As this semester comes to a close, and reflect on the meaning of “universal access”, I came across something I wrote for my Introduction to the Information Profession class on my blog that can be found at http://multiculturalismanddiversity.blogspot.com/ :
People with disabilities have a difficult time accessing library services. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there were 37 million disabled in 2004, making persons with disabilities the third largest minority group in the United States (U.S. Census Bureau, 1). Even this number is flawed, as a large number of people with disabilities classified as “mild” to “moderate” or “temporary” cannot access library services easily and are not counted in the census. For example, "the Baby Boomer generation (born 1945-1964) is turning 65 at a rate of 8,000 people per day" (Bonnici, 2011, para. 1). Disability frequency rises strongly with age (World, 34). Considering the volume of disabled citizens, the money spent on facilities is inadequate. Mates (2011) quotes the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that there are laws to help protect people with disabilities such as Sections 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the ADA in 1990 (p. 12). Bonnici, Maatta, and Wells (2009) states that The National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS/BPH) is making great strides to help the disabled with audio books, but much more help is needed for those who are overlooked by the system because they do not qualify as disabled (p. 521).
Because of space constraints, all this information had to be in as few words as possible. Here I would like to expound on this writing, starting with how my professors, Dr. Laurie J. Bonnici and Dr. Stephanie L. Matta, with Muriel K. Wells, end their article US National Accesiblity Survey: Librarians Serving Patrons with Disabilities with:
People with temporary disabilities and less severe challenges, such as low vision in the aging, are caught in a gap between those who are guaranteed access through legal protection and those who are not in need of special access aid. A universal access philosophy practiced by information professionals would assure that no individual is left without access to information (p. 512).
Access to information is a problem among many people today, including people who do not qualify for help from the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS/BPH), who really need the help. Making library services accessible to everyone is a goal to strive for, as stated by the American Library Association (ALA).
The ALA encourages librarians to make libraries accessible to all, stating in Services to Persons with Disabilities: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights, “The American Library Association recognizes that persons with disabilities are a large and often neglected part of society. In addition to many personal challenges, some persons with disabilities face economic inequity, illiteracy, cultural isolation, and discrimination in education, employment, and the broad range of societal activities. The library plays a catalytic role in their lives by facilitating their full participation in society” (2009, Para. 1).
The ALA has a publication out on how to help others participate in society better if they have difficulty with the book they published, Assistive technologies in the library, by Barbara Mates. This book covers how to help people who can not see well, people who are blind, people who can not hear well, people who are deaf, people who can not more around due to a physical disability, and people who have what are called invisible disabilities, such as a learning disability, developmental disability, and/or a mental health disability. The book walks a library through how to help, and in what order. It suggests to start an advisory board for the library, consisting of people with various disabilities or who understand various disabilities, and decide what should be done and in what order to help patrons in the library access services. The book even has a chapter on various grants that than help fund some of these items.
Libraries and other agencies that work with the aging and people with minor to major disabilities play a catalytic role in their clients’ lives by helping them be a larger part of society. This means that all people will be able to access library services.
References
American Library Association (2011). ALA Policy Manual. Retrieved from
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/governance/policymanual/updatedpolicymanual/section2/60diversity.cfm/
American Library Assoication (2009). Services to Persons with Disabilities: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/intfreedom/librarybill/interpretations/servicespeopledisabilities.cfm
Bonnici, L., Maatta, S., & Wells, M. (2009). US national accessibility survey: Librarians
serving patrons with disabilities. New Library World, 110(11/12); 512-528. doi:10.1108/03074800911007532
Bonnici, L., Maatta., Brodsky, J., & Davis, L. (2011). ALFA: Accessible Libraries For
All. Retrieved from http://projectalfa.slis.ua.edu/
Mates, B. (2011). Assistive technologies in the library. Chicago, IL: American Library
Association. Retrieved from http://www.alastore.ala.org/pdf/9780838910702_excerpt.pdf
Mackelprang, R., & Salsgiver, R. (2009). Disability: A Diversity Model Approach in
Human Service Practice. Chicago, IL: Lyceum Books.
The U.S. Census Bureau (2007). American FactFinder. Retrieved September 20, 2011,
from http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/STTable?_bm=y&-qr_name=ACS_2007_3YR_G00_S1801&-geo_id=01000US&-ds_name=ACS_2007_3YR_G00_/
World Health Organization (2004). Global Burden of Disease. Retrieved from www.who.int/healthinfo/global_burden_disease/GBD_report_2004update_part3.pdf
No comments:
Post a Comment