Providing Staff Training and Programming to Support People with Disabilities: An Academic Library Case Study

Brannen, Michelle; Milewski, Steven; Mack, Thura

doi:10.1080/15228959.2017.1298491

Cited by 21 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Spelling out the library policy for helping patrons with disabilities in a place that is easy for staff to find and share can be an important secondary function of these pages. 12 The presence of inclusive language on the library website, with content that specifically addresses accessibility, may also be a help ful recruitment tool for libraries that are seeking to diversify their staff and retain employees. 13…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Accessibility and Disability Services in Virginia’s Four-Year Academic Libraries: A Content Analysis of Library Webpages

Vaughan¹,

Warlick

2020

Virginia Libraries

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Academic libraries serve a wide range of students, faculty, and staff with diverse needs for library accessibility, including people with temporary and chronic disabilities. The social model of disability frames an approach to library support for this population that is grounded in social justice and the library's role in minimizing barriers to library access. Promoting accessible library services and spaces via the library's website is an important component. This study analyzed the library websites of forty Virginia four-year academic institutions to identify current practices in the state for including an accessibility or disability services webpage or online policy statement. This content was found on eleven library websites. Naming conventions, location in the site architecture, and an analysis of content were explored. Based on this analysis, the authors conclude with two sets of recommendations for libraries wishing to edit or create their own accessibility services page for their website.

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Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Accessibility and Disability Services in Virginia’s Four-Year Academic Libraries: A Content Analysis of Library Webpages

Vaughan¹,

Warlick

2020

Virginia Libraries

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“…Within the library literature, the conception of disabilities is quite narrow, and the main area of concern is the "services libraries are providing, what they need to improve upon, and the perception of those services," rather than examining the perceptions of disabilities within libraries (138). More recent articles continue this trend of looking outward toward patron experiences, such as articles discussing supporting patrons with disabilities through library staff training (Brannen, Milewski, and Mack 2017) or creating accessible library tutorials (Webb and Hoover 2015). Even the few articles that encourage the revision of library conceptions of disability still focus largely on patron access to spaces or services (Pionke 2017).…”

Section: Ableism In Higher Education and Academic Librariesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disability, Identity, and Professionalism: Precarity in Librarianship

Moeller¹

2019

Library Trends

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Although the field of disability studies has examined disability across many contexts, the experience of library workers remains largely unexamined. Library literature tends to focus on the experiences of library users, rather than address the structural inequities in the profession itself. In the United States, current conversations within higher education and academic librarianship around resilience and professionalism create additional barriers to inclusion and exclude the lived experiences of those with disabilities. Additionally, existing processes designed to address disability treat its existence as a problem in need of a solution, and in doing so, further contribute to the workplace precarity experienced by library workers. Instead of maintaining existing systemic barriers and perpetuating an ableist professional ideal that places responsibility on the individual to be resilient, libraries and library workers need to redefine professionalism, minimize the stigma associated with any type of disability, and reduce precarity for disabled library employees. Only then can libraries and library workers focus on equity and inclusion for all.1. OED Online, s.v. "precarious (adj.

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“…The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, otherwise referred to as the ADA, requires that academic institutions in the United States (US) accommodate the special needs of disabled students once they request their institutions' support. 1 Per the Technology-Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Act of 1988, academic institutions must provide assistive technologies (AT) to disabled students who need them. 2 An assistive technology refers to "any item, piece of equipment, software program, or product system that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of persons with disabilities."…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Past studies make several suggestions for academic libraries to better serve disabled patrons, with some articles noting that academic libraries are unable to adequately meet those patrons' needs. 10 After reviewing the accessibility of websites and AT offered by 33 academic libraries, Power and LeBeau 11 found that only five academic libraries were meeting the information needs of disabled patrons. Mulliken and Atkins 12 complained, "Many individuals with severe cognitive disabilities… do not receive adequate accommodations to promote success.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analyzing Service Divide in Academic Libraries for Better Serving Disabled Patrons Using Assistive Technologies

Potnis

Mallary²

2021

CRL

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Academic libraries invest thousands of dollars in assistive technologies (AT) for enhancing the delivery of information services to disabled patrons. However, offering AT might not result in their use by the patrons who need them, thereby leading to a service divide. The analysis of qualitative responses, including more than 1,400 quotations, elicited from academic library administrators and librarians in 186 public universities across the United States, reveals that academic libraries encounter 51 challenges related to the knowledge and skills of librarians, hardware and software concerns, institutional factors, finances, and external actors, when serving disabled patrons with AT. Finally, the researchers propose 15 solutions for bridging this service divide.

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Providing Staff Training and Programming to Support People with Disabilities: An Academic Library Case Study

Cited by 21 publications

References 8 publications

Accessibility and Disability Services in Virginia’s Four-Year Academic Libraries: A Content Analysis of Library Webpages

Accessibility and Disability Services in Virginia’s Four-Year Academic Libraries: A Content Analysis of Library Webpages

Disability, Identity, and Professionalism: Precarity in Librarianship

Analyzing Service Divide in Academic Libraries for Better Serving Disabled Patrons Using Assistive Technologies

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