting chairs, a large table, shelf storage and a variety of other seating

Why Wellness?

UW Libraries staff constantly review current trends and research to meet changing user needs. New literature and data connects student wellness and academic success. The Association of College & Research Libraries listed supporting student wellness, well-being, and mental health as a top trend for academic libraries in 2024.

Your New Multi-Use Sanctuary

We’ve taken an underused quiet study space and transformed it into a flexible, multi-purpose Wellness Room to support your mental and physical wellbeing. Unlike most other wellness spaces on the UW Seattle campus, which are single-use, the Odegaard Wellness Room prioritizes multiple activities in one place.

Students who contributed to the design phases of the room in 2025 gave us positive feedback, with several reporting they felt more relaxed and ready to take on the day after engaging with the activities and furniture. This is your dedicated space to recharge, rest, relax between classes, and decompress from the pressures of academic life.

Stressed Out? Enjoy a new place to chill out!

The Wellness Room is intentionally designed with four activity areas based on student and staff feedback, allowing you to choose how you want to self-regulate:

  • Meditation & Mindfulness: Grab a yoga mat or use one of the items from our Mindfulness Kit (like a buddha board or gratitude card deck).
  • Relaxation, Rest, and Re-Focusing: Find comfortable chairs and furniture to simply take a breather. Use items from the Focus Kit like crossword, Sudoku, and logic puzzle books to reinvigorate and re-focus you.
  • Craft & Creativity: Get hands-on with our Creativity Kit! You can dive into puzzles, coloring books, art markers, and origami.
  • Sensory Soothing: Use sensory furniture, fidget toys, or items from the Sensory Kit (like a wobble cushion or textured worry stones) for self-regulation.

You can check out the four Wellness Kits at the Information Desk on the 2nd floor.

Wellness Room Collection

Untitled Design (7)

The room also includes a small book and card deck collection with ideas for mindfulness and de-stress activities. Items in this collection should remain in the room and cannot be checked out. For similar materials that can be checked out, visit the Life Skills Collection on the 2nd floor of Odegaard Library.

Bring Your Best Buddies (The Companion Cats, that is)

The Wellness Room is the perfect place to enjoy the circulating wellness resources you already love! These resources are tools for emotional regulation, sensory self-regulation, and time management.

You can check out items from the Wellness Technology Collection for in-building use only at the Information Desk on the 2nd floor, including:

Copy Of Wellness Kit Instagram Posts (1)

Our famous animatronic Companion Cats (Purrcival and Clawdia, who have already boasted over 100 checkouts!) for a sweet calming friend and furry companionship without the allergies.

A Purrble co-regulating pet for breathing breaks

Lumie Light Therapy Lamps for an extra dose of light when the days get dark 

White Noise Machines for when it’s too quiet to think

Cellphone Lock Box for a crucial break from scrolling

Quick Vibe Check & Guidelines:

To ensure this space remains a sanctuary for everyone, we have a few guidelines:

  • Take a Study Break: The Wellness Room is not a study space.
  • Go Tech-Free: We highly encourage you to make the Wellness Room a technology-free space, unless you are accessing meditation or other relaxation material.
  • Be Space Considerate: If someone is using a space or equipment, kindly wait for them to finish without interrupting. Spread out, give people adequate personal space. 
  • Be Noise Considerate: This is a designated quiet space. Please keep speaking, chanting, and music to a minimum, and remember to leave the room as nicely as you’d like to find it.
  • Keep Items Safe Please keep all furniture and equipment inside the room, and return any library-placed items when you finish using them.

Thank You!

In addition to Libraries’ programmatic funding, several philanthropic funds were instrumental in helping to create the Wellness Room,  including UW Parents Collections and Programs Endowed Fund and the Anne Neider Library Endowment.

Ready to experience a moment of peace and fun? Come visit the new Odegaard Wellness Room and take that well-deserved break in Room 326! 

###