The Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies, ASCLA, has a wealth of accessibility information on their website in the form of tips sheets. Each tip sheet is just a few pages long and contains basic information to help librarians in all types of libraries understand and manage access issues. Select a tip sheet below to view.
Assistive Technology
Autism & Spectrum Disorders
Children with Disabilities
Deaf & Hard of Hearing
Developmental Disabilities
Learning Disabilities
Do you have a plan for how to handle the damage created by a broken pipe and the ensuing flood in your library? Who will you call for help? How will you save your materials and what takes priority? These are just a few of the questions you can have answers on hand for by creating a disaster preparedness plan for your library. We all like to think that it will never happen, but it doesn’t hurt to be ready just in case.
To get started with your plan, the California Preservation Program created a template that can be modified to suit any library. The template is quite in depth, but filling in just the first few pages with information on who to call and when is a good place to begin.Continue reading
Most librarians are familiar with the challenges of reaching teens through programming; they have busy school schedules, may forget about programs, and many tend to be introverted. The Programming Librarian recently posted an intriguing article, Reaching Teens Subversively Through Passive Programming, by Kelly Jensen and Jackie Parker. In the article, the authors discuss the idea of planting “subversive” or “passive” programming for teens to discover as they use the library. Some examples of passive programming include book displays that highlight books for fans of a popular television show accompanied by word searches, puzzles, or trivia about the show; QR code scavenger hunts; origami or any small craft project that can be left on a table and doesn’t need instruction. Passive programming requires very little time or money while engaging teens in a unique experience each time they visit the library. Check out this article and much more at the Programming Librarian.