accessibility Archives | American Libraries Magazine

Call Number Podcast: Rethinking Your Space

September 12, 2022

As any library staffer who has gone through a building renovation knows, significant behind-the-scenes work goes into updating or overhauling a facility. From working with architects to communicating with committees to soliciting community feedback, rethinking a library doesn’t happen overnight. On Episode 75, the podcast team focuses on library design and architecture. First, American Libraries … Continue reading Call Number Podcast: Rethinking Your Space →

Show and Tell

By Mark Aaron Polger | September 1, 2022

Interior signage includes identification signs for service points, office room numbers, elevators, stairways, restrooms, entrances, and exits; directional signs; signs for orientation (call number ranges, floor directory); and regulatory signs (fire exits, fire alarm pulls). Exterior signage usually includes signs for site identification, entrances, exits, parking (and accessible parking), and directional signs. At its most … Continue reading Show and Tell →

KayCee Choi (standing at left) and Alicia Deal (standing at right), librarians at Dallas Public Library, present at "Deaf Culture: A Strategy for Inclusive Deaf Community Engagement,” a June 26 session at ALA’s 2022 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Washington, D.C. Photo by Rebecca Lomax for American Libraries.

Deaf Is a Culture

By Terra Dankowski | June 26, 2022

“After joining ALA, I saw a lot of changes,” said Hagemeyer, who now leads Bridging Deaf Cultures, an interest group of ALA’s Office for Diversity, Literacy, and Outreach Services. While services and outreach to Deaf people have improved over the last 50 years, libraries could be doing more in this area. That was the takeaway … Continue reading Deaf Is a Culture →

A toddler at Arlington Heights (Ill.) Memorial Library (AHML) enjoys tummy time while playing with Peek-a-Boo Mirror, a sensory toy in AHML’s collection.

A Sense of Support

By Annemarie Mannion | May 2, 2022

That experience more than 13 years ago inspired her to start BTPL’s Youth Accessibility Support Collection, a set of items designed to meet the needs of children with various types of disabilities and learning needs. Since 2009, families have been borrowing from the collection, which includes adaptive toys, sensory storytime boxes, speech therapy cards, and skills … Continue reading A Sense of Support →

Meeting Every Maker

By Abigail L. Phillips and Amelia M. Anderson | May 2, 2022

Acknowledging that gap, our research team set out to explore the accessibility of public library makerspaces. We did this through focus groups with disability advocates and stakeholders, with grant support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Every makerspace is different, we learned, but there were some common themes in our discussions with participants. … Continue reading Meeting Every Maker →

ALA Announces $7 Million in Grants to Support Accessibility

March 3, 2022

The American Library Association (ALA) announced today that its Libraries Transforming Communities project will offer more than $7 million in grants to small and rural libraries to increase the accessibility of facilities, services, and programs to better serve people with disabilities. “[The] Libraries Transforming Communities: Accessible Small and Rural Communities [grant] represents an important next … Continue reading ALA Announces $7 Million in Grants to Support Accessibility →

Accessible not just discoverable; Lauren Geiger and Emily D. Harrison

Planning for Accessibility

By Carrie Smith | June 27, 2021

Harrison and Lauren Geiger, metadata librarian at MSU Libraries, shared their experiences in improving accessibility in the university’s digital archives and special collections at the on-demand session “Accessible, Not Just Discoverable: Ensuring Accessibility in Digital Collections,” part of the American Library Association’s 2021 Annual Conference and Exhibition Virtual. Users encounter the four principles of accessibility … Continue reading Planning for Accessibility →

Two toddlers and an adult play with Everbright, an interactive light wall with many multicolored round dials. The smallest child faces the camera smiling.

Low-Vision Accessibility

By Carrie Smith | June 1, 2021

Everbright User: Kate Simpson, Central Library children’s department manager at San Antonio Public Library What is Everbright? Everbright is an interactive light wall. It has knobs all over, and each knob changes color as you turn it. You can create images or patterns by setting the dials to various color shades, and you can program … Continue reading Low-Vision Accessibility →

Inclusive Media

By Carli Spina | May 3, 2021

The tech company Cisco predicts that by 2022, video will account for 82% of all internet traffic. In recent years, large libraries have jumped on this trend, producing recorded author events, tutorials, and promotional videos; since the pandemic began, the popularity of online videos has exploded even further. Ubiquitous as it is, much video content … Continue reading Inclusive Media →

ACRL 2021 Opening Session speaker Tressie McMillan Cottom

Ascending into an Open Future

By Amy Carlton | April 14, 2021

Cottom, associate professor at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s School of Information and Library Science, spoke about how these discussions inform the courses she teaches as well as her current thinking about the role of the academic library. One course, “Networks of Racial Capitalism,” examines the effects of information capitalism and structural inequality. … Continue reading Ascending into an Open Future →

Jack Miller dusts shelves at the main location of Gail Borden Public Library District in Elgin, Illinois, pre-pandemic. Photo: Gail Borden Public Library District in Elgin, Illinois

A Disproportionate Pandemic

By Emily Udell | March 1, 2021

“He is so routine-driven that he never considers doing ‘home’ things at the computer lab or ‘computer lab’ things at home,” says his mom, Rebecca Miller. “Being able to do these things at home is not the same to him at all.” In addition, using the computer lab gave Jack a taste of what his … Continue reading A Disproportionate Pandemic →

Illustration of people, stacked books, and a computer monitor. (Illustration: ©PureSolution/Adobe Stock)

How User-Friendly Is Your Website?

By Greg Landgraf | March 1, 2021

“I get the feeling that many people think usability comes second to utility,” says Christina Manzo, user experience librarian at Radford University Carilion in Roanoke, Virginia. “I think they’ve become one and the same. There’s a seemingly endless supply of interfaces competing for our attention, so users are less willing to put up with a … Continue reading How User-Friendly Is Your Website? →

Latest Library Links

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Gary Phillips writes: “In an effort to combat the rise of misinformation, Garden State students are getting a new addition to their curriculums. Governor Phil Murphy signed bipartisan legislation (New Jersey Senate Bill 588) Wednesday that requires K–12 instruction on information literacy under the implementation of the New Jersey Student Learning Standards. In doing so, the Democrat made New Jersey the first state with such a mandate. Under the new bill, students will develop critical thinking skills while learning how to find information, produce and spread information online, and the difference between facts and opinions. Per a news release, information literacy includes digital, visual, media, textual, and technological literacy.”

New Jersey Monthly, Jan. 5
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ALA Treasurer Peter Hepburn writes: “We are approximately one-third of the way through ALA’s fiscal year, which runs from September 1, 2022, to August 31. The most uncertain days of the pandemic seem to be behind us. Like many of our libraries and, indeed, many of us, the Association has been through a lot. A lot. With some sense of relief, and even excitement about times ahead, I bring you an overview of the current state of ALA finance.”

American Libraries column, Jan./Feb.
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ALA President Lessa Kananiʻopua Pelayo-Lozada writes: “When faced with unprecedented and seemly insurmountable obstacles in the world and in libraries, I ask myself: What is our professional responsibility to one another to overcome shared challenges? The answer is often to connect to institutions of collective cooperation, like our democratic society and our member-led Association. One of our greatest strengths is the simple and singular tool of using our united voice. When we unite our voices, we have the volume and power of a choir to amplify messages and make positive changes.”

American Libraries column, Jan./Feb.
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As we greet 2023, American Libraries caps off 2022 with its Year in Review. Our staffers have compiled a list of the stories that affected libraries and librarians over the past year. From continued book challenges and the reversal of Roe v. Wade to preservation efforts in Ukraine and wins for rural and tribal libraries, the profession was at the forefront of some of 2022’s biggest news stories.

American Libraries feature, Jan./Feb.
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Alison Marcotte writes: “Last year, ALA debuted LibLearnX virtually because of the pandemic. This year, for the first time, the conference will be held in person. LibLearnX—which will take place January 27–30 in New Orleans—is intended for members and nonmembers to engage in collaborative learning activities, networking opportunities, celebrations, and author talks. Designed for active learning, the conference will offer more than 120 educational sessions in various formats, created by and for library professionals. Additionally, LibLearnX sees the return of ALA’s Symposium on the Future of Libraries, as well as an all-new Governance Institute geared toward prospective leaders.”

American Libraries feature, Jan./Feb.
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Emily Martin writes: “It’s time to expand your horizons, RPG-lovers! Whether you’re looking for the best fantasy RPGs aside from Dungeons & Dragons or whether you want to explore something entirely different, this list of tabletop role-playing games has a little bit of everything for you. We’ve got mysteries. We’ve got superheroes. We’ve got teen gangs. We’ve got vampires. We’ve got aliens. We’ve got cyberpunk. And so much more.”

Book Riot, Dec. 29
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Lyndsay Wasko writes: “Here are some entirely satirical classes I would have liked to see in my MLIS course catalog. This list is based on my program, so your curriculum might have actually included a few of these. Jealous!” Wasko’s course offerings include Fantastic Cardigans and Where to Find Them, Dunking on Dewey, and Reluctant-But-Viral Librarian TikToking.

Hack Library School, Dec. 27

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