study 1

Providing Staff Training and Programming to Support People with Disabilities: An

Academic Library Case Study

MICHELLE H. BRANNEN, STEVEN MILEWSKI, AND THURA MACK University of Tennessee Libraries, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA

This case study explores services academic libraries provide to students with disabilities and the impact these can have on the success and experience of these students. The study focuses on staff training and outreach programming. The authors examine the academic library literature surrounding these topics, provide examples of programming initiatives at the University of Tennessee Libraries, and include a curated list of local and national resources for supporting people with disabilities. Strategies are recommended for working with local and campus organizations to provide training and resources within the library along with suggestions for strengthening support services for this growing population.

KEYWORDS disability services, diversity, outreach, public services, staff development

INTRODUCTION

Diversity and inclusion continue to be areas of focus in higher education and in our society at large. Accreditation requirements, legislation, and social change agents are playing into a shifting landscape. The recent Americans with Disabilities Act 25th year anniversary has renewed efforts in awareness of serving people with disabilities, reminding libraries that there is always room for improvement of their services within on-going initiatives. With the literature suggesting an increase of persons with disabilities attending

© Michelle H. Brannen, Steven Milewski, and Thura Mack Address correspondance to Michelle H. Brannen, 1015 Volunteer Blvd Rm 236, Knoxville,

TN 37996. E-mail: [email protected] The authors would like to acknowledge and thank Jeanine Williamson for her editorial

feedback.

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Public Services Quarterly, 13:61–77, 2017 Published with license by Taylor & Francis ISSN: 1522-8959 print/1522-9114 online DOI: 10.1080/15228959.2017.1298491

colleges and universities, it is critical for university libraries to evaluate their resources and programs designed for these populations.

This study will broadly cover library initiatives that support special needs populations such as persons with intellectual, physical, and emotional dis- abilities. The library, as the center of academic learning, should take a flagship role on college and university campuses in training their faculty and staff to provide the best possible service. Enriching the library performance for persons with disabilities will impact instruction, outreach, inclusion, and awareness in general. These efforts, in turn, will enhance the university experience of people with disabilities. There will be a gap in services to people with disabilities if there is a gap in knowledge of library staff members about the services offered. Awareness of the gap is the first step in addressing and responding to the need. It is vital to the learning success of persons with disabilities that the library staff receive appropriate training from within the library and from experts in campus partnerships that regularly deal with these populations. Also important is the need to spread awareness of local and national programs and resources. Disability services should not be left behind with the growth of other areas such as student success and digital initiatives. Research shows that success in this area requires consistent, on-going training and programming for library employees in order to remain efficient at the point of need. Libraries should be used as a benchmark for the campus in addressing these special need opportunities.

Exploring accessibility to people with disabilities in an academic library setting can take many forms. There is much literature both about physical accessibility (building standards, restroom accessibility, classroom or shelf accessibility, etc.) and about web accessibility, particularly as it relates to people with learning and physical disabilities accessing online library resources. Rather than focus on these well documented areas, this case study will focus on staff awareness training, of which there is research in the litera- ture, and incorporating awareness into library outreach programming, of which there is little literature.

We will present an approach to improving services to people with disabilities in academic libraries by:

• Reviewing the literature and establishing current practices, trends, and gaps (needs) in serving individuals with disabilities

• Giving examples from the University of Tennessee, a Research 1 university, discussing the efforts, resources, successes, and gaps in providing services to people with disabilities

• Presenting a comprehensive approach adopted from the literature review and from experiences for further implementing accessibility support in library environments

• Discussing goals for future training, resource needs, etc., including increased assessment of staff training and instruction.

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Using the University of Tennessee Libraries, a case study model will outline the best practices for serving these growing communities in academic libraries and identify areas for future research in this field.

LITERATURE REVIEW: LIBRARY STAFF TRAINING

The focus of this research is accessibility awareness and etiquette training for library staff, not physical access and web accessibility issues. In this context, awareness is defined as having an understanding of what resources (services, hardware, software, people) are available for use by people with disabilities and the appropriate points of referral in the library, university, or community for questions and services. In addition to increased awareness and appropriate referrals, another goal of etiquette training is to instruct library staff how to properly interact with people with disabilities, enabling better service for those people, and creating a more congenial, useful, and less awkward experience for both the user and the staff member.

According to the literature, there are different approaches to developing staff training. Carter (2004) clearly delineates several areas of focus to consider for training including attitudinal or sensitivity training, facility training, and services and legal training. In addition to types of content to focus on, Charles (2005) suggests that making the training relevant to the practice of the organization helps to make the training more effective. She goes on to say that providing quick reference information to front-line staff will help reinforce training at the point of need. In addition to Charles (2005), Mellon (2013), Forrest (2007), Willis (2012), Pinder (2005), and others mention training specifically for front line staff as a way to boost staff confidence when working with people with disabilities and to improve patron interactions with the library.

The literature revealed two primary techniques libraries utilize to facilitate staff training. The first involves arranging for live training sessions. These can be organized within the library or utilize outside experts. Lockwood, Friedman, and Naru (2012) outline a partnership at the University of Illinois at Chicago between the library and the university’s Disability Resource Center to develop a series of training sessions for library staff. Charles (2005) discusses options for developing in-house training as well as partnering with outside organizations and suggests exploring options based on resources in a library’s community. Willis (2012) suggests several ideas for potential training programs including options such as having library staff tour disability services on campus. In terms of learning about library resources, Willis states, “More than half of the respondent Libraries are responsible for their own training for special equipment used in the library rather than an outside service” (2012).

The second approach to staff training involves the use of web training modules. Forrest (2007) provides information about developing a 5-week

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online training module using a content management system. The Dundee University Library conducted pre and post assessments of the staff who participated and results pointed to an increase in staff confidence levels in terms of awareness of disability issues and how to appropriately interact with patrons with disabilities. At the National University of Ireland, Maynooth, Mellon (2013) describes the library’s partnership with the Irish National Disability Authority (NDA). The library piloted an online course on disability awareness developed by the NDA. The content was developed in modules, allowing staff flexibility in terms of scheduling time to complete the training. The flexibility both in terms of completing the training and referring back to the information as needed was reviewed favorably by staff. Feedback indi- cated that the inability to discuss issues and concerns might be considered a negative to this training format.

LITERATURE REVIEW: LIBRARY OUTREACH PROGRAMMING

A working definition of “outreach program” from the American Library Association is, “A program that encourages users (1) to utilize library services and (2) a program designed for and targeted to an underserved or inadequately served user group.” (Levine-Clark and Carter, 2013). This effort represents the heart and mission of many academic libraries. Outreach works best when there is ongoing management and updates of the activities for those with disabilities. It is not enough to provide occasional programs and expect library staff and users to be efficient and resourceful when responding to information requests. The physical, emotional and intellectual barriers are plentiful enough for people with disabilities without encountering service detours and unprepared staff. Jill Lewis reports, “Today disabled individuals have higher expectations and live at a time when we can meet those expecta- tions” (Lewis, 2013). Academic, public, and other library types have much to do to ensure services and resources are being made a priority to support this population.

The key to success with outreach services is for the library to engage populations with disabilities in helping to identify critical services for their learning and information needs. A notable suggestion Lewis offers is to have people with disabilities team-up with the libraries to teach and facili- tate some of the library disability outreach classes. This approach can yield high impact for all. Libraries are well positioned to implement and support this collaboration because they support and interact with all disciplines. Inviting a service approach such as this could be a model project for the library to show sincere efforts of inclusion and transformation. Also, the library staff’s learning and performance could soar with the help of people with disabilities for putting together learning materials and information.

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Student affairs professionals also recognize the gap in their role in providing services to students with disabilities, and as a solution, they recommend partnering with other campus departments. In an article by Kimball, Vaccaro, & Vargas (2016), they show a method that student affairs professionals employ to help ascertain information to help them better serve students with disabilities. They employed focus groups from various institu- tions to discuss questions such as “What people and offices provide support for students with disabilities or leadership on disability-related issues?” and “What obstacles exist on your campus in working with students with disabil- ities?” To maximize this effort, their focus group is constructed on a national level, which includes public and private institutions ranging from small to large. The departments involved in the collaboration include Residence Life, Dean’s Office, and Disability Services. There is ground work and there are best practices that Student Affairs has in place to provide current, efficient services to students with disabilities. The libraries could add value to the practices, and the libraries’ own outreach efforts could benefit from such a rich partnership. Just as Student Affairs makes a point of collaborating with a diverse range of campus departments and offices, libraries are also focused on a number of the same significant collaborative relationships to enhance student success.

ALA national websites and programs support all library efforts to develop and maintain outreach policies and guidelines for library roles in services for individuals with disabilities. The ALA Policy Manual has a section titled B.9 “Library Personnel Practices” with a subportion titled B.9.3.2 “Library Services for People with Disabilities” that contains useful contacts and information at national levels (2012). Links to these and other national resources may be found in Appendix 2.

Hill reports that, “Approximately 36 million people in the United States have one or more disabilities” and takes a broad definition of disability, “to include physical, perceptual, and developmental challenges” (2013). Hill cites the United Nations (UN) definition that disabilities are, “long-term physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairments which, in interaction with various attitudinal and environmental barriers, hinders full and effective participation in society” (2013). Table 311.10 in the National Center for Educational Statistics’ (NCES) Digest of Educational Statistics, 2014 (Snyder, de Brey, & Dillow, 2016) report shows that the population of higher education undergraduate students with disabilities has increased and was at 11.1% of the overall undergraduate student population in 2012. The literature agrees that outreach is needed by libraries to support better services and resources for people with disabilities. Structured outreach programs can be part of many library efforts to offer people with disabilities academic and career tools and resources. Hill also states that wide-ranging outreach goals can include increasing the number of librarians in charge of services and programs to people with disabilities. Getting more library staff

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trained to be aware of resources available to people with disabilities and to provide specialized assistance will help provide better support services and programs to these users. Updated and knowledgeable staff will ensure a commitment to excellence for this community. Outreach services and efforts reviewed in the literature reflect various models of practices, awareness activities, and promotions to connect the users to available resources that can enrich their lives through tailored support and impact their success.

METHODOLOGY: CASE STUDY INTRO

This case study documents key results and outcomes for developing service operations for people with disabilities. Findings from this study share meaningful practices to improve outreach and educational outcomes. These practices are relevant to all library types and other educational institutions, who commit to providing the best educational experiences for all students. Academic libraries services and resource accessibility create solid pathways for student success in multiple areas of campus life.

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville founded in 1794, serves 27,845 students. There are approximately 9,791 faculty and staff employed at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (henceforth UTK). UTK is a Research 1 institution that offers over 300 degree programs. UTK is an advo- cate for diversity and supports the welfare and success of all students. The University is committed to preparing students to be ready for the world and provides resources and education to promote global preparedness. More specifically, the university offers resources and support for students with disabilities through the Office of Disability Services to enhance their educational endeavors. While the Office of Disability is specifically for stu- dent needs, the equivalent for staff and faculty is the Office of Equity and Diversity, which also deals with campus facilities accessibility.

John C. Hodges Library is the primary library of the UTK Campus and part of a system that includes branch Libraries in Music and Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine. With its six stories and 350,000 square feet, Hodges Library, has approximately 150 staff and faculty, and welcomes almost 2 million visitors a year. University Libraries provide services, programs, and accommodations to engage with students with disabilities and to support research their needs. The Libraries’ Diversity Committee strategically includes programs to raise awareness for this population, many of which will be shared as we next explore staff training and outreach programming. The UTK Libraries assigns liaison librarians to academic departments and other units on campus, and there is a liaison librarian who works with the Office of Disability Services to further increase support for this population in the Libraries. Appendix 3 includes a list of the assistive technology and software available in Hodges Library.

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CASE STUDY: LIBRARY STAFF TRAINING

As found in the literature review, ongoing staff training, particularly for staff working directly with students, can be an effective way to improve interac- tions between library staff and people with disabilities. Training can involve both sensitivity training to improve interpersonal communication and resource training so that staff are confident in what services, equipment and resources are available; how to assist; to whom to refer questions; and where additional services can be found. Examining how other libraries are dealing with these issues and being aware of national standards, trends, and frameworks can help identify better ways to serve these populations.

When Charles writes of organizing disability awareness training, she notes that she and a colleague “had noticed that the student population was becoming more diverse and that there were increasing numbers of students with disabilities” (2005). To support this observation, she also cited that the Equity Unit on the Capabilities Scotland website indicated an increase in disabilities among the general population in Scotland (2005). An important factor in planning the training needed is to understand your local population. At our institution, the Office of Disability Services (ODS) can provide information about our specific population through our training. For example, we know there are far more students at our university with various types of learning disabilities than those with physical disabilities such as vision impairment. Staff in ODS work directly with students, responding to support requests and accessibility issues. Through training and conversations with ODS, library staff are able to learn what type of support students with disabilities have requested and what specific challenges they may face navigating the services and systems in our university. This type of specific population information can inform the content and direction of training.

The UTK Libraries works closely with ODS to provide periodic training to library staff in the form of two different types of sessions. The first is a discussion between ODS and library staff, specifically the Assistive Technology and Access Committee (ATAC) and the Diversity Committee. The discussion topics cover both general information about our population of students with disabilities, the services ODS provides to students with disabilities, and what the library could do better to serve this population. The second training focuses on etiquette to prepare staff for communicating and interacting more effectively with people with disabilities and about the services ODS provides. Both sessions are open to all library staff, encouraged for public services staff, and provide opportunities for questions and discussion. Additionally, before the fall semester, ODS provides a tour for self-identified students with disabilities, including a tour of resources in Hodges Library.

UTK’s liaison librarian for the ODS oversees outreach and resources for people with disabilities. This includes leading tours to demonstrate how the

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assistive technologies available for use in the library and for checkout can be used for research and class assignments. These tours are intended primarily for public services staff, but are open to all library employees. Regular repetition of tours increases awareness of resources among staff, helping to increase appropriate referrals for use. The Tennessee School for the Deaf, located in Knoxville, has participated in college preparedness tours, which raise awareness of University Libraries’ support for students in their academic endeavor. The liaison librarian partnered with The Tennessee Teaching and Learning Center (TennTLC) and ODS to do a session on universal design and disability awareness for the College of Social Work faculty. The liaison librarian also maintains a website that provides information about services and resources available in the library so that the information provided on the tour is readily available for front line staff to refer to as needed.

In addition to training within the library, university staff have additional training opportunities on campus. The Office of Information Technology (OIT) provides the campus community with multiple training workshops during the semester on creating accessible Microsoft Word, Adobe PDF, and PowerPoint documents on both Mac and Windows platforms. TennTLC provides training on universal design, course planning, and provides an accessible course syllabus template for download. In 2015, the Chancellor formed an Accessibility Implementation Team (AIT) to:

• Recommend a campus policy and actively solicit input from faculty, staff, and students

• Establish accessibility training • Monitor compliance • Provide communication • Establish a formal timeline for various implementations.

The University Libraries has a representative on the AIT as well as both the Communications and Awareness subcommittee and the Training, Texbooks, and Learning Materials subcommittee. This representative is tasked with representing library concerns and services to the committee and reporting back to the library about campus accessibility concerns and initiatives. AIT provides a webpage (link in Appendix 1) that announces training opportunities as well as a list of campus resources, and external tools and resources.

In addition to AIT, the University Libraries has formed an Assistive Technology and Accessibility Committee (ATAC) with a mission to assess and make recommendations about UT Libraries practices regarding the accessibility, to persons with disabilities, of Library-owned instructional materials and technologies. Members of the committee include representa- tives across the library from groups that work with databases, licensing, systems, webpages, branch Libraries, public services, assessment, instruction,

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and liaison librarians. This is not only to assist in making comprehensive recommendations but also to ensure that different units in the library are kept aware of accessibility issues, concerns, and initiatives in other units. The Communications and Training subcommittee of ATAC has been active in trying to keep library staff aware of accessibility training opportunities across campus and bringing sessions on training and awareness to the library. They do this by publicizing and encouraging faculty and staff to attend various campus trainings as described above through ODS, OIT, and TennTLC as well as facilitate in-house training by organizing workshops both in-house developed and with outside partners.

CASE STUDY: LIBRARY OUTREACH PROGRAMMING

In the area of outreach, we describe ways libraries can develop outreach programs that raise awareness of disabilities issues and resources and resources. We share examples of outreach events at UTK and reflect on how to further improve this process.

The UTK Libraries Diversity Committee developed a series of programs to focus on outreach to people with disabilities and disability awareness for the general population throughout the 2014–2015 academic year. Although programming from the Diversity Committee regularly focuses on this group, dedicating a full year to programs focused on this area allowed opportunities to explore different ways to engage and share information about people with disabilities with the general population. Several regular types of programs were maintained, including providing tours of the assistive technology avail- able in the library commons to campus staff including ODS, OED, and library administrators. Tours were also scheduled for both the assistive technology and library services in general for new students who self-identified with ODS. As part of the year-long focus on disability services, the Diversity Committee scheduled a tour with the Tennessee School for the Deaf to show them the library and share information about library services.

Regular campus outreach programs that the Libraries Diversity Committee participates in include the International Festival and the VolAware Street Fair. The International Festival brings together international student organizations to celebrate culture with foods, crafts, dance, and musical performances. Participating in the festival allows the UTK Libraries Diversity Committee to showcase library resources and services in creative ways. With a focus on disability services, the library booth at the festival featured assistive technology including screen enlargers and dictation soft- ware. In addition to showcasing this equipment, the committee created a sensory experience involving tasting fresh herbs as a way to stimulate consideration of disabilities and the impact that loss of a sense could have. The 2012 VolAware Street Fair was a health and wellness festival. The UTK

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Libraries Diversity Committee again shared information about resources for people with disabilities in the Libraries featuring portable assistive tech- nology such as hand-held screen enlargers.

In the spring of 2015, the Diversity Committee participated in the National ADA Legacy Bus tour when it came to Knoxville. This provided a rich opportunity for the committee to work with many local and state agencies representing services for people with disabilities. Partnering with the Office of Disability Services to have a table set up for the event allowed diversity committee members to learn about a vast spectrum of statewide agencies available and to provide information about resources and services to support people with disabilities in our community.

RECOMMENDED PRACTICES

Offering accessible resources allows the library to reach and more effectively meet the needs of all users. The administration should consider services for people with disabilities a priority in the library’s mission and strategic plan. Examining, monitoring, and refining these services is only one step of the process. Another element is anticipating and addressing the challenges of enriching the resources for people with disabilities. Some challenges to consider when moving forward include:

• Developing services that provide meaningful support in students’ access to library resources and facilities

• Providing the same level of service to challenged students and non-challenged students

• Maintaining friendly and welcoming attitudes when assisting individuals with disabilities

• Hiring faculty and staff with disabilities • Intentionally seeking librarians and staff with training and skills in serving

people with disabilities • Marketing the library resources and services so that students are aware of

the library efforts • Actively assessing the experience of challenged students • Raising staff awareness for providing services for people with disabilities • Promoting the need for accessible resources to library vendors, especially

vendors of e-resources such as databases, e-books, and videos.

It is necessary to collect systematic feedback from people with disabilities to continuously evaluate and improve services. By addressing the challenges, the library will demonstrate its commitment to serving people with disabilities and prove its support for scholarly excellence.

There are many opportunities to improve services for people with disabilities in libraries. It is a good idea to survey the environment to learn

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about resources available to staff and students. Look for resources in your library, campus, and local community. Share information about resources and services with library staff and make the information readily available for access at the time needed. Provide etiquette training for library staff to facilitate more effective personal interactions and give the staff opportunities to ask questions based on their experiences. Depending upon the resources available, there may be experts in the community available to provide training, or the library may need to gather information to develop in-house training. Examples of both types of training and their benefits were discussed in the literature review. These few simple steps of sharing resources and developing etiquette training will create a more welcoming environment for people with disabilities by improving their interactions and experiences with the library. As awareness increases on this topic, more opportunities for partnerships among local and national libraries can be implemented, and a potential outcome could be an innovative model for resource sharing and providing services to people with disabilities.

Making training and partnerships effective requires continuous effort and cannot end after a single successful program. The population of students as well as library staff constantly changes. For training to be most effective, it will need to be repeated to reach new staff members and to aid in the recall of information at the time of need. Providing assessment after each training will allow the training information to be updated to be more effective in following sessions. Continued communication with support organizations in the community will allow the library to provide current and accurate infor- mation; ensures the library is aware of events and programs; and contributes to a stronger relationship between the library and these organizations.

Considerations for working with people with disabilities should factor into planning for library events, programming, and instruction. Developing outreach to increase awareness of disabilities issues can be one way for libraries to impact inclusivity in the community. Consider programming both with the library and outside that will visibly promote the library as an inclus- ive place, as well as raise general awareness of disability issues. In the case study, a simple activity at the International Festival allowed the library to creatively increase campus awareness as participants reflected on the experience of having a disability. Raising general awareness in the community through outreach programming is one way to improve community relationships on campus.

When planning library programming, consideration for students with disabilities should factor into the entire process. Utilizing techniques for making accessible documents and presentations is a good first step when incorporating universal design across library activities. Taking time to become aware of services provided to students with disabilities on campus and having an understanding of whom disabilities are reported to will help library staff identify who may have needed information. Creating accessible

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materials when posting information on library websites will assist students utilizing technology such as screen or document readers. Library staff may wish to seek training in universal design and consider how these concepts can be incorporated when planning library programming, instruction, out- reach, online information, etc. to develop more accessible information for all learners.

CONCLUSION AND FURTHER AREAS FOR RESEARCH

Libraries have many opportunities to collaborate as they continue to explore better options for serving people with disabilities ranging from improving the environment and interactions within the library, to raising awareness in the general population, to providing more effective library instruction. Increasing partnerships across campus, particularly with student affairs has the potential to enrich library services to this population. Hammond (2014) recounts three successful practices employed by student affairs professionals and faculty that specifically speak to students with disabilities. First, at Mercyhurst University, student affairs created an advisory board of faculty, staff, and students who work together to create effective and successful environments for students with specific or general disabilities. This allows collaboration with other invested university personnel to contribute to the success of these students. Second, at Landmark College in Vermont, providing services for students with learning disabilities is a priority. This is reflected in their admissions office marketing and communication, as they describe them- selves as “The College of Choice for Students Who Learn Differently.” And third, Taft College creates a learning and living community for students with specific disabilities. Through these communities they teach students practical skill sets to carry them through not only their college career, but also post- graduation away from their comfort zones. The literature does not demon- strate a collaboration between Student Affairs and library efforts to evaluate and develop programming to serve this population, indicating potential for new collaborations and resource sharing opportunities. Student Affairs has in place many successful models that could be enriched with library collaboration. This holistic approach will benefit students with disabilities by providing a wider array of options for learning, engagement, and inclusion, as well as foster stronger relationships between essential campus organizations.

Incorporating concepts of universal design when planning for library instruction and outreach can improve the experience of students with dis- abilities attending our programs and classes as the ALA call reminds us. This may be challenging in an academic library environment where, frequently, the librarian sees a class for a single instruction session, does not know the students before the class, and is unaware of students with disabilities in

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attendance and the type of disability they have. Academic libraries can make improvements in this area by taking small steps such as creating websites and instructional materials in accessible formats, reaching out to faculty before instruction to inquire about students with disabilities, and seeking training about the principles of universal design. Again, there is an opportunity within the profession for librarians across institutions to explore and apply instructional pedagogy to library instruction sessions, consider more effective ways to deliver library instruction, and work as a community to develop best practices to guide institutions developing their library instruction programs.

According to ALA Council (2012), “Libraries play a catalytic role in the lives of people with disabilities by facilitating their full participation in society. Libraries should use strategies based upon the principles of universal design to ensure that library policy, resources and services meet the needs of all people.” Incorporating concepts of universal design simply means that when developing any service, program, or instruction, consideration is given to making the event accessible to as broad a population as possible without the need for special adaptations or considerations (LITA, 2016). There is evidence that active and continuing staff training can improve interactions between library staff and people with disabilities. In addition to raising awareness among staff, developing outreach and programming focused on disabilities can raise awareness in the general population, affecting the overall consideration and environment for people with disabilities in the community. Exploring opportunities for libraries to share resources for this training and programming would be a logical next step.

REFERENCES

ALA Council. (2012). ALA policy manual section B: Positions and public policy statements. Anaheim, CA: ALA Council. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/ aboutala/governance/policymanual.

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

Charles, S. (2005). Person first, disability second: Disability awareness training in Libraries. Library Review, 58(8), 453–458. doi:10.1108/00242530510619147

Forrest, M. E. S. (2007). Disability awareness training for library staff: Evaluating an online module. Library Review, 56(8), 707–715. doi:10.1108/ 00242530710818036

Hammond, L. (2014). Meeting their needs: Transitioning to college with an autism spectrum disorder. The Vermont Collection, 35, 47–54.

Hill, H. (2013). Disability and accessibility in the library and information science literature: A content analysis. Library and Information Science Research, 35(2), 137–142. doi:10.1016/j.lisr.2012.11.002

Kimball, E., Vaccaro, A., & Vargas, N. (2016). Student affairs professionals supporting students with disabilities: A grounded theory model. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, 53(2), 175–189. doi:10.1080/19496591.2016.1118697

Supporting People with Disabilities: A Case Study 73

Levine-Clark, M., & Carter, T. M. (Eds.). (2013). ALA glossary of library and infor- mation science. Chicago, IL: American Library Association.

Lewis, J. (2013). Information equality for individuals with disabilities: Does it exist? Library Quarterly, 83(3), 229–235. doi:10.1086/670697

LITA. (2016). Universal design for libraries and librarians. ALA. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/lita/universal-design.

Lockwood, E. M., Friedman, S. N., & Naru, L. (2012). Effective library professional development: A university partnership for improving access and inclusion for patrons with disabilities. In L. J. Hinchliffe & M. A. Wong (Eds.), Environments for student growth and development: Libraries and student affairs in collabor- ation (pp. 179–194). Chicago, IL: Association of College and Research Libraries.

Mellon, B. (2013). Implementing an online training course in disability awareness for frontline staff Experiences at National University of Ireland Maynooth. Sconul Focus, 58, 27–31.

Pinder, C. (2005). Customers with disabilities: The academic library response. Library Review, 54(8), 464–471. doi:10.1108/00242530510619165

Snyder, T. D., de Brey, C., & Dillow, S. A. (2016). Digest of education statistics, 2014. National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/ programs/digest/d14/.

Willis, C. A. (2012). Library services for persons with disabilities: Twentieth anniver- sary update. Medical Reference Services Quarterly, 31(1), 92–104. doi:10.1080/ 02763869.2012.641855

APPENDIX 1

UTK Resources, Services, and Initiatives

Accessible Information, Materials, and Technology Page Maintained by the Accessibility Implementation Team (AIT) is a web portal of accessibility information including links to resources and organizations, information about accessibility efforts on campus, and contact information for accessibility training on campus.

http://accessibility.utk.edu

Employee and Organizational Development (EOD) Part of UT Human Resources, EOD provides training for faculty and staff in a range of areas including supervision and management that provide information about working with people with disabilities.

http://humanresources. tennessee.edu/eod/

Office of Disability Services (ODS) Works with students with disabilities, helping them determine eligibility status and secure accommodations and services to help give those students equal access to the University. These efforts include providing both awareness training and training about campus resources to faculty and staff at the University.

http://ods.utk.edu

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APPENDIX 2

National Resources

Office of Equity and Diversity (OED) Provides services and ensure compliance related to employment at the University in terms of civil rights, equal employment, and affirmative action. Under this umbrella, OED provides services to faculty and staff with disabilities.

http://oed.utk.edu

Office of Information Technology (OIT) Provides a wide range of services and supports most IT efforts on campus. OIT offers workshops on creating accessible documents that are Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, or PDF.

https://oit.utk.edu

Tennessee Teaching and Learning Center (TennTLC) Supports the teaching efforts at the University. They provide workshops for incorporating universal design into teaching. Additionally, they create an accessible syllabus template available to the University community.

http://tenntlc.utk.edu

UT Libraries Disabilities Services Webpage Information about library services for people with

disabilities including services, locations, equipment, and software.

http://www.lib.utk.edu/info/ disabilities/

UT Libraries Diversity Committee Dedicated to creating a more inclusive community

grounded in respect and appreciation for individual differences, the Committee endorses a broad definition of diversity, and seeks to create dialogue through programs and resources that enhance knowledge and encourage understanding of diversity. The Committee strives to provide leadership for the Libraries in meeting the needs of all its internal and external constituencies.

http://www.lib.utk.edu/ diversity

ALA (American Library Association) Policy Manual Section B.9.3.2 Library Services for People with Disabilities

ALA’s statement on library services for people with disabilities includes useful policy and contact information.

http://www.ala.org/aboutala/ governance/policymanual/ updatedpolicymanual/section2/ 54libpersonnel#B.9.3.2

ALA (American Library Association) Accessibility in Action

ALA’s training program focused on electronic and information technology accessibility.

http://www.ala.org/acrl/ accessibilityinaction

ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) The ADA homepage includes news and events related to ADA legislation. Additionally, the site has links for accessible design standards and list of requirements and technical assistance documents.

http://www.ada.gov/index.html

Supporting People with Disabilities: A Case Study 75

ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) National Network

The ADA National Network has a focus on providing information and resources about how to implement the American with Disabilities Act.

http://adata.org

ARL (American Research Libraries) Web Accessibility Toolkit

This toolkit is aimed at helping Libraries make digital collections accessible as well as to promote accessibility, universal design, and digital inclusion.

http://accessibility.arl.org

ASCLA (Association of Specialized & Cooperative Library Agencies) Resource Pages

These pages include groupings of resources on a wide range of topics not limited to but including: Americans with Disabilities Act; Blind and Physically Handicapped; Deaf/Hard of Hearing; Equity of Access; Learning Disabilities; Print Disabilities; and Students with Disabilities.

http://www.ala.org/ascla/ asclaissues/issues

ASCLA (Association of Specialized & Cooperative Library Agencies) Universal Design Page

This page includes the basic principles of Universal Design.

http://www.ala.org/ascla/ asclaissues/universaldesign

Learning Disabilities Association of America The LDAA site provides much information about learning disabilities. The resource link includes resources for teaching and learning.

http://ldaamerica.org

LUA (Libraries for Universal Accessibility) LUA is a blogging and community discussion for universal accessibility. This site includes a VPAT (Voluntary Product Accessibility Template) repository.

http://uniaccessig.org/lua

National Center for Learning Disabilities The NCLD website provides information about learning disabilities. The programs link provides specific programs for educators and professionals working with people with learning disabilities.

http://www.ncld.org

76 M. H. Brannen et al.

APPENDIX 3

Hodges Library Accessibility Equipment/Software

Equipment/Areas Description

Accessibility Room Located in Hodges Library, it contains many of the fixed pieces of accessibility equipment such as: electrically height adjustable tables, Sara Document Reader, Sorenson Video Phone, CCTV Magnifier, Computer with JAWS, Adobe Acrobat Pro, Read & Write Gold, document scanner.

CCTV Magnifier Magnifier attached to large monitor for assistance with documents and books, contrast and size controls. Available in the Accessibility Room.

Height Adjustable Tables Both electrical and hand crank tables are available in The Commons and instruction rooms.

Keyboard, Large keys (USB) 2 keyboards with large black letter/yellow background keys and USB connection. These can be checked out at equipment checkout desk.

Laptops 3 Windows laptops computers with Dragon Software. These can be checked out at the equipment check out desk.

Magnifiers, Handheld Small hand held camera magnifiers. These can be checked out at the equipment check out desk.

Mouse Trackball (USB) Mouse with trackball for people with hand mobility issues, USB connection. This can be checked out at equipment checkout desk.

Sara Document Reader Machine that reads printed pages from books or magazines out loud. Available in Accessibility Room.

Sorenson Video Phone A video relay service and computer that allows people who use sign language to contact an intermediary and have them assist in communicating and translating for them with people they wish to contact by phone. Available in Accessibility Room and 2 other places on campus.

Software Description

Adobe Acrobat Pro Adobe software product that can be used to read properly formatted PDF documents and to create screen readable PDF documents. Available on all computers in The Studio, many computers in the commons, and library’s accessibility computers.

Dragon Speech recognition software that allows the user to speak into a microphone and have written words placed in a program (Microsoft Word for example), the user can also edit word documents and it offers limited ability to operate computer by voice command. Available on 3 laptops that can be checked out, Accessibility Room’s computer, and a sound recording room in The Studio.

AWS Screen reading software for Windows computers, available on Accessibility Room’s Windows computer and Ag-Vet Library’s Accessibility Computer.

Texthelp Read & Write Gold Document reading, writing checking software with a campus license for all faculty, staff, and students.

Supporting People with Disabilities: A Case Study 77

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