Why Not Serve All Your Patrons?

A recent survey conducted by the Harris Poll found that two thirds of all Americans have a library card, and those that do have a card are extremely happy with their libraries (1). The current president of the American Library Association, Jim Rettig, stated that the reason for this is that “libraries bridge the divide between those who have access to information and those who do not by providing free and equal access to information to people of all ages and backgrounds.” Yet, most people with disabilities who live, work, and contribute to the well-being of all Ohio communities do not use public libraries.

Why are people with disabilities not patronizing their libraries? For some, the reason may be that they cannot get to the library or that the library’s web site is not accessible for those using adaptive technology. For others, maybe they are unfamiliar with services that the library offers. Perhaps for some, there is the fear that the library or the staff cannot accommodate their needs. All the same, the unfortunate part of people with disabilities not using their libraries is that it increases the gap between the “information haves” and the “information have-nots,” and it reinforces the stereotypes about the abilities of people with disabilities.

The lack of people with disabilities using public libraries is not just an Ohio phenomenon—it is occurring all across North America. The division of the American Library Association (ALA), Association of Specialized and Cooperating Library Agency (ASCLA), the Library Serving Special Populations Section (LSSPS) is working to help library staff understand the needs of people with disabilities in order to improve programs and services.  

To demonstrate that “information is indeed power,” ASCLA formed two Ad Hoc task force committees. One committee was given the task of developing a toolkit to help staff, administrators, and trustees find a comfort level while working with people with disabilities when they come into the library or attend town hall meetings. The second task force was formed to give librarians unfamiliar with special access needs a crash course in the accessibility of electronic media, especially as it relates to adaptive technologies. The goal of this crash course is to enable library staff with the necessary tools to make wiser purchasing decisions, and assure that all of the residents within the library community could use electronic media that was purchased with tax dollars. The State Librarian of Ohio, Jo Budler, was the inspiration for this initiative. Both task force committees rallied to the challenge, and the results of the two committees are posted on ALA’s ASCLA web page and can be duplicated and used free-of-charge. ASCLA’s only request is that libraries use them, and when time and funds permit, that they consider joining ASCLA.

Accessibility Toolkit

Realizing that education is the best way to combat fears, an ad-hoc committee of people who work with people with specific disabilities developed a fifteen part toolkit that all staff can quickly read and learn what they can do to accommodate people with disabilities at their library. The pamphlets can be found at: http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/ascla/asclaprotools/accessibilitytipsheets/default.cfm
The toolkit addresses specific disabilities such as hearing impairment, vision impairment, autism, mobility impairment, learning differences, etc. Also included is also a tip sheet for administrators to help familiarize them with any legal obligations to the public and library staff, where funds can be located to make their library more accessible. The toolkit also contains considerations for library trustees to help them learn how staff at their library should be responding to patrons with disabilities.

The toolkit is meant as a leaping point, and each part is a living document that will be added to and amended as needed. They have all been reviewed by those they address, and each has received approval for content. The pamphlets are not meant to replace common sense, common courtesy, and sensitivity, but to help staff assist people with disabilities and make them feel welcomed at the library.

The toolkit addresses: Service to Patrons who have Developmental Disabilities, Learning Disabilities, Physical Disabilities, Autism & Spectrum Disorders, Mental Illness; Patrons who are Deaf & Hard of Hearing, Visually Impaired or have  Multiple Disabilities; Library Management’s Concerns; Children with Disabilities;  Assistive Technology; Staff With Disabilities; and What Trustees Need to Know about Patrons with Disabilities and the Library’s Obligations to them. Should there be a need for an information sheet regarding a disability or subject not covered, we encourage you to please let ASCLA know, so they can contact professionals to compose the appropriate document(s).

Think Accessible!

The second committee headed up the “Think Accessible” initiative which sought to give professionals who are not all that familiar with adaptive technologies a brief overview of what adaptive technologies is and what being “accessible” truly means.

Often, library staff may have to make purchasing decisions regarding electronic databases and resources, software for public use, or a new web site design or layout. Libraries share a great responsibility and may be legally required to ensure that anyone—especially patrons and staff with disabilities—can effectively use these electronic services.
Thanks to continuing efforts to produce accessibility standards for electronic resources and information technology by the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the United States Access Board, guidelines do exist to assist software manufacturers and programmers and web site designers and developers on how to make their products accessible to people with disabilities. These standards tend to use rather technical language, but rightly so, since these guidelines are intended to assist programmers and developers.

Unfortunately, these technical standards can be a real challenge to translate and understand for those of us without a technical background, or who are not former computer programmers or web page coders. Therefore, in an effort to break down the technical language barrier, the following checklists and guidelines are intended to help libraries “think accessible” as they consider purchasing electronic resources and web services.

The checklist and guidelines offered here are by no means original ideas. In fact, all the considerations listed on the checklists were taken from the Access Board, Section 508 and W3C WAI technical standards. But they have been retranslated with plenty of examples to help promote awareness toward purchasing products that are accessible to people with disabilities, and currently represent the highest priority accessibility checkpoints to ensure usability for patrons with various disabilities. Patrons and staff with disabilities or anyone using assistive technologies may require special accommodations when accessing a libraries’ electronic and information technologies, and this consideration should be a top priority in the decision-making process, and continue even after a product has been purchased.

The URL for this resource is: http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/ascla/asclaprotools/thinkaccessible/default.cfm

Contents of the “Think Accessible” resource kit include:

• Understanding the Language- a glossary of accessibility terms
• Internet and Web Accessibility Guidelines
• Computer Software Accessibility Guidelines
• Evaluation Forms: Internet and Web, Computer Software- Use these forms when your library is ready to evaluate the accessibility of software or web content