Universal Accessibility Interest Group

Hi All - I am building a wishlist of accessibility-related items in order to have some options at the ready in the event we receive funding. The wishlist could include:

• programming (e.g. workshops, employee training)
• speaker fees
• equipment or furniture, e.g. assistive technology
• any other materials that would support students with disabilities using the library (but not collections)

Please feel free to hit me with your ideas. Anything from pie-in-the-sky to down-to-earth ideas are welcome. Thanks in advance!

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Emily Rimland
Information Literacy Librarian
Pennsylvania State University
She/Her/Hers
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Hi, Emily,

If you have the funding I'd get some licenses for JAWS.
NVDA is solid (and free) but it's nice to have options when it comes to screen readers.
And I'm not sure what you use but if you have Macs then VoiceOver is already built in to the OS.
And if you don't have Macs and want them, I would include the fact that a lot of individuals use Macs instead of PC and would be better suited using VoiceOver if that's the screen reader they regularly use. 

I'm also a big fan of Read and Write by texthelp when it comes to learning disabilities.
I feel like that program (and many others) are utilized more mainstream and used by both individuals with or without accommodations (myself included).

Just make sure they have headphones so the rest of the library doesn't hear them reading through the content.

Have a great day!

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Shaun Pate
Instructional Design Coordinator
Kansas City Kansas Community College
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It really depends on what your community needs. Some things I can think of:

• LibraryJuice classes on accessibility
• Conference attendance for Accessing Higher Ground or similar
• Remediation software
• Things for a sensory friendly room

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Anaya Jones She/Her/Hers
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Accessibility & Online Learning Librarian
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Hi Emily,

You have some great suggestions from other members here! I'd second the training budget... Deque and WebAim have some amazing programs that can lead to certs and they are considered industry leaders in accessibility. I've found the more awareness you can provide staff, the more they understand why some of us push so hard on universal design. It's also really helpful to have as many allies as you can both within the library and in the institution! The only other idea I had was to think about if you can ask students directly what their needs are...connect with your accessibility/disability office and see if they might be willing to post an announcement or an email to their registered students. Are there any student groups on campus or online that you can ask about their needs? Hope this helps!

Best,

Trisha

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Trisha Prevett
ELearning Librarian
Southern New Hampshire University, Shapiro Library
She/Her/Hers
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So many great suggestions! Throwing mine out there:

• Training for staff for how to provide accessible lessons and help, and to create an accessible environment.
• A variety of seating. Seats that move are great for neuro-divergent folks and computer chairs with and without arms means no one has to worry if they will fit in or fall out of a chair.
• Automatic open buttons (if you don't have them) on all doors, especially study room doors (these can sometimes be heavy and difficult to open).
• Signage in multiple languages. Even if you just have a sign at the main entrance that says something along the lines of Hello! or Welcome to the library! or what have you in the languages most spoken at your institution, it'll create a welcoming environment.

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Miki DeLaFleur
Librarian
Hudson County Community College
She/Her/Hers
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Thanks to everyone who provided wishlist ideas!  Please feel free to keep them coming if you think of others. 😃

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Emily Rimland
Information Literacy Librarian
Pennsylvania State University
She/Her/Hers
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Original Message:
Sent: Aug 08, 2022 09:39 AM
From: Miki DeLaFleur
Subject: Accessibility Wishlist Items--Looking for ideas

So many great suggestions! Throwing mine out there:

• Training for staff for how to provide accessible lessons and help, and to create an accessible environment.
• A variety of seating. Seats that move are great for neuro-divergent folks and computer chairs with and without arms means no one has to worry if they will fit in or fall out of a chair.
• Automatic open buttons (if you don't have them) on all doors, especially study room doors (these can sometimes be heavy and difficult to open).
• Signage in multiple languages. Even if you just have a sign at the main entrance that says something along the lines of Hello! or Welcome to the library! or what have you in the languages most spoken at your institution, it'll create a welcoming environment.

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Miki DeLaFleur
Librarian
Hudson County Community College
She/Her/Hers
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