Great discussion. Axel is right -- even when we give talks at ALA we usually
draw folks who are already if not actively in the choir, then certainly in
the first couple of rows of the audience.

My suggestion is for us to focus in on a concentrated effort to make wide,
consistent, meaningful contact with vendors. For example, for the upcoming
big ALA in Atlanta, it may be useful for us to prepare a very brief handout
with the necessary information about this issue for all of us to have
available to hand to vendors wherever and whenever we are in contact during
big ALA -- whether in the Exhibit Hall,in the myriad of programs (such as
discussion groups)to which vendors have been invited to speak, etc. Then, to
commit ourselves to bringing up the issue in each encounter or Q&A session
where it makes sense to do so.

Some of us will take a more or less confrontational approach than others --
I prefer to emphasize the economic advantages to the vendor of attending to
this issue -- but the handout should be personal approach.

Bryna Coonin
Coastal Resources Management Librarian,
Joyner Library, North Carolina Collection
East Carolina University
Greenville, N.C.  27858
Phone/Voicemail:  252.328.0431
Fax:  252.328.4834
E-mail:  [log in to unmask]
Web Page: http://personal.ecu.edu/cooninb



-----Original Message-----
From: Schmetzke, Axel [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Friday, February 15, 2002 12:28 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Accessibility: Preaching beyond the choir--concerted effort
in connection with ALA Atlanta


If in a hurry skip the first two longer paragraphs:

It appears to me that ALA is a colossus with many heads and gazillions
of tentacles. What happens at one end of this body tends to go unnoticed
elsewhere. While advocacy pertaining to disability issues has been
happening in some parts of the body, it does not easily penetrate into
other layers or sections. Just two examples: (1) Despite the fact that
the "Library Services for People with Disabilities Policy," which was
recently approved by the ALA Council, calls for universal design of
online resources, web pages leading to ACRL's electronic publications
(e-Pubs Corner and e-Learning Webcasts) contain major access barriers.
(2) The ACRL Distance Education Guidelines continue to fail to address
the needs of all potential beneficiaries.

As information resources and library services migrate online, one of our
major current concerns is the creation of a fully inclusive virtual
environment. Currently, this concern is addressed by relative small
segments within the professional library community. In a way, the
discourse about disability-related issues is segregated. We have to find
ways to get it into the mainstream. (Of course, this goes not only for
ALA but also for other contexts: the professional literature,
conferences, professional development and our daily activities/decisions
in the library.)

A concerted effort sounds great!  Does anyone familiar with the workings
of ALA (not I!) have any suggestions about suitable strategies? How,
other than through conference presentations (which tend to draw an
audience from the choir), can we bring our concerns for a fully
inclusive online environment into the mainstream?

Axel

*********************
Axel Schmetzke
Library
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point

-----Original Message-----
From: Rhea Joyce Rubin [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Thursday, February 14, 2002 10:38 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Accessibility: Preaching beyond the choir

In response to Audrey's question, yes! I am interested and, as chair of
the
ADA Assembly I volunteer the Assembly to be involved In an organized
concerted effort.

Rhea

*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *
Rhea Joyce Rubin
5860 Heron Drive
Oakland, CA  94618-2628
510-339-1274 (phone & fax)
[log in to unmask]