Rhea Rubin's research on why adaptive technology is not used in public librarie
s revealed two very basic problems that are within the library's control.
One is that the library staff (_all_ the staff, not just one person) is not tra
ined adequately in the use of the technology and they are not aware of and sens
itive to the needs of the library users and potential users with disabilities.
So good staff training is extremely important. The second problem is that
libraries often do not involve people with disabilities in making decisions abo
ut which technology to acquire and how to set priorities. Even small libraries
can have advisors from the local community with disabilities to address local
needs. Probably the most basic thing is to have someone who uses a chair
wheel through the library to check it for barriers.

Linda

Linda Lucas Walling
College of Library and Information Science
University of South Carolina  Columbia SC 29208
http://www.libsci.sc.edu/linda/walling.htm

HUMOR IS NOT A TRICK. HUMOR IS A PRESENCE IN THE WORLD--
LIKE GRACE--AND SHINES ON EVERYONE. GARRISON KEILLORŲ