accessibility Archives | American Libraries Magazine

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? →

Boost Your Public Speaking Skills

By Anne Ford | November 1, 2019

“I was just so petrified,” remembers Travis, who is advisor for information literacy and library instructional assessment at California State University, Long Beach. “I had actually prepared; I knew everything I should have said. It was just the idea of speaking in public that terrified me.” Years later, Travis has more than conquered her stage … Continue reading Boost Your Public Speaking Skills →

Inclusive by Design

By Wanda Kay Brown | September 3, 2019

“When you can navigate a space, whatever that space may look like, and you don’t have to ask for help and you can do it independently, that’s confidence-building,” he says. When we think of some of the foremost goals of our profession—advocating for the value of libraries, librarians, and library workers as well as promoting … Continue reading Inclusive by Design →

On the Horizon for Accessibility

By Carrie Smith | June 25, 2019

Reed Strege, director of library services at the Braille Institute of America, led “The Best in New Tech for Readers with Blindness, Visual Impairments, and Physical Disabilities” on June 23 at the ALA Annual Conference and Exhibition in Washington, D.C., highlighting new and upcoming technology for blind and print disabled library users. “It’s a really … Continue reading On the Horizon for Accessibility →

Universal Design for All Learners

By Terra Dankowski | June 23, 2019

“We often frame [disability or accessibility] as a problem, something to overcome, or something to deal with,” she told attendees at “Accessibility and Creation of Online Library Materials: Applying Universal Design for Learning (UDL),” a June 22 session at the American Library Association’s 2019 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Washington, D.C. Johns chooses instead to … Continue reading Universal Design for All Learners →

Kate Deibel, inclusion and accessibility librarian at Syracuse University, speaks on disability access issues.

Always Use the Microphone

By Carrie Smith | January 28, 2019

Kate Deibel opened her session, “Pushing on the Frontier: Disability Access and the Future of Libraries” on Saturday, January 26, at the ALA Midwinter Meeting & Exhibits in Seattle, with this all-too-common question to make a point: “Always use the microphone. It’s one of the most important and easiest things you can do.” It helps … Continue reading Always Use the Microphone →

2018 Year in Review

By the editors of American Libraries | January 2, 2019

Michelle Obama at Annual At the Annual Conference of the American Library Association (ALA) in New Orleans, former First Lady Michelle Obama and Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden conversed before an overflow crowd of 8,000. Obama spoke about her family, her career, and writing her memoir—and about getting her first library card at age 4. … Continue reading 2018 Year in Review →

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For its Halloween-themed episode, Call Number with American Libraries looks at the enduring appeal of zombies and the role libraries have had in continuing their mythos. Episode guests include Ben Rubin, horror studies collection coordinator at University of Pittsburgh Library System, who speaks about the George A. Romero Archival Collection; Amy Dennis, programming and public relations librarian at Tom Green County (Texas) Library System, who describes her library’s zombie doll program for youth; and Seanan McGuire (aka Mira Grant), author of the Newsflesh trilogy of zombie novels.

AL: The Scoop, Oct. 19
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Hannah Arata writes: “It’s that time again! We rounded up some great library craft videos from across the internet that are perfect for Halloween. Whether they are doing in-person events or take-and-make kits, these libraries share their creative crafts for the spooky season.”

Programming Librarian, Oct. 15
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Jeff Somers writes: “Every now and then a particular TV show takes over and commands the all-seeing eye of pop culture for weeks or months at a time—think the first season of Stranger Things, or the height of Game of Thrones. Right now, that show is Squid Game, which has become the most successful Netflix series of all time, not to mention the latest in a wave of South Korean cultural exports captivating a global audience. Some of these 13 books served as inspiration for the series, capture its bleak understanding of the ways social and economic forces conspire to crush the life out of us, and some are similarly pitch-black stories about desperate people fighting for survival in one sense or another.”

Lifehacker, Oct. 18
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Ashley Hawkins writes: “I have a dedicated group of readers who come and see me three times a day to check out books. They check out multiple books at a time and talk to me at length about character motivation, themes, tropes, and creators. I am, of course, talking about my manga readers. My students who read manga and graphic novels demonstrate exceptional reading and writing skills. They demonstrate a higher likelihood of continuing on to be lifelong readers. Despite the results many of us report in our libraries, many school librarians are resistant to providing manga to their students.”

Knowledge Quest blog, Oct. 13
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Registration for the American Library Association’s inaugural LibLearnX conference, to be held virtually January 21–24, 2022, is now open. The conference will feature real-time learning opportunities, networking activities, more than 100 exhibitors, and content on topics including career development, community outreach, digital equity, mental health, and equity, diversity, and inclusion. Learn more about the event at alaliblearnx.org.

ALA Conference Services, Oct. 15
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Dorany Pineda writes: “Gary Paulsen, the acclaimed and prolific author of page-turning children’s novels of adventure and survival, including Dogsong and The Winter Room as well as Hatchet, died suddenly last Wednesday at his home in New Mexico, the Associated Press reported. Throughout his life, Paulsen wrote more than 100 books, sold more than 35 million copies, and was a three-time John Newbery Medal finalist. Teachers and librarians in Los Angeles and beyond were saddened by the news but expressed deep gratitude to a man whose inspiring, plot-driven stories captivated readers young and old. ‘Hatchet was something that was so out of the ordinary,’ said Damitri Boone, children’s librarian at the Inglewood (Calif.) Public Library.”

Los Angeles Times, Oct. 19
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The American Library Association (ALA) announced the return of the Spectrum Doctoral Fellowship Program, which seeks to recruit diverse LIS faculty members. The program, to be run in partnership with University of South Carolina’s School of Information Science, will recruit a cohort of 8-10 racially and ethnically diverse doctoral students focused on advancing racial equity and social justice in library and information science curricula. “There have been many discussions about the lack of diversity in the profession, and that includes the classrooms as well,” said Kevin Strowder, director of ALA’s Office for Diversity, Literacy, and Outreach Services, in an October 14 statement. An information session for the fellowship will take place November 3; applications for the program open November 4.

ALA's Office for Diversity, Literacy, and Outreach Services, Oct. 14

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