   
Newsletter of the Section for Libraries Serving Disadvantaged Persons
Issue 47
Fall 1998
EDITORIAL
by Vibeke Lehmann
This fall issue, as is customary, brings you news from the annual conference - this time in Amsterdam. You can also read the full text of the LSDP Open Session papers on IFLANET, as well as those presented at the joint workshop with the Section of Libraries for the Blind.
The last issue took a look at the impact of severe budget cuts in Sweden on public library outreach services; in this issue the same author zeros in on hospital libraries, many of which are also operated by the public library authorities and consequently have been hard hit by the austerity measures.
In order to be more inclusive and to reach more readers, we deviate in this issue from the tradition of "English only" articles and bring you a piece in Spanish by our SC corresponding member from Cuba. We encourage the submission of articles in all the official IFLA languages, but the editor would appreciate an accompanying summary/abstract in English.
We have also expanded the section under Resources and Useful Titles; please send more items of worldwide interest and do contribute relevant book reviews! Thank you.
64th IFLA Council and General Conference, Amsterdam 1998
Report by Sue Lithgow
General Impressions
Once again this year's IFLA annual conference attracted nearly 3,000 participants with 2,914 delegates and 174 accompanying persons. Delegates represented 112 different countries which is slightly down on last year's figures but still a significant achievement, particularly in view of the number of delegates from developing countries and Eastern Europe who were able to attend. As always, the practical organisation of this large scale conference is to be admired, and congratulations should go to the Dutch Organizing Committee and the conference volunteers.
Nowhere was the warmth and hospitality of our Dutch hosts more keenly felt than in the exciting programme of social events that they had arranged for us, ranging from dancing the night away to World Music bands, to jumping aboard a steamboat having just tested your IQ at the New Technology Centre! The ambiance had already been set by the highly imaginative and equally memorable opening ceremony. It began with a stunning tableau of Rembrandt's Night Watch and ended with 3,000 delegates throwing multi-coloured balls of wool at each other in a human networking and barrier breaking extravaganza! It should not be forgotten that between these two imaginative events there was an equally dazzling array of addresses by Christine Deschamps, Rick van der Ploeg and Rudi van der Velde together with the much deserved presentation by Ekatarina Genieva of the International Book Award to Maria Moura from Portugal.
LSDP Open Session: Technology Friend or Foe? The Threats and Opportunities of Information Technology for Disadvantaged Persons
This session addressed the central theme of new technology for disadvantaged user groups. We are all living in an information society, and more and more information is available electronically, sometimes only electronically. This growth is matched by an increase in both the sophistication and the volume of the necessary technology with which to exploit or access the information. However, in global terms the distribution of this new technology is very uneven. Geographical barriers are not the only issue. For many groups within the community - in particular economically and educationally disadvantaged persons and those with physical disabilities - there are additional barriers. The aim of the LSDP Open Session was therefore to consider whether new technology always goes hand in hand with new opportunities for disadvantaged users, or whether it can actually sometimes pose a threat by widening the information-rich/information-poor divide.
Teresa Pagès: On New Information Technologies and Disabilities
Teresa Pagès, Director of Sant Boi Public Library, Barcelona, took as her basis the way NITs (new information technologies) increasingly invade our daily lives. They change our relationships with others, altering in particular the space-time relation. The normality of our behaviour vis-à-vis NITs makes us forget that people with disadvantages, who live and work in our midst, lack the possibility to react the same way we do. Even if some disadvantaged persons through various pilot projects have come into contact with NITs (e.g., computer facilities in special centres, sophisticated mobile equipment), the fact remains that most of them are marginalized from NIT employment. It is within the context of "standard" NITs that Teresa's paper examined how the technological society sees this attempt to "over-marginalize" people with disabilities at the dawn of the 21st century.
Joe D. Hendry: The Contribution of Public Libraries to Higher Education Opportunities for the Socially and Economically Deprived in Rural Societies
Joe Hendry, County Heritage Services Officer for Cumbria, United Kingdom, gave a paper which considered the role of public libraries with regard to higher education opportunities for disadvantaged groups in rural communities. Cumbria is one of Britain's most isolated rural areas and developments in information and communications technologies have the potential to significantly reduce such isolation. Joe's paper discussed the Genesis Project, a recent initiative which in harnessing these technologies, is seeking to develop a new community-based method of providing life-long learning at every level.
LSDP Standing Committee Meetings
During the Amsterdam conference the LSDP Section held two Standing Committee meetings attended by 16 members and 2 observers, as well as an extra project meeting. Considerable time was given over to finalising Open Session and Workshop arrangements. However, there was also sufficient time to discuss future conferences, and in Bangkok the Section is planning an Open Session on the topic of "Knowledge and Skills for Librarians Working with Disadvantaged User Groups" and a poster session on dyslexia.
Project leaders presented progress reports, and plans for new projects were discussed. A funding proposal for the production of a Section resource book was submitted. The resource book would include a history of the LSDP Section as well as an index of relevant IFLA conference papers and an annotated subject bibliography. There are also plans to develop a dyslexia project.
1999 is an election year and the Section is therefore making plans to recruit new Section members and Standing Committee members. The next Standing Committee meeting will be held in Aberystwyth, Wales, in March 1999.
Joint workshop between Section of Libraries Serving Disadvantaged Persons and Section of Libraries for the Blind:
Readers with Special Needs: Their Library Service Needs and Experiences
The two IFLA Sections have many common interests, and joint ventures such as workshops provide an excellent opportunity for sharing ideas and experiences. This workshop was no exception and with approximately 70 participants from more than 30 countries, it generated some very fruitful discussions. The scale of the workshop made it impossible to include a paper on every user group under consideration, and the organisers had therefore had to be very selective in their choice of speakers. With an emphasis on audience participation, however, there was ample opportunity to exchange ideas and the discussion was inclusive of all readers with special needs. The workshop was led by Sue Lithgow, Chair of the Section of Libraries Serving Disadvantaged Persons, and Beatrice Christensen Sköld, Chair of the Section of Libraries for the Blind. The workshop papers will be posted on IFLANET.
La moral de la necesidad: información en los servicios bibliotecarios para personal en condiciones desventajosas
by José Díaz Roque
"Títulos dan los reyes; pero de ennoblecimiento de alma, ninguno mayor que el que se saca de los libros" (José Marti).
Todos los hombres casi siempre necesitamos algo. Es la necesidad actuante y actuada, asumida en la realización o la espera, la que probablemente devenga en el incentivo más interno de desarrollo, a la par que es, cuando no se alcanza, el mayor obstáculo de entorpecimiento, y cuando se obtiene en demasía, la fuente de aguas más revueltas que obstruye el propio desarrollo. Por ello, la necesidad, como todo, tiene un contenido moral y, por tanto, una escala de valores. Tiene, en el sustrato de esa escala, entre otros componentes insoslayables, su dignidad y su decoro, su derecho; su entrega y su pudor.
Casi siempre se considera que las necesidades del "yo" son más importantes que las del "otro", lo cual muestra un sentido de pertenencia razonable de la variable "individuo" que nunca debería entrar en contradicción con la variable "comunidad". Cuando esto acontece el egoísmo prima y la moral de la necesidad se carga de individualismo. Por el contrario cuando se impone, hasta convertirse en ley, la necesidad de la comunidad anulando la del individuo, se transita hacia un proceso de despersonalización, tan dañino como los desafueros del egoísmo. En nuestro mundo actual se andan estos caminos, a veces en correlación temporal y espacial, con tal afinidad que espantan los razonamientos tan disímiles e iguales en sus extremos. La moral de la necesidad en nuestros tiempos todavía participa del lado más negativo que tuvo en el pensamiento grecolatino.
Todos los hombres necesitan información y tienen derecho a ello, como también todos deben transmitir la información que reciben. Es la moral del derecho y la moral del deber, que como individuos de una comunidad y seres humanos de una humanidad (que desconcierta ante la satisfacción en demasía de la necesidad - la cual llega a la destrucción del mundo que la sustenta - y desconcierta doblemente ante la imposibilidad de satisfacer las necesidades de otros), se ven obligados a asumir en uno u otro sentido. Si se aceptara con suficiente rango de decisión, tanto en el individuo como en la sociedad, el pudor de la necesidad, punto inicial y cotidiano de su dignidad y decoro, las medidas se acercarían mucho más a la moral de la necesidad como parte de sus concepciones éticas.
La ética de la necesidad se hace imprescindible para abordar y entender esta problemática. Puede resultar lo más cierto, en medio de tantas posibles y reales confusiones, que todos los hombres necesitan de la información, y como hemos dicho, ante la misma tienen sus derechos y sus deberes, en tanto seres individuales y seres sociales. Pero de entre nosotros ¿quiénes son aquellos que más la necesitan? (Pregunta que porta la relatividad propia que le da la profundidad y el entramado complejo de los conceptos ético-sociológicos). Mejor aún, pero de entre nosotros ¿quiénes son aquellos que más necesitan que la información llegue a ellos?
Colocado desde la óptica que les presento este fenómeno, pudiéramos considerar que los hombres que más necesidad tienen que llegue a ellos la información son los que se encuentran en una situación desventajosa desde el punto de vista social y biológico. No por conmiseración, no por pena, sino por el grado de justicia humana que esta actitud implica y reclama.
Si verdaderamente pretendemos alcanzar una actitud humanista y humanitarista, tanto en la variable "individuo" como en la variable "comunidad" (unidas, para suerte del desarrollo, como concepto y realidad sociológicos y culturales), no cabe otra asunción del fenómeno, aun con sus matices teóricos, que la que considera los más necesitados a los que viven junto a nosotros en una condición desventajosa, porque nosotros en mayor o menor medida tenemos a nuestra disposición todos los accesos, real o potencialmente, a la información, mientras que ellos, o están limitados y requieren que la misma se presente en un soporte diferente y con equipamiento más sofisticado, o esperan por ella porque la situación les impide ir en su búsqueda. Pero además, la propia condición que los caracteriza hace de la información y la lectura una necesidad que puede paliar su situación, adueñándose de una comprensión más profunda y llegando, en muchos casos, a transformar su actitud ante la condición desventajosa. Esa condición desventajosa como se sabe puede ser tansitoria o permanente, lo cual tiene diferentes implicaciones para la característica de la información y la lctura, para la labor del trabajador de la información y para la tecnología empleada.
La moral de la necesidad de la información, y como parte esencial de ésta la de la lectura, abarca desde la Comunicación y la Informática hasta el trabajador de la información. Este aspecto de la Etica marca tanto la profesión bibliotecaria como a la Ciencia de la Información y llega al plano de la Comunicación en su sentido más general. La teoría bibliotecológica sobre el trabajo con los lectores es, tal vez, la que pueda explicar mejor dicho aspecto, precedente necesario para razonar sobre la problemática de los lectores en condiciones desventajosas y los servicios bibliotecarios que los mismos requieren.
La primera condición desventajosa en este mundo nuestro, demasiado cargado de desigualdades de todo tipo, las cuales dañan las diferenciaciones que singularizan la diversidad de individuos y de culturas, está en la situación desfavorable en cuanto al desarrollo económico y social de un grupo de países. El subdesarrollo agrava la situación desventajosa de los lectores en condiciones desventajosas. Mas, por otro lado y de forma general, este mundo nuestro diseñado para personas en condiciones normales impone barreras de todo tipo a aquellas otras que nos venimos refiriendo. La principal barrera está según nuestro criterio, en la jerarquización de la moral de las necesidades informativas. La tierra, y en particular, el universo de la información, deberá rediseñarse teniendo muy presente que junto a nosotros viven ciegos y débiles visuales, sordos e hipoacúsicos, retrasados mentales, discapacitados físico-motores, ampliopes, disléxicos, presos, hospitalizados y ancianos. Realidad no virtual, sino real, de laque podemos y, en algunos casos, participaremos todos.
En este sentido la UNESCO y la Federación Internacional de Asociaciones e Instituciones Bibliotecarias (IFLA) han acumulado una profunda experiencia y deberían ser más escuchadas y apoyadas para bien del mejoramiento ético de la actividad humana y bibliotecaria de los hombres.
Muchas investigaciones y llamados han insistido en las barreras arquitectónicas, sociales, laborales y psicológicas con las que se enfrentan en su existencia cotidiana todos estos seres, y algunos logros se han obtenido, pero para nosotros la principal barrera está en el propio mundo de la información y la bibliotecología, donde la lógica matemática de la cantidad vence a la lógica ética de la calidad. Como existe una mayor cantidad de lectores en condiciones normales, son éstos más atendidos que los otros. No debía ser así, contra toda lógica matemática.
La experiencia acumulada en la atención a los lectores en condiciones desventajosas nos permite enumerar lo que se hace en función de sus necesidades informativas y de lectura por un lado, lo que no se puede hacer por las carencias de diversa índole, y lo que no se hace porque la atención al otro tipo de lector mayoritario desplaza recursos en varios sentidos. Hablo del mundo en general. En nuestros países la situación se complica aun cuando las pretensiones y los objetivos trazados sean otros.
El ciego que quiere leer en braille un libro porque necesita meditarlo o estudiarlo y el título no existe en nuestro fondo; el sordo que quiere hacer una consulta y el bibliotecario no puede comunicarse con él; el discapacitado físico-motor que debe llamar desde la puerta de la biblioteca porque no puede por sí mismo entrar en ésta; el retrasado mental que requiere un nivel determinado de lectura y en el fondo bibliotecario no hay apenas lectura adecuada; el recluso que no tiene todavía biblioteca ni bibliotecario o si espera la visita de éste no llega porque razones económicas la impiden; el hospitalizado que busca en la lectura mitigar el dolor y no la recibe de forma sistemática como desea; el anciano que leyó tanto y ya apenas puede con sus cansados ojos hacerlo, pensando cada vez más en un fin que se aproxima; son parte de las necesidades reales de información y los recursos imprescindibles para prestar este servicio bibliotecario.
Sé que se hace por todos estos lectores, pero nos interesa en este caso lo que todavía no se hace y pudiera hacerse si las condiciones lo permitieran. Lo que se hace es bueno pero pudiera ser mejor porque falta mucho por hacer con este tipo de lector. Porque si aceptamos que todo ser humano experimenta de una u otra forma el dolor y el sufrimiento (dolores corporales, morales y espirituales) en la propia vida y no puede dejar de interrogarse sobre su significado, pues el dolor es un misterio, y el ser humano es ante todo un ser y un estar, y en ambas circunstancias se manifiesta con la mayor simpleza del mundo a la par que con su mayor misterio, pues éste se lo transmiten el propio ser y estar; si aceptamos que la lectura buena, afín y bella forma parte de una gracia interior que desarrolla el hombre y puede, en cierta forma, paliar el dolor y el sufrimiento, que si aquella se detiene en la gracia exterior ayuda, pero no complementa, porque el ser y el estar son circunstancias internas y externas y hacia amos estados debe ser dirigida la lectura; si creemos que la lectura es una comprensión intelectual, una comprensión emocional, una comprensión en acciones y una comprensión intuitiva de la realidad, que ayuda al hombre a ser sujeto y no objeto de su enterno social; si sabemos que la lectura no es una vara mágica, ni panacea, ni piedra filosofal, ni el non plus ultra de las realizaciones, mas es un empeño individual y colectivo que alivia y regocija, da libertad en la responsabilidad, y fuerza, da confianza y abre horizontes, entonces, la necesidad de información para poder leer se convierte de hecho en una plataforma de contenido ético para todos los lectores y en especial para aquellos en condiciones desventajosas. El documento así puede ser la inmediatez al alcance de la mano, para contribuir con una "cultural moral y una civilización universalmente humana" porque sirve, entre otras cosas, para acompañar en todo momento: "estuve enfermo y me visitaron" (Mt.25,36), "...para anunciar a los cautivos la libertad..." (Lc. 4,18). "Los años santifican; los años embellecen; los años como aliento poderoso, soplan sobre el espíritu,..." (José Martí, O.C. t. 14, p. 396). "Las sombras tienen su poemas, el espíritu sus conmociones, y la compasión sus lágrimas. Todo esto se siente, y muchas cosas se aman, ante esos seres abrazados por su propia luz,..." (José Martí. "La Escuela de sordomudos". En: Ideario pedagógico, Imprenta Nacional de Cuba, 1961.-- p. 210)
La moral de la necesidad...
Defendiendo el principio de la moral de la necesidad en cuanto a la información, estamos defendiendo el humanismo de la teoría bibliotecológica y de la actividad bibliotecaria; defendiendo a los lectores en condiciones desventajosas, más que beneficiar a los mismos en su sentido práctico de información y lectura, el beneficio principal lo recibimos todos: el tibio sol iluminará, y la paz de lo bien hecho levantará con mayor fortaleza en sus alas la digna y necesaria profesión del bibliotecario.
English summary:
The author deals with the moral and ethical considerations that the library and information professional must face when accepting the premise that all people have a need for and a right to information - and especially so, persons with disabilities. He examines how this assumption becomes particularly complex and difficult to integrate into librarianship in developing nations where so many different needs compete with ethical and moral imperatives. The author concludes that information services to disadvantaged persons will not gain their rightful and equal place within the profession until this higher level of ethical awareness has been reached.
More on the "New Technology -- Friends or Foe" Subject
Are your public access computer terminals accessible? New adaptive technologies can be a boon for disabled library patrons -- particularly for those with visual handicaps and hearing impairments. In the fall 1998 issue of Communiqué, the newsletter of the Wisconsin Association of Public Librarians, Wisconsin Library Trustees Association Chair Don Bulley outlined a few examples:
Computers can produce text as large as needed -- a godsend to the visually impaired and some senior citizens. There are glare reduction and contrast enhancing techniques as well as speech synthesizers (which "read" the screen and keyboard inputs aloud) and keyboards with large letters and/or embossed marking. Other programs convert text to Braille and print Braille on special printers. An catalog of adaptive technology is available at http://www.closingthegap.com/.
Don't forget to make public access terminals accessible to wheelchair patrons, too. Adjustable tables, which accommodate various disabilities are very expensive, but drafting tables, which have a wide range of adjustments, are available at much lower costs. Webpages with lots of graphics are great for those without impairments, but they constitute a barrier for the visually impaired using a speech synthesizer. A program which scans webpages and makes suggestions on making them more accessible, Text Only Maker, is available at http://lunch.ncsa.uiuc.edu/tom/.
HOSPITAL LIBRARIES IN SWEDEN
by Birgitta Irvall
Introduction
Many hospital libraries in Sweden were established in the 1920s and 1930s. In the 1960s hospital care was expanded and many new hospitals were built and old one expanded. This trend continued until the late 1980s, and both medical and patient libraries experienced growth in physical space, staffing, and collections. In 1992 the responsibility for care of elderly people in residential facilities was transferred from the counties to the municipalities as was the long term care of mentally ill and mentally retarded persons. This meant that nursing homes were not regarded as hospitals any more. The 1990s experienced severe budget cuts for hospitals all over Sweden; entire hospitals were closed, others reduced in-patient services significantly. In 1997 there were 168 hospital libraries, which is 30 % less than in 1991.
Hospitals in Sweden
In Sweden health care is the responsibility of county governments. There are very few private hospitals and health care centers. From 1991 to 1994 the average hospital stay fell from 16.2 to 8.3 days. Today it is down to 2-3 days. Some smaller hospitals have been shut down and the large university hospitals have concentrated specialist care to very few units. The number of hospital beds have been reduced from 100,000 in 1990 to 46,000 in 1994. Cuts are still being made, but at a slower rate.
Hospital Libraries
There are three different models for hospital libraries in Sweden: 1) The medical libraries serving the medical staff. These libraries are funded and operated by the hospitals themselves and are fairly safe from budget cuts. 2) Then there are patient libraries not connected to the medical libraries. Most of them are funded by the hospitals but operated by the local public library under a contractual arrangement. The public library provides the staff. These types of libraries have had severe budget cuts in the 1990s. 3) The last type of hospital library, funded and operated by the hospital, is a combined model, catering to both to medical staff and patients; lately the patient services have been reduced but not as severely as those operated by the public libraries.
The patient libraries in the large specialized hospitals in the county of Stockholm have been particularly hard hit. In the 1970s and 80s these libraries had good locations within the hospital complex, adequate collections of fiction and nonfiction books, talking books, and musical recordings. They were open all day and had a staff of 3-4 librarians and 2-4 assistants. The librarians visited all wards weekly with a book trolley. There were also deposit collections on the wards and in the waiting rooms.
Consumer Information for Patients
In the 1980s, a couple of libraries began providing consumer health information to patients and their families. Of course, patient libraries had always included medical literature in their collections, but now the libraries made a special effort to offer consumer packaged health information written for the lay person.
The two combined libraries in Falun and Västervik developed a database of brochures, articles and books with medical information suitable for patients. Both the search software and the database were marketed to other libraries for a fee. Later another medical library started a similar database that is now available on the Internet. Other hospitals have chosen to offer consumer health information through channels not connected with the libraries. They often use nurses as information providers and have delegated the library staff to secondary roles. Typical examples are the university hospital in Linköping and the Huddinge hospital where consumer information centers have replaced the former libraries.
Patient Library Services in the 1990s
Some patient libraries suffered cut of 50-75%. Some were moved to unsuitable locations far from patients. In the Huddinge hospital (the largest in Stockholm county with 1000 beds) there are now only two librarians (one part time) and no assistants. Most books have been placed on shelves on the wards. These books are not deposit collections and are not exchanged regularly. Some new popular titles are purchased from time to time. The librarians go to a few wards with a book trolley, e.g., the children's ward and the cancer ward. But there is no central catalogue of the dispersed collections. In Södersjukhuset, another large city hospital in Stockholm with 562 beds, only one librarian serves all patients from the medical library. She buys new books, goes to the children's ward every week and serves customers in the library.
These are only a few examples of the severe budget cuts over the last years that have impacted on library services to patients. The hospital librarians have fought hard to preserve these services since they know how important books are for their patients. The Swedish Library Association also targeted hospital libraries in 1997 in order to garnish support through special hearings and articles in the library press.
Today hospital libraries must try to find new ways to serve patients, even those who stay only a few days in the hospital. Such methods may consist of deposit collections of current and popular titles on the wards and in the waiting rooms, combined with regular visits by librarians to the bedside. Adaptability is crucial to the survival of patient library services.
New Resources and Useful Titles
JUST THE RIGHT TOY
A joint initiative of the Toy Manufacturers of America (TMA) and the American Foundation for the Blind has produced an excellent catalog of commercially available toys which enhance the quality of play for children who are blind, have low vision, or other special needs. The toys were evaluated by teams of experts which included the children themselves, and were chosen because they talk or produce sounds, have bright colors, high contrast and emit light, offer a variety of interesting surfaces and textures, stimulate thinking and creativity, encourage movement and exploration, and promote cooperation, sharing and social growth, and develop awareness of people, places and things. Many of the durable, non-battery-powered toys would be stellar attractions in the library children's department. The whole catalog is available on the Web Click on Industry Publications. You can request a free print Guide toToys for Children Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired by contacting the American Foundaton for the Blind, 11 Penn Plaza, Suite 300, New York, NY1000, USA.
NEW VIDEO
Reaching Out: A Creative Guide for Designing Programs for Persons Who are Blind or Visually Impaired. Available in VHS or PAL format for US$26.95 from AFB Press,11 Penn Plaza, Suite 300, New York, NY 10001, USA. The tape is in color and is 22 minutes.
The advertising material states "This video and accompanying manual is a creative package for making information in cultural programs and facilities accessible to people who are blind or visually impaired. Created especially for libraries, museums, and everyone whose mission involves providing information to the community, Reaching Out offers practical design and program solutions and provides answers to many of the accessibility questions librarians, museum directors and exhibit consultants have been asking."
Digital Talking Books: Planning for the Future. Published by the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress, Washington D.C., USA, 1998.
A seventy-two page report outlining both the scope of activity and steps required to develop digital talking books for America's talking-book program has been released by the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLSBPH). A series of seven articles outlines these details and discusses consumer involvement in technology planning and design.
Internet Access for the Visually Impaired Reviewed
A review in Centre Software (44) of three screen readers and two talking web browsers used with Microsoft Explorer found that talking web browsers are the best way of accessing the web. For more information on Centre Software contact the Research Centre for the Education of the Visually Handicapped at the University of Birmingham, UK.
'Disability Resources' Librarians Connection:
www.disabilityresources.org/DRMlibs.html
This website is maintained by Disability Resources Monthly (DRM), and on a recent posting on the LINK-UP listserv (unfortunately now discontinued), the editors described their library related site as follows: 'Disability Resources believes that libraries can play a vital role in connecting people with disabilities with information that can help them lead productive, independent lives. In fact, we started this section of our web site because the editor of Disability Resources Monthly (DRM) is a librarian, and because so many of the organisations that subscribe to DRM are libraries. Look on these pages for information that can help you make your library more accessible and inviting to patrons with disabilities.'
Bobby Patrol
Bobby is a web-based public service that analyzes web pages for their accessibility to people with disabilities as well as their compatibility with various browsers. Offered by the Center for Applied Special Technology, a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to expand opportunities for people with disabilities through innovative uses of computer technology, Bobby was designed to provide feedback to people and organizations curious about whether their web sites are accessible for a variety of special groups. The analysis is based on the working draft of the W3C's WAI Page Author guidelines with the Page Authoring Working Group's latest revisions. (See the web site for further information) All pages on a Bobby-analysed web site must meet these requirements to display the Bobby Approved icon. For more information visit their web site http://www.cast.org/bobby/index.html
Two interesting abstracts from Disability & Society, vol 13, no. 3, June 1998 (Carfax Publishing Ltd, PO Box 25, Abingdon, Oxforshire, OX14 3UE, UK) www.carfax.co.uk
Focusing on Disability and Access in the Built Environment (Abstract)
by Rob Imrie & Marion Kumar, pp. 357-374
This paper provides a documentation and discussion of the diverse experiences that different disabled people have with regards to access in the built environment. It begins by outlining the various ways in which disabled people's access needs and requirements are articulated in public policies and practices towards the development and regulation of the built environment. As the material indicates, disabled people's needs are poorly articulated and/or represented in the design and development of the built environment while the regulatory controls which oversee disabled people's access are weak. In the second part of the paper, disabled people's values, attitudes and practices toward access in the built environment are discussed by referring to the findings of focus group research. The material shows that many disabled people feel estranged and oppressed by facets of the built environment and generally feel powerless to do anything about it. We conclude by suggesting a number of ways of interconnecting the design and implementation of public policy towards the built environment with the daily lived experiences of disabled people.
Outside Looking In? Studies of the Community Integration of People with Learning Disabilities (Abstract)
by Fiona Myers, Alastair Ager, Patricia Kerr & Susan Myles, pp. 389-413
The paper reviews research exploring the degree of community integration of people with learning disabilities. In the majority of studies reviewed 'integration' is measured in terms of the activities undertaken within the community and/or the character of personal and social relationships. Although in much of the work the focus on these indicators of outcome is informed by the value assumptions embodied in the principle of normalisation, the paper begins by drawing attention to the potentially contested nature of these assumptions. This is followed by a description and a critique of studies of community integration. The picture which emerges is of the apparently continued gap between being physically within and socially a part of the community. The paper highlights some of the issues this raises for service.
Literacy, Access and Libraries Among the Language Minority Population.
Rebecca Constantino, editor. Scarecrow Press, 1998. ISBN 0-8108-3418-9. US$30
This volume addresses the issue of literacy from the viewpoint of immigrant and minority language students. Contributions include Spanish language literacy and school and community libraries; secondary ESL students' understandings and beliefs about public and school libraries; adult immigrants; the role of the school library. Intended for a North American readership, it might spark ideas in school and public librarians in other parts of the world.
(From the Library Link Professional Bookshelf at the MCB Press web site at
http://www.mcb.co.uk/liblink/bookshelf.html)
New Discussion List: Deaf Empowerment and Advancement Fellowship International List
People who join this list are able to talk about the challenges experienced by deaf and hard of hearing people in developing countries. Possible topics include education, employment opportunities, civil rights, technology, sign language research, access to trained interpreters, access to health, mental health and other social services, and any other issue that affects deaf and hard of hearing people in developing countries. Both a regular version and a digest version are available. To subscribe to the regular version send email to waste@waste.org with the following command in the body of your message: subscribe deafintl your@email.address. To subscribe to the digest version send email to waste@waste.org with the following command in the body of your email: subscribe deafintl-digest
INFORMATION REQUESTS
Library Service to Older Adults
The American Library Association's Library Service to an Aging Population Committee IS interested in making some contacts with libraries, librarians, library educators or library agencies that have done the following:
- Provide computer and INTERNET classes for older adults
- Have web sites that target older adults
- Have developed guidelines or standards for services to older adults
- Identify themselves as being a large, unique, or model program that serves older adults
- Written articles and/or book(s) on library service to older adults
- Teach library science classes on older adults
Some of this information will help the committee in developing a pre-conference for the ALA year 2000 conference and a program presentation at IFLA 2001 in Boston.
Please contact: Allan M. Kleiman, Director
Cranbury Public Library,
23 North Main Street,
Cranbury, NJ 08512, USA
Tel: 609.655.0555;
Fax: 609.655.2858
E-mail: amkleiman@gorgon.com
Prison Libraries in Eastern Europe
Brenda Vogel, Coordinator of Correctional Libraries in Maryland, USA, is requesting information on prison library service in Eastern Europe. She would like to know to what extent such libraries exist, in which countries, and the names & addresses of persons/agencies responsible for these services. Please contact her as soon as possible:
Brenda Vogel,
Correctional Education Libraries,
200 W. Baltimore Street,
Baltimore, MD 21210, USA
FAX: 410.333.2254
E-MAIL: bvogel@msde.state.md.us
STANDING COMMITTEE MEMBERS 1997-1999
Officers
Sue Lithgow (Chair)
University of Wales
Open Learning Unit
Llanbadarn Fawr. Aberystwyth
Ceredigion SY23 3AS, Wales, UK
sdl994@aber.ac.uk
Bror Tronbacke (Secretary)
LL-Stiftelsen
Easy-to Read Foundation
Box 4035
S-102 61 Stockholm, Sweden
bror.tronbacke@llstiftelsen.se
Vibeke Lehmann (Info. Coordinator)
Department of Corrections
P.O. Box 7925
Madison, WI 53707, USA
vibeke.lehmann@doc.state.wi.us
Committee Members
Carme Mayol Fernandez
E.U.J. Rubio I Balaguer de
Biblioteconomia I Documentacio
Universitat de Barcelona
Melcior de Palau, 140
08014 Barcelona, Spain
mayol@eubd.ub.es
Teresa Pagès
Biblioteca Popular Can Castells
Lluis Castells 16
08830 St. Boi de Llobregat
Barcelona, Spain
pagest@diba.es
Luisa Toran
Consejería de Cultura
Avenue de Europa 49
29003 Malaga, Spain
mtoranm@nexo.es
Peter Craddock
Share the Vision
36 Circular Road
Castlerock, County Londonderry
BT 51 4 XA Northern Ireland, UK
p.craddock@dial.pipex.com
Nancy Mary Panella
Bolling Memorial Medical Library
St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital Center
1111 Amsterdam Avenue
New York, NY 10025, USA
slhbml4@metgate.metro.org
Gary E. Strong
Queens Borough Public Library
89-11 Merrick Blvd. Jamaica, NY 11432, USA
gstrong@queens.lib.ny.us
Birgitta Irvall
Oesteråker Public Library
Box 504
S-184 25 Aakersberga, Sweden
birgitta.irvall@osteraker.se
Claudie Guerin
Assistance Publique
Hopitaux de Paris
10 rue des Fosses St. Marcel
75005 Paris, France
claudie.guerin@sap.ap-hop.fr
Gyda Skat Nielsen
Sölleröd Public Libraries
Holte Midtpunkt 23
2840 Holte, Denmark
gsn@sollerod.dk
Vera Eltsova Strelkova
Central Clinical Hospital Library of
the President of the Russian Federation
c/o Russian State Library
3/5 Vozdvizhenka
Moscow 101000, Russia
Corresponding Members
Dimitriyka Stefanova
St.st. Cyril & Methodius National Library
Boulevard Vassil Levski 88
1504 Sofia, Bulgaria
José Díaz Roque
Bibliotéca Provincial
Calle 37 No. 5615
e/ 56 y 58
CP 55100 Cienfuegos, Cuba
Advisors
Ka-Jo Carlsen
Högåsvn 38
1352 Kolsås, Norway
John Day
Gallaudet University Library
800 Florida Avenue, N.E.
Washington D.C. 20002, USA
john.day@gallaudet.edu
Anne M. Galler
Concordia University-Library Studies
1455 de Maisonneuve St. West
Montreal, QUE H3G 1M8, Canada
amg@alcor.concordia.ca
Newsletter of the IFLA Section of Libraries Serving Disadvantaged Persons
Edited by Vibeke Lehmann, Department of Corrections
P.O. Box 7925, Madison, WI 53707, USA
FAX: +608.266.5069
E-mail: vibeke.lehmann@doc.state.wi.us
Deadline for spring 1999 issue is May 15, 1999
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