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Welcome & Contents | General Information | Assistive Technology for Patrons Who Are Blind or Have Other Disabilities | Serving Deaf Patrons | Listservs and E-Zines | Professional Associations | Special Libraries | Public and Academic Libraries | Print Publications
 
The Net is filled with resources to help librarians improve services for people with disabilities. This page features some great places to start. It is divided into several sections:
 
Web Sites
 
[bullet] Disabilities Clip Art [added 4/4/02]
This section of the Library Media & PR website features a series of resources to help in obtaining, using and promoting your library's accessibility to patrons who have limited mobility. Check out these links to disability-related bookmarks, flyers, downloadable clipart, suggestions, and online resources.
 
[bullet] EASI (Equal Access to Software and Information) Library Access Resources is a fabulous collection of resources will help make any library more accessible. The focus is on assistive technology. (Click here for more information about assistive technology in general or assistive technology in libraries.)
 
[bullet] The American Library Association's Roads To Learning Project is packed with information and links which are designed to bring information about learning disabilities to the general public through libraries, while increasing public libraries' capacity to service people with disabilities. There is also a listserv associated with this project.
 
[bullet] Though not exclusively focusing on disability issues, the web site of the Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASCLA), a division of the American Library Association, has recently expanded to include useful information for librarians serving people with disabilities as well as information about the division. Of particular interest is the section on Important Issues, which includes information about the Americans with Disabilities Act and libraries, standards for libraries for the blind and physically handicapped, "100 Ideas for Serving the Impaired Elderly," and more.
 
[check it out]Are you a budding librarian? Be sure check out ASCLA's new scholarship for people with disabilities.
 
[bullet] Service to Users with Disabilities, Issue 8 of Association of Research Libraries' Transforming Libraries, provides links to model academic library resources for students with disabilities.
 
Policies, Standards and Guidelines
 
[bullet] Did you know? On January 16, 2001, the American Library Association Council unanimously approved a Library Services for People with Disabilities Policy. This page also includes a fact sheet and history of the resolution.
 
[bullet] The National Library of Canada (NLC) has published a manual for libraries to use to evaluate their services to persons with disabilities. The booklet, The Accessible Canadian Library II (1996), includes guidelines on library and information services for people with disabilities, specifications for a barrier free library, and extensive resource lists and bibliographies. It can be downloaded in Adobe Acrobat format.
 
[bullet] Speaking of Canada, check out the Canadian Library Association's Canadian Guidelines on Library and Information Services for People with Disabilities. Intended to be used by librarians as the basis for creating libraries which are accessible to all Canadians, all libraries would do well to follow these concise but important guidelines.
 
[bullet] The Library Association of Australia's Draft Guidelines on Library Services for People with Disabilities should be read, reviewed and emulated by libraries worldwide. [link not working 5/4/01]
 
[bullet] The Australian Library and Information Association also has a Statement on Library Services for People with Disabilities.
 
[bullet] The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) Statement of Policy on Library Services for People with Disabilities is the ALIA official, association-wide policy.
 
Articles, Speeches & Other Documents
 
[bullet] Accommodation to Persons with Disabilities: A Census of Ohio College and University Libraries by Scott A. Carpenter (The Katharine Sharp Review, No. 3, Summer 1996) discusses the results of a census of Ohio's 134 college and university libraries on the types of accommodations that have been made to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. [link not working 5/4/01]
 
[bullet] A Brief History of American Libraries Disservice to Persons with a Disability by Joe Redman is a well-researched and critical (justifiably, in our opinion) school paper that traces the provision of library services in America from its earliest days.
[bullet] Building Bridges - Library Advocacy and Reaching Out, Margaret Andrewes' keynote address at the Western Conference of Talking Book Libraries, 1997, discusses the efforts of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) Library to develop new partnerships and coalitions to bring its collection and services closer to blind and print disabled readers across Canada.
 
[bullet] Disability, Culture and Service Issues: A Selected Bibliography by Bob L. Dunlap II "presents works which illustrate the complex issues involved in serving library patrons with disabilities." The extensive listings cover ADA and ADA Compliance, Library Accessibility and Service, Other Service Issues, Attitudes, Assessment and Changing Attitudes, Disability Culture, and more. One of the best bibliographies we've seen on this topic. [Added 9/1/00]
 
[bullet] Enabling Scientists: Serving Sci-Tech Library Users with Disabilities by Bryna Coonin (Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship, Fall 2001) discusses how sci-tech librarians can encourage students with disabilities to meet the growing demand for scientists. The author demonstrates how librarians can help enable individuals with disabilities to become scientists through of accessible library environments. [Added 11/20/01]
 
[bullet] The Integrated Accessible Library: A Model of Service Development for the 21st Century
The Resources for Visually Impaired Users of the Electronic Library (REVIEL) Project "makes the case for a national initiative to make all library and information services accessible to people who are blind or have a visual impairment." The complete report is available in in Word or RTF formats.
 
[bullet] Law Libraries and the Americans with Disabilities Act: Service to Disabled Patrons, an informative article by Ralph B. Weston, gives a brief history of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and a brief overview of the Act. The article then discusses the impact of the Act on the services of public and private libraries to patrons with disabilities. [link not working 5/4/01]
 
[bullet] Reflections of a Lifetime Reader: "Second Sight: Reflections of a Once-Blind Professor," an address delivered by Robert V. Hine to the Conference of Librarians Serving Blind and Physically Handicapped Individuals (1994), offers the perspectives of a noted patron of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped.
 
[bullet] Universal Access and the ADA: A Disability Access Design Specification for the New UCLA Library On-line Information System by Daniel Hilton Chalfen and Sharon Farb (Library Hi Tech Journal, Vol. 14, No. 1, 1996) provides useful information for libraries considering similar projects.
 
[bullet] Worthwhile reading: Information Technology, Campus Libraries, and Patrons with Disabilities: Emerging Issues and Access Strategies, an article by by Danny Hilton-Chalfen, Ph.D. (coordinator of the UCLA Disabilities and Computing Program in the Office of Academic Computing's Microcomputer Support Office). This article originally appeared in EDUCOM Review, Vol. 27, No. 6, November/December, 1992.
 
[bullet] If your library hosts programs or meetings, they will need to be accessible to individuals with disabilities. Check out these links to information about planning accessible conferences.
 
[bullet] The legal response of the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights to a complaint about access to library services by individuals who are blind or visually impaired at California State University contains important information regarding the responsibilities of all libraries. We have reproduced it in its entirety (as far as we know) for the convenience of DRM library subscribers.
 
Department of Justice Correspondence
 
The U.S. Department of Justice provides technical assistance, comments, and legal findings on Americans with Disabilities Act issues. The following are some specific cases involving libraries.
 
Plus...
 
[bullet] Be sure to visit the other Librarians' Connections pages for many more online resources specifically geared to librarians serving people with disabilities.
 
[bullet] In addition, The DRM WebWatcher is filled with links to the best online resources for and about people disabilities. Check out the comprehensive index, or do a quick search for specific subjects. Here's a sampling of WebWatcher pages of particular interest to librarians.
 
[bullet] Disability Resources Monthly is the ONLY disability-related publication specifically devoted to books, videos, pamphlets, organizations, online resources, and other information sources. Check it out, and request a FREE copy.
 
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