New Jersey State Library

Contents of This Section

• Adaptive Technology Increases Library Use
• ADA Requires Equal Access to Information
• Planning for Library Services for People With Disabilities
• Staff Development and Training
• Sensitivity Issues
• Guidelines for Serving People with Disabilities
• Types of Library Services Needed by People with Disabilities

• disabilities affect one-fifth of all Americans;
• 1 in 10 Americans have a severe disability;
• among children ages 6 to 14 about 1 in 8 had some type of disability.

With the population aging and the likelihood of having a disability increasing with age, the growth in the number of people with disabilities can be expected to accelerate in the coming decades. By the year 2030, adults 65 years old and over will make up 20% of the total population as compared with about 12% currently.

• access issues involving adaptive technology and electronic resources
• staff awareness of service issues involving patrons with disabilities
• expanded library services that will be offered to people with disabilities which include:
• research assistance - on-demand ready reference service and in-depth reference assistance provided by appointment (if necessary)
• training in the use of the library's adaptive technology equipment/ software and assistive devices
• locating materials in alternative formats including audiotape and large print
• retrieving materials from the stacks
• retrieving and photocopying journal articles and book chapters
• assistance in filling out interlibrary loan forms
• training in searching the library's web page and other electronic data bases

See Resource Section for an example of a Disability Service Policy.

• library and non library users who have the disability that the library has targeted for service
• representatives of nonprofit, local and state agencies who serve the population that the library plans to serve

The library may wish to appoint an advisory council or a committee that will assist in identifying: 1) what the targeted group perceives as their most pressing information needs; 2) where they go to get answers to their questions; and 3) how successful they are at getting those answers. Input from this group should also be requested on new services, service policies and the purchase of adaptive technology and assistive devices. Library patrons with disabilities and the members of this advisory group should also be asked to evaluate implemented services and programs.

Organizing and conducting focus groups provides another way to investigate more effective ways to serve patrons with special needs. Invitations to participate in a focus session should be sent to library patrons having disabilities, to members of the area's disabled community and to representatives from non-profit, local and state agencies. Participants in the focus session are asked to respond to the following types of questions:

• what are the library's strengths and weaknesses?
• what are the three most significant barriers preventing patrons from receiving good library service at the library?
• how can the library more effectively communicate and promote its services to people with disabilities?
• what new services, improvements to the building or additions to the collection should be made?
• what components should be included in a staff customer-service training program that focuses on serving people with disabilities?
• what groups might the library have overlooked when sending out invitations to the focus group?

• assesses the need for new services and involves staff in planning services
• attends meetings of community groups, both service providers and consumer groups, and keeps current with issues
• promotes library service and encourages groups to use the library's resources and its meeting rooms
• trains staff though workshops, manuals, displays and personal contacts
• provides training to individuals with disabilities in the use of computers, adaptive technology, word processing, educational software, etc.
• coordinates expanded library services offered to people with disabilities

• videotape presentations on topics such as: Sensitivity to the Disabled" or "Abilities and Disabilities" a set of interviews with successful people who are disabled (See Resource Section for links to web sites selling videos.)
• discussion of what it is like to have a disability
• panel of persons with disabilities
• panel of people representing agencies serving people with disabilities in the community

Other approaches to developing staff sensitivity and capabilities include inviting resource people from local hospitals, rehabilitation centers and mental health agencies, Association for the Blind, State Office for Deafness, etc. to address a staff meeting and make presentations about some aspect of service to people who have disabilities.

Libraries might consider preparing performance standards relating to services to people with disabilities which are included in position descriptions so that staff members will understand what the library is trying to accomplish and how they can contribute.

• Treat people with disabilities with the same respect and consideration that you give to others
• Ask a person with a disability if he/she needs help before helping
• Talk directly to the person with a disability not through the person's companion
• Refer to a person's disability only if it is relevant to the conversation
• Refer to the person first and then the disability. "A man who is blind" is better than "a blind man".
• Avoid negative descriptions of a person's disability. For example, "a person who uses a wheelchair" is more appropriate than "a person confined to a wheelchair."

Guidelines for Serving People with Disabilities

Visual Impairment

• When giving directions be descriptive. Say, "The computer is about three feet to your left" rather than "The computer is over there."
• Offer to read written information and feel free to paraphrase when it's appropriate.
• When guiding people, offer your arm rather than grabbing or pushing them.
• Always ask permission before you interact with a person's guide dog.

• Face people with hearing impairments so that they can see your lips and facial expression and speak clearly when you talk to them.
• Slow the rate at which you talk when speaking to the person and increase the level of your voice, if that is appropriate.
• Communicate by writing notes, if that is necessary.

• Listen carefully to a person who has slow or garbled speech. Do not finish their sentences for them unless they ask for assistance.
• Don't pretend that you understand what a person is saying if you don't understand, just to be polite. Ask the person to repeat what they have said.
• Ask a person to spell or write down a word if you're not sure what is being said -- but do this sparingly.

• Don't assume that the person is not listening just because you get no oral or visual feedback. The person may be concentrating or evaluating what you are saying. Ask if he or she understands or agrees with what you're saying.
• Don't assume that you have to explain everything to people with learning disabilities. They do not necessarily have a problem with general comprehension.
• Be willing to re-explain the information that you are presenting.
• Offer to read or paraphrase written materials for a person who seems to be having trouble understanding them.

• Try sitting in order to make level eye contact with patrons in wheelchairs when you interact.
• Be aware of what is accessible and what is not accessible to people in wheelchairs.

• Need for Alternative Formats of Print Materials - Provide large-print materials, recorded materials for fiction and nonfiction resources, descriptive videos, information for current awareness in alternative formats (radio reading services, audio Internet Web sites, etc.)
• Need for Assistance - Retrieve and photocopy materials, fill-out interlibrary loan requests, read catalog entries, find items on the shelf, facilitate browsing by reading sections of books on demand, provide expanded reference service by reading specific sections of reference materials on demand.
• Need for Adaptive Technology/Assistive Devices to help people read printed materials, web pages or electronic text. This equipment and software includes: optical character recognition and synthetic speech devices, closed-circuit television systems, image enlarging systems, dictation to print systems, braille conversion programs, screen and portable magnifiers, etc. Headphones are needed so that persons can listen to materials without disturbing other people.
• Need for Information and Referral Services - Provide information about nonprofit, local and government agency services and about low-vision clinics to which ophthalmologists sometimes fail to refer patients.
• Need for Information About Print Handicaps including the cause of print handicaps and their medical and nonmedical remediation.
• Need for Bibliotherapeutic Materials - The reading of fiction and nonfiction in which a character is disabled can profoundly shape a person's perceptions about people with disabilities.

Needs of Persons Who Are Deaf or Who Are Hard-of-Hearing

A person who is deaf or has a hearing impairment is one who cannot hear or who cannot hear accurately or distinctly. Deaf individuals are unable to understand speech owing to a total loss of hearing, while hearing impaired individuals have difficulty understanding speech because of a partial loss of hearing.

• Need for Communication Assistance - Many people who are deaf or have a hearing impairment are unable to participate in community activities or to use common services because of their inability to communicate orally. Sign language, lip reading, the written word, the printed word, pictures, amplification and assistive aids are all helpful. Libraries should make use of e-mail and post information on their web sites which is an effective electronic media for communicating with deaf customers.
• Need for TTYs or TDDs which are telecommunication devices used by deaf, deaf-blind, hard-of-hearing and speech impaired people to enable them to communicate effectively over the telephone. A person who is deaf must be able to call the library to request books and reference service using a TTY or TDD device.
• Need for Literacy Training and for High Interest/Low Vocabulary Reading Materials - A large group of persons who are deaf or hearing impaired have only a fifth grade reading level. People who have profound hearing loss at an early age experience difficulty with reading and writing because they have never heard the spoken word. Many deaf people are only fully literate in sign language and are not able to understand information in text-only documents.
• Need for Special Materials including visual and heavily illustrated print materials, picture story sets, captioned video cassettes, sign language cassettes, etc.
• Need for Information on Deafness and Hearing Impairments including medical, legal and educational materials and materials that focus on the cultural and life experiences of people who do not hear well. Parents, who may be dealing with deafness for the first time, need information on parenting skills, the condition and how to judge services and facilities.
Need for Meeting
• Places - Many organizations exist for people who are deaf or hearing impaired. There is a need for suitable meeting places equipped with auditory aids and appropriate lighting to facilitate the deaf or hard-of-hearing person's dependence upon lip-reading and Interpreters.

The American Library Association's division, Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASCLA), has a 1996 publication entitled Guidelines for Library and Information Services for the American Deaf Community.

Needs of Persons With Learning Disabilities

A learning disability is a disorder which involves understanding or using language, spoken or written, which may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations.

• Need for Alternative Formats of Information - The most helpful formats are recordings that can be used in conjunction with the printed sources from which they are made.
• Need for Adaptive Technology/Assistive Devices - Equipment and software used by persons who are blind or have low vision are also used successfully with people who are learning disabled because they often need to both hear and see print to understand it. There is a need for headphones so that persons can listen to materials without disturbing other people. Also useful are large print displays, alternative colors on the computer screen and PC screen voice output which can compensate for some reading problems. People who have difficulty interpreting visual material can improve their comprehension and the ability to identify and correct errors when words are spoken or printed in large fonts. Voice input, dictating software can be helpful for individuals with dysgraphia who have an inability to produce handwriting reliably.
• Need for High Interest/Low Vocabulary Materials - Many patrons with learning disabilities experience reading difficulties.
• Need for Information about Learning Disabilities both for individuals with learning disabilities and for their families and friends. Information on diagnosis, remediation, coping skills, and local, state and national agencies from which help can be received should be made available.
• Need for Elimination of Distractions - Individuals with attention deficits may require quiet or enclosed work areas that will facilitate their concentration. Enclosed work areas and ear protectors may make computer input easier because many individuals are hyper-sensitive to background noise.
• Need for Directional Assistance - Persons may require individualized help, which is reinforced by repetition. Getting to the shelves and then selecting the specific item may be problematic for some persons.

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