Michael Ciccone – Executive Director, CELA Southern Alberta Library Conference March 4, 2016 Reaching out to serve people with print disabilities

celalibrary.ca 2 About print disabilities What is a print disability?  Learning disability: An impairment relating to comprehension  Physical disability: The inability to hold or manipulate a book  Visual disability: Severe or total impairment of sight or the inability to focus or move one’s eyes

celalibrary.ca 3 About print disabilities

celalibrary.ca 4 About print disabilities Breakdown:  Learning disability 27%  Physical disability 40%  Visual disability 33%

celalibrary.ca 5 About print disabilities 7% of books published in Canada available in accesible formats Marrakesh Treaty: Argentina Australia Brazil El Salvador India Mali Mexico Mongolia North Korea Paraguay Peru Singapore South Korea United Arab Emirates Uruguay Canada & U.S.

celalibrary.ca 6 About CELA Allows all libraries, regardless of size or location to offer extensive collections and services to residents with print disability, thanks to funding from the province of Alberta and participation of CULC libraries in the province

celalibrary.ca “services to people with print disabilities is fundamental to library service”. Symposium on Public Library Service for People with Print Disabilities organized by Public Library Services Branch, Feb 2015 Accessible library services are fundamental

celalibrary.ca How CELA helps 370,000+ accessible titles Wide choice of formats, including audio, braille and accessible e-books Flexible delivery options for patrons and libraries, including download, direct mailing of DAISY CD, Deposit Collections

celalibrary.ca Challenges in promoting accessible services in libraries Need for staff training & time Awareness of services public libraries offer Reluctance to self-identify as having difficulty reading or a disability User technology barriers

celalibrary.ca Best practices for promoting your library’s accessible services  Staff training and awareness  Integrating accessibility in your services  In-library promotion  Outreach

celalibrary.ca Staff training and awareness Key to success CELA offers free training webinars and videos, online information Ongoing phone, support “Our goal is to have all front desk staff know about CELA so no one is turned away.” (Saint John Free Public Library)

celalibrary.ca Staff training and awareness: ideas from member libraries Include information about accessible services in staff manual and/or staff website Make accessible services a standing agenda item at staff meetings ‘homework’ assignment after training “Accessibility challenge” activities to keep skills current

celalibrary.ca Integrating accessibility in your existing activities Customer interactions Be attentive for indications they or someone they know needs alternate formats and offer proactively Audio book borrowers might enjoy audio books or they might have an eye condition A patron might mention finding books heavy and hard to handle

celalibrary.ca Integrating accessibility in your existing activities Collections 100+ libraries in Alberta offer in- library DAISY collections from CELA Accessible materials in the library promote awareness of the service Catalogue & display so they’re ‘findable’ Web site: note alternate digital offerings: audio, etext, newspapers DAISY collection displayed at Camrose Public Library

celalibrary.ca Integrating accessibility in your existing activities Programming Make your book club accessible by choosing accessible titles Offer TD Summer Reading Club books in alternate formats Tweet and picture from Brooks

celalibrary.ca Integrating accessibility in your existing activities Programming Brampton Public Library included a display about their CELA service in their tech fair

celalibrary.ca Promoting accessibility in the library Display print materials at the circulation desk, near audio or large print books Design your own pamphlets or flyers

celalibrary.ca Promoting accessibility in the library

celalibrary.ca Promoting accessibility in the library

celalibrary.ca Promoting accessibility in the library Many libraries promote their CELA service on their social media channels (retweets!) Quick and easy way to promote accessible services Recent tweets from member libraries below

celalibrary.ca Reaching out to your community Seniors-focused outreach Home library services and/or delivery to long term care facilities Often delivery services help meet significant need for accessible materials and library service that would be otherwise unmet Wetaskiwin Public Library home delivery service

celalibrary.ca Reaching out to your community Seniors-focused outreach Connect with other organizations serving seniors Participate in seniors’ info fairs Info fair at Collingwood Public Library

celalibrary.ca Reaching out to your community Outreach with other groups Accessible services are not just for seniors! Meet with special education teachers in your area

celalibrary.ca Reaching out to your community Outreach with other groups Meet with organizations supporting people with print disabilities and literacy organizations Share promotional materials New Brunswick Public Libraries has regular section in the Learning Disabilities Association Newsletter

celalibrary.ca Your turn! Any questions, ideas, success (or failure!) stories to share?

celalibrary.ca Assistance for Libraries

celalibrary.ca Assistance for Libraries Toolshed Open Book Launching March 8 User and Library Content & Successes

celalibrary.ca 28 Facebook: facebook.com/celalibrary Mailing List: to join Thank you!