Week 15: Final Reflections

Have 15 weeks gone by already? This student finds that time feels as though it moves faster than ever. After browsing through my previous discussion board and blog posts, assignments, and SWOT analysis project notes, I have noticed a shift in attitude toward aging and people with disabilities between the writing of my initial assumptions about aging and people with disabilities to this last journal reflection post. My initial assumptions were strongly based on negative personal experiences growing up with a parent with a disability. At this point, my revised assumptions are now based on a more positive attitude toward aging and people with disabilities.


The activities and assignments for this course led me to choose a topic related to universal access for my research proposal assignment in another course. My research proposal explored the attitudes of public and academic library staff toward patrons with physical and mental disabilities. One of the most important things I have learned over the past semester is the significant role library or information agency staff attitudes play as an invisible barrier to accessibility for all. A library can have a stellar universal access policy and accessibility services strategic plan in place, but if library staff have a negative attitude or hold stereotypes toward aging adults and people with disabilities, then the chances of that library providing quality universal access services are slim. It is vital that LIS education provide courses on universal access, and that libraries and information agencies provide their staff with attitudinal trainings and workshops.

This change in attitude is what I will bring to my current workplace and my future position as a professional librarian. My view of the information professional has expanded from simply one who helps connect others to information to one who meets the information needs of every population, and the information professional must have a positive attitude toward aging adults and people with disabilities in order to fully live up to their role as a professional. After all, the library is the last place in the world where information seekers should face barriers of any kind.

Week 12: Universal Access Reflections

Universal access and universal design for libraries and other information agencies goes beyond meeting ADA facility requirements - universal access applies to web design, technology, materials in a variety of formats, and staff attitudes (yes, attitudes). Applying the principles of universal access to every aspect of the library does present challenges. For example, a print bias can get in the way of a expanding an audio book collection, and biases against other media and new technology can also prevent progress in, say, creating an accessible-for-all computer lab (Norman, 2003).

It may be surprising that librarians with print and technology biases exist at a time when a large part of the LIS field is keeping up with emerging, accessible technologies. However, considering that attitudinal barriers do affect library services to people with disabilities and hold back the implementation of universal access policies, maybe it is not so shocking after all. According to Carter (2004), library staff attitudes toward people with disabilities are a difficult barrier to universal access. Changing staff attitudes can be a difficult, but not impossible process. Carter suggests attitudinal, facility, and service and legal training can all work together to help change staff attitudes. Attitudinal trainings that use role-playing to reveal existing attitudes, or facility trainings that have staff simulate a person that uses a wheelchair create a greater sense of awareness of the needs of all patrons.

Universal access and universal design are not just for people with disabilities - as the term "universal" is defined, it is about equitable access for all users. Architectural, technological, and collection changes that are made with accessibility in mind not only benefit people with disabilities, but people of all abilities. Previous class discussions have covered the universal benefits of information agency updates geared toward people with disabilities that make the agency more accessible for everyone. The most common example is a wheelchair ramp or automated doors that also benefit a parent with a large stroller. Library signage with enlarged type makes signs easier to read for all, not just those with low vision. Those are just two of several examples of how universal access positively affects all of an information agency's patrons.

References

Carter, C.J. (2004). Providing services for students with disabilities in an academic library. Education Libraries 27(2 ), 13-18.


Norman, M.R. (2003). On my mind: Universal design and public libraries. American Libraries, 34(5), 35.

Local Library Visit, Part 2

My local library, the Antioch Branch Library, part of the larger Contra Costa County Library system, offers services to children, teens, adults, seniors, and adults with disabilities. Regular library programs include storytimes, book clubs for all ages, a knitting/crocheting group, and a teen action group. The library's collection includes Spanish materials, audio books, and large print materials. Assistive technology - magnifiers, Dewey pictograms, large screen monitors, trackball mouse, etc. - is made available at every branch library. The Antioch branch also includes a Merlin 24 inch screen LCD desktop video magnifier.


For children struggling to read, two Early Literacy Computer Stations are available (one station also includes a bilingual Spanish edition), as well as a Read to the Dogs Program. Inclusive storytimes are also in the works for future children's programs. For adults with reading disabilites, the county library system offers Project Second Chance (PSC), which provides free, one-on-one basic literacy instruction to adults who are over 16, currently not in school and able to converse in English. One of the two PSC offices is located at the Antioch Library. Adults with developmental disabilities can take advantage of a monthly library program called the Wednesday Club, a partnership between members of Contra Costa ARC (Advocacy, Respect, Commitment) Inroads and the library. ARC Inroads is a 100% community-based program that teaches independent living skills to adults with developmental disabilites. Lastly, the library recruits volunteers from Futures Explored, Inc.'s ALIVE (Actively Living and Involved in a Variety of Endeavors) program, which provides life skills and work-related training to adults with developmental disabilities.

The adult and teen services librarian plans programs and outreach to seniors and adults with disabilities. In her absence, the children's librarian can step in to plan those programs. While the librarians plan the programs, input regarding programs for seniors and adults with disabilities is welcome from all staff persons.

The library's programs, outreach, and staff play a significant role in empowering populations, such as seniors and adults with disabilities, to take advantage of the library and all it has to offer. Those three factors - programs, outreach, and staff - combine as a sort of big welcoming committee to the various populations withhin the community. If a population feels welcome at the library, it removes a significant barrier to accessing the library's resources. The Urban Library Council's review of the Antioch Library's innovative Wednesday Club (2010) noted that library staff made members of ARC Inroads feel comfortable and welcome in the library by offering a tour of the library, including an overview of how to use the self-service machines and how to ask for help at the information desk. The initial step of providing a comforting and welcome environment for this population paved the way for ARC Inroads members to continue to actively use their library and its information resources.

References

Urban Libraries Council. (2010). Wednesday club. Retrived from
     http://www.urbanlibraries.org/wednesday-club-innovation-424.php?page_id=90

Digital Differences

The first time I heard about the digital divide was in LIS 6010: Introduction to the Profession. The digital divide was defined as the gap between the “haves” and the “have nots” of Internet access, with the “haves” generally defined as middle-class, well-educated, white individuals with access to high-speed internet at home and the “have-nots” as those with a low-income household, low education, non-white background, and no home internet access. The “have” and “have nots” definition was used as early as 1995, as seen in the U.S. Department of Commerce's survey of the “have nots” in rural and urban America – for the purposes of this survey, the digital divide was measured by one's access to a modem and personal computer (1995).

Current definitions of the digital divide include references to digital literacy skills, now that increased access to the latest technology in the form of laptops, cell phones, and gaming systems has spread among low-income families. Digital literacy, according to the definition provided by the American Library Association's (ALA) Digital Literacy Task Force is “the ability to use information and communication technologies to find, evaluate, create, and communicate information requiring both cognitive and technical skills” (Visser, 2012). Even the Federal Communications Commission, which is still focused on increasing access to computing devices, recognizes the importance of digital literacy alongside the issue of the digital divide (Richtel, 2012).

Older adults and people with a disability are still behind in terms of digital access. According to the Pew Internet's "Digital Differences" study (2012), senior citizens are one of the least likely groups of adults to have internet access. Adults living with a disability are less likely than adults without a disability to use the internet - in some cases, certain disabilities make it difficult/impossible to use the internet. The study found that the main reason non-internet users, such as seniors, avoid accessing the internet is that they are just not interested - access has little to do with it.

Public libraries in the United States offer public internet services, technology trainings, ebooks, and additional services that connect people and technology. Many public libraries also offer technology services to seniors and people with disabilities by providing assistive technology and trainings specifically for special populations, and making sure access to public computers and the library's website is ADA-compliant. Public libraries already do what they can to close the digital divide, and one of the steps libraries should take now is find ways to maintain or expand their technology services to seniors and people with disabilities despite the threats of budget cuts. 

References

U.S. Department of Commerce. (1995). Falling through the net: A survey of the "have nots" in rural and urban america.

     Retrieved from http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/fallingthru.html.

Richtel, M. (May 29, 2012). Wasting time is the new divide in the digital era. New York 

     Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/30/us/new-digital-divide-seen-in-  

     wasting-time-online.html?smid=pl-share

Visser, M. (2012). Defining digital literacy. Retrieved from  

     http://www.districtdispatch.org/2012/04/defining-digital-literacy/

Zickuhr, K., Smith, A. (2012). Digital differences. Retrieved from 

     http://pewinternet.org/~/media//Files/Reports/2012/PIP_Digital_differences_041312.pdf