Training
Accessibility, Diversity & Customer Service
What do those words mean to you? How do you connect them in your mind and in your library's services? This is an introduction to the world of accessibility and usability, why it helps you serve your customers more easily and effectively, and the solutions it offers to issues such as intellectual access to information, the digital divide and 21st Century literacy.
Beyond Ramps and Bathrooms
What about library services and disability rights law?
It isn't all about ADA and it doesn't just deal with physical access. Did you know that there have been lawsuits that addressed libraries and library information services? Societal and legal changes in the last few years could bring more. Find out what you need to know about your responsibilities. Go home with some simple, straightforward answers and sources for following up.
Customer Service and People with Disabilities
Libraries want to serve all users well, but most of us remain uncomfortable about how to best serve people with disabilities. Besides attitudes, policies and procedures can also unwittingly cramp customer service. Learn about simple disability etiquette; apply your learning to signage, news releases, flyers, newsletters and web sites; and take away action ideas to make service easier for staff and more effective for all of your users.
The Language of Disability: Avoiding Embarrassment
Actually, it isn't just about being "politically correct." Explore how the way society uses words about people with disabilities reveals deeply-rooted attitudes of discrimination - and fear. Find out how to signal that you are truly sensitve and putting that sensitivity into action. Take away practical tips for making staff and people with disabilities more comfortable, wherever they encounter each other.
Library Policies and Disabilities
The discussion was lively to the point of vehemence. “Yes, ADA is a civil rights law, but it’s not the only one that applies.” “Yes, your library serves people with disabilities, even if you don’t know it. You’re talking to one right now!” Explore the service and employment implications of the landmark ALA policy "Library Services for People with Disabilities," adopted in 2001, with one of the people who wrote it. Go beyond legal mandates and invoke the best values of the library profession.
Web Site Accessibility: An Introduction
[This is an Executive Overview lasting 2-3 hours, maximum]
The Web is the premier communication tool of the 21st Century. If your web pages aren’t accessible, though, your tool is broken and you’re inadvertently shutting out potential users and supporters. Find out exactly why you should fix it and what policies, procedures, and repair tools are needed. This is a wave of the future with global reach and local touch. You literally can’t afford to miss it!
Copyright © 2003 by Audrey Gorman | | Contact Audrey at access@accessall.net
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