Twenty Years of Assistive Technologies
People with disabilities are the most diverse of all minority groups; they may be young or old, rich or poor, male or female. Ensuring library staff knows how to work with them is one of the most critical components in creating an accessible environment. Such interactions are made one patron at a time, and most disabled individuals will respond positively if they sense that someone is trying to do the right thing.
To ensure that staff has a rudimentary knowledge of how to work with persons with disabilities, ALA’s Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASCLA) has developed a helpful toolkit of etiquette tip sheets. The sheets, which can be read and assimilated relatively quickly, suggest appropriate behaviors for staff working with persons who have specific disabilities, and identify materials and assistive technologies that will help disabled individuals use the library more successfully. The toolkit will be a useful supplement to training organized by a library’s human resources department. Tip sheets are available on ASCLA’s website.
Read more here: Twenty Years of Assistive Technologies | American Libraries Magazine.
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About The Author
Julia Roberts
Julia Roberts is founder of Support for Special Needs and has been a regular contributor since its inception in May 2010. A mom to two kids with special needs, she didn't want other parents to feel what is the often isolating world of raising a child (or two!) with disabilities. Her kids had kidney transplants at the age of eight and will need liver transplants in the future as a result of ARPKD/CHF. They both have vision disorders and learning disabilities.