Interlibrary Loans & Accessibility Tim Hickey & Kristen Heinrich

Why…. This survey was conducted to gauge what policies have been formalized to address services for people with disabilities both temporary and permanent in Interlibrary Loan as well as Library-wide. According to the National Center for Educational Statistics the number of students with disabilities postsecondary institutions is rising. There was a two percent increase from the 2008 school year to the 2012 school year. (the last year for available statistics.*) A lack of accessibility leads to risks of litigation. *U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2016). Digest of Education Statistics, 2015 (2016-014), Chapter 3.

What... Conducted winter session of 2018 Survey was sent to the IDS and OCLC ILL listservs 6 questions to gauge what sorts of policies have been formalized to address services for people with disabilities in Interlibrary Loan. 3 multiple choice 3 written response We had 133 responses 90 percent of the responses were from Academic and University libraries

What are your ILL Departments currently doing to assist those with disabilities? How comfortable are you with working with OCR and text-to-speech software?

For how many requests are you specifically asked for materials that are accessible via assistive learning technologies (e.g. Kurzweil 3000 or other text-to-speech software) for your patrons who are requesting ILLs (per semester)?

Of the libraries sending you requests for scanning, how often are you specifically asked for accessible materials (OCR, descriptive images, etc.) per semester?

Why do you think ILL departments are receiving a lack of requests for accessible materials?

Purchase College ILL LibGuide Does your library have a statement about services to patrons with disabilities and, if yes, does that statement specifically refer to ILL services for patrons with disabilities? Purchase College ILL LibGuide

If you do have a statement regarding service to those with disabilities (library-wide or specific to ILL), what is it? Comments to this question indicate that, of the libraries that do have public statements regarding disabilities, there are a number of different ways the information is conveyed to users. Language incorporated into the overall mission statement Stand alone disability-focused mission statements Separate web pages (LibGuides) Use of outside sources (links to Disability Resource Offices or other campus stakeholders)

Examples of Disability Mission Statements [Name withheld] Libraries strive to foster an environment of inclusivity and equal access to information resources and services. If you require unique accommodation due to your disability, please notify us and we will be happy to assist you ensuring that you experience a barrier-free research environment. If you have suggestions about how we can improve, we welcome your input. [Name withheld] Library staff strives to provide all students, faculty, staff and community patrons with equal access to information for their research needs. The goal of our staff is to provide services that encourage the use of our facility and collections. Patrons with disabilities shall have access to [Name withheld] Library's resources and services comparable to that which is extended to all other patrons.

Stand-alone library-wide policy pages More detail about services available to students with disabilities can be provided by a separate policy page. Typically via a web page on the library’s web site (or a LibGuide) or through a link to another campus department that handles services to these populations. Included in these pages is information about: Parking library building access information about print and electronic resources services provided assistive technology available, and contact information for relevant staff both inside and outside of the library.

Examples of high quality stand alone sites University of Toronto UConn Brandeis University

Comments regarding disabilities, accessibility, and/or ILL services We have never had a request like this since I've been here - 3 years. My coworker who's been here for 11 years says he's seen maybe 1 or 2 We are medical library not open to the public, our profile is such that we really don't have faculty or students with disabilities. I have not ever had a person ask me for additional services in regards to disability. Seems odd in 17 years. We have only been asked twice in the last 8-10 years for accessibility services. We have been able to help out in both cases. We also have a disability support services unit on campus. We have never been asked for accessible materials via ILL but I know that we have students who require assistive technology. I'm glad this issue is being considered and hope to hear about the results.

More Comments Never thought beyond delivering the materials-physical or electronic. Occasionally we are asked to provide full book scans (either our books or books from other institutions) and make them OCR for patrons registered with the Disabilities Resource Center. I have been struggling with AbbyyFine to correct articles received in poor condition. Looking for online resources to no avail, so far. We outsource the creation of accessible materials as much as we can because we haven't found a workflow that makes creating accessible materials sustainable, or tools that create consistent quality in accessible materials If a student needed an article, they would receive it as normal, then take it to Student Disability Services and they would scan it for Kurzweil 3000 or any other device.

Conclusion With 85% of libraries surveyed not having formal policies or mission statement regarding accessibility and a growing population of students with special needs, now is the time to make clear what we are already doing to accommodate people with disabilities. We are not alone in this effort, we should be developing relationships with stakeholder across campus, including those focused on Disability Services, to share policies and develop resources to maintain consistent levels of service across campus. While some point out they never, or rarely, have been asked for these types of accommodations, we must be prepared to serve increasingly diverse student populations in a more holistic fashion.

Tim Hickey Kristen Heinrich Rebecca Oling 914-251-6415 914-251-6428 Resource Sharing/Instruction Librarian timothy.hickey@purchase.edu 914-251-6415 Kristen Heinrich Interlibrary Loan Assistant/Circ. Supervisor kristen.heinrich@purchase.edu 914-251-6428 Rebecca Oling Associate Librarian rebecca.oling@purchase.edu 914-251-6417