Supporting Youth Mental Health through Co-designing a Virtual Reality Experience: A Recipe-Based Co-design Model

Abstract

There is a need for librarians to find ways to provide service to the youth population regarding mental health. Building on prior research about co-design and virtual reality in public libraries, the research team aimed to create a positive teen mental health experience by co-designing a virtual reality space through the library system. Eight librarians/library staff representing three participating sites were interviewed at the beginning and the end of the project. We discuss various opportunities and difficulties that emerged in this project to better understand the role and perspective of librarians and then examine implications for those who are considering implementing similar youth programs at their institutions. On the basis of the findings, we propose a recipe-based co-design model to better support librarians by allowing flexibility while clarifying which core elements need to be preserved in the co-design process. © 2024 The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.