From ALA President Sari Feldman:
Following on Council’s action at the 2016 Midwinter Meeting, I am pleased to announce that the following individuals have accepted appointment to the Conference Accessibility Task Force, beginning immediately and continuing through the end of the 2017 ALA Annual Conference in Chicago:
Christopher Corrigan, Digital Reference Librarian, Library of Congress, Library for the Blind [Co-Chair]
Mike Marlin, Director, California Braille & Talking Book Library [Co-Chair]
Carrie Banks, Supervising Librarian, Brooklyn Public Library
Clara Bohrer, Director, West Bloomfield Township Public Library
Melissa Cardenas-Dow, Reference and Instruction Librarian, University of California - Riverside
Roberto Delgadillo, HSSGIS Librarian, University of California – Davis
Christine Golm, Director, Patmos Library
Lori Goetsch, Dean of Libraries, Kansas State University Libraries
Pat Hogan, Retired Member
Alex McFarlane, President, National Literary Society of the Deaf, Inc.
Janet Nelson, Director of Library Engagement, Demco Inc.
Janice Rosen, Librarian, District of Columbia Public Library
Lily Sacharow, Reference and Instruction Librarian, Berkeley College
Julia Starkey, Student
Christine Vortia, Teen and Social Media Librarian, East Orange Public Library
The charge to the Task Force is drawn from the resolution approved by Council:
The Conference Accessibility Task Force is charged to do the following:
- Collect data from ALA members and conference attendees with disabilities;
- Establish a process for reviewing and addressing accessibility problems;
- Draft accessibility guidelines to be used by ALA in reviewing contracts, to ensure ADA and WCAG compliance;
- Research best practices for accessibility training and make a recommendation for implementation;
- Report progress to Council during the ALA Annual Conference 2016 in Orlando and ALA Midwinter Meeting 2017 in Atlanta; and,
- Make a final report, with recommendations, to Council at the ALA Annual Conference 2017 in Chicago.
The Task Force has also been specifically asked to reach out to and consult with other individuals or groups as necessary to the completion of its charge.
While the Task Force may choose to meet face-to-face in Orlando and Atlanta, it is assumed that they will accomplish the majority of their work between conferences, using ALA Connect, virtual meetings and other asynchronous communications.
I know that you join me in thanking the Task Force members for stepping forward to take on this work. We will all look forward to hearing their initial report in Orlando.
10 February 2016