from http://www.ala.org/pio/presskits/annualconference/accessibility_pavilion.html

Contact: Larra Clark/Paige Wasson 
312-280-5043/4393


EQUITY OF ACCESS NEWS
For Immediate Release
May 18, 2001 


Accessibility Pavilion debuts at ALA Annual Conference 
The American Library Association (ALA) has committed itself to focusing on five key action areas over the next four years: Equity of Access, Diversity, Education and Continuous Learning, Intellectual Freedom and 21st Century Literacy. As part of its commitment to Equity of Access, the ALA is proud to announce the first-ever Accessibility Pavilion at the 2001 ALA Annual Conference in San Francisco, June 14-20. 
Librarians will be able to learn more about the latest in voice output and voice input, screen readers, and other "way out there" technology that's available and affordable today. The pavilion also will offer low-tech and no-tech options for making libraries more accessible to a variety of users of all abilities. 

The Accessibility Pavilion will include: 

Model "accessible library workstations" for hands-on exploration 
IBM Corporate Accessibility Center 
Tack-Tiles Braille Systems 
Vision Technology 
Wizcom 
National Federation of the Blind 
Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic 
The area also will provide opportunitiesfor learning how to make library Web sites more useable and accessible to the public; becoming aware of the principles of Universal Design and how this approach is changing the way Americans live; and applying the new ALA policy "Library Services for People with Disabilities." 
"We believe the Accessibility Pavilion is the first of its kind in a library trade show," said Audrey Gorman, ALA accessibility specialist. "Credit for its existence should be given to ASCLA (the Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies) and OLOS (the Office for Literacy and Outreach Services), as well as to Deidre Ross and the Conference Services staff." ASCLA and OLOS are units of the ALA. 

"We're working to make the area super accessible, so it can be a model for trade shows, especially in the library community," added Deidre Ross, director of Conference Services. 

Exhibits open Saturday, June 16, at 9 a.m. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday through Monday, June 18. Exhibits close June 19 at 1 p.m. About 900 companies are expected to fill the exhibition hall with 1,600 booths. Non-registrants may visit exhibits for a $20 fee. 

As part of its ALA Action Plan 2005, the association advocates funding and policies that support libraries as great democratic institutions, serving people of every age, income level, location, ethnicity or ability. 

The ALA and libraries across the country are sponsors of @ your library*, The Campaign for America's Libraries, a five-year public education campaign to speak loudly and clearly about the value of libraries and librarians in the 21st century. 



Copyright © 2001, American Library Association.
Last Modified: Friday, 25-May-2001 10:07:31 CDT