In discussing the library as an institution, the Rubins address service to people who have disabilities. “The library community has recognized the needs of people with disabilities for many years” (Rubin, 2020, p. 100), but people with disabilities often face barriers to being able to access services.
The Rubins list several ways, as suggested by Lewis (2013), in which libraries can improve services to people with disabilities. These include better communication about services that are available, “ensuring that assistive technologies are readily available and well-maintained,” and that staff are trained in its use (Rubin, 2020, p. 101).
Speaking as a person who has a disability, I appreciate the suggestion that people with disabilities should be involved in staff trainings and in updates to best practices (Kowalsky and Woodruff, 2017) — but I’d go further and recommend that when libraries seek to diversify their workforce, that they make an effort to include people with disabilities, the same way that they take pains to reflect racial demographics and LGBTQIA+ diversity among people who work in their libraries.
References
Kowalksky, M. & Woodruff, J. (2017). Creating inclusive library environments: Plans for serving patrons with disabilities. American Libraries 48(3/4), 60-63. https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/0317-web.pdf
Lewis, J. (2013). Information equality for individuals with disabilities: Does it exist? Library Quarterly 83(3), 121-123. https://doi.org/10.1086/670697
Rubin, R. & Rubin, R. (2020). Foundations of library and information science (5th ed.). ALA Neal-Schuman.
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