Resources for Librarians who have
Students with Disabilities Pathfinder
This is a pathfinder for librarians looking to
redesign their library or their lesson plans to better accommodate students
with disabilities. Though this is primarily targeting librarians in school
libraries, any librarian, or educator can utilize these materials to make their
environments and lessons more accessible to a great population.
Print Resources
Below
are encyclopedias and book resources that can be used as a good starting off
point when learning background information about disabilities.
Reference Books:
Encyclopedia of Disability
Encyclopedia of disability. (2006). Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications.
This is an expansive, very detailed
source on everything to do with disability. The encyclopedia attempts to cover
as many regions of the world and types of disabilities as possible. Readers
will find entries on specific disabilities, famous people who had disabilities
and other issues in the disability field. This text is perfect for librarians
who have students with disabilities because it will give them good background
information on a specific disability. In addition, this encyclopedia comes
complete with a number of primary sources involving people with disabilities
which could be used in collaboration with general subject area teachers.
The Complete Directory for People with
Disabilities 2013: A Comprehensive Source Book for Individuals and
Professionals
Mars, L. (Ed.). (2012a). The Complete Directory for People With Disabilities 2013: A Comprehensive Source Book for Individuals
and Professionals (21st ed.). Grey House Pub.
This
source provides comprehensive information on resources for people with
disabilities. Providing information on lawyers, education policies, films, and
manufacturers of items that are specifically for people who are disabled, this
resource gives contact information and general information on any type of
resource someone with a disability may need. This resource can provide
information for a librarian’s their students, or for parents of the students
who might need further information. It serves as a good informational reference
for organizations and groups that may provide further information to make one’s
library more accessible.
Books:
Different Brains, Different Learners
Jensen,
E. (2010). Different brains, different
learners: how to reach the hard to reach (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin.
While other resources may explain what
a disability is, this resource serves to explain why a student with a certain
disability will act and learn a certain way. This resource focuses on how the
brain works for different kinds of learners. Included are chapters on Dyslexia,
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Emotional disability and various
auditory disorders. This offers a unique perspective in what’s going on in a
child’s brain. It also offers solutions on how to best reach these types of
learners.
Education, Disability and Social Policy
Ruebain,
D., & Haines, S. (editors) (2011). Education, disability and social
policy . (1st ed.).Bristol,
UK: The Policy Press.
This resource provides great insight
in various areas of disability and education. It discusses the history of
disability and education, inclusion in classrooms and includes a section of
various challenges students with disabilities face. The section on inclusion in
classrooms provides excellent information on the history of inclusion as well
as examples of how inclusion works and does not work.
Implementing Cost-Effective
Assistive Computer Technology (How-to-Do-It Manuals) (How to Do It Manuals for
Librarians)
Vincent,
J. (2012). Implementing cost-effective assistive computer technology: A
how-to-do-it manual for librarians.
New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers Inc.
This is a great
book for librarians starting to add assistive technology, who have not had any
experience with it before. This gives a good overview of various assistive
computer technologies. This resource also discusses budgeting and cost issues
related with implementing these solutions into one’s library.
Web Resources:
AbleData: Assistive Technology Products, New,
Resources
AbleData:
Assistive Technology Products, News, Resources. (2012). Retrieved November 28, 2012, from http://www.abledata.com/
This
website is useful for all librarians, teachers, educators or anyone who will be
working with students with disabilities. This website depicts all types of
assistive technologies that students with disabilities use to make learning
more accessible. The website allows you to pick items based on the type of
disability they go with or just browse generally. Each item is given a
description, price and how it can be used.
Americans with Disability Act Homepage
US
Department of Justice. (2012, Dec 4). ADA home page. Retrieved from http://www.ada.govv
This
website is run by the United States Government. Providing detailed information
on the Americans with Disability Act, this is a good resource for librarians
looking to understand the law and how it affects them in their professions. It
includes links to government documents such as ADA Questions and Answers, or Guide
to Disability Rights Laws.
Book Share
Bookshare.org. (2012) Accessible books and
periodicals for readers with print disabilities bookshare Retrieved
November 28, 2012 from https://www.bookshare.org/
This is a website that requires
membership, but allows anyone with membership to download textbooks, books, or
newspapers and read them on a device that could help with their disability; for
example, a computer with text-to-speech software, an iPad, etc. It also should
be noted that Book Share is free to K-12 public and private schools with students
with disabilities. This site is something for a school librarian to consider
utilizing as a resource for her/his students.
National Dissemination Center for Children with
Disabilities
NICHCY.
(n.d.). A-Z Topics — National Dissemination Center for Children with
Disabilities. National Dissemination
Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY). Retrieved November 28, 2012, from http://nichcy.org/publications/topics-az
This website
purposely serves parents, teachers, educators or anyone who would like to
better understand children with disabilities. This particular website is run
similarly to an encyclopedia with A-Z topics that a viewer can choose from.
However, these entries focus more directly on children and therefore have a
great deal of information on schools and policies on disabilities for schools.
This is a good website for librarians to browse if they have questions on
policy, or terms they are unfamiliar with, for example “Least Restrictive
Environment” or what the disabilities defined by I.D.E.A are.
National Instruction Materials Access Center (NICMA)
NIMAC.
(2012, Dec). NIMAC: National instruction materials access center .
Retrieved from http://www.nimac.us/
This
is a free, federally funded depository that takes files and puts them in a
format known as NICMAS or national instruction materials accessibility
standards. These formats are a starting point and from these this website is
able to create Braille materials, large print materials, or any type of
material to help someone who is visually or print disabled.
Project ENABLE
This is a website created by Dr.
Ruth Smalls of Syracuse University. The aim of this website is for school
librarians to log in and take the course. The website holds information about
IEPs, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (I.D.E.A) and other relevant
topics that a school librarian might be expected to know. This course is great
for librarians with no experience with students with disabilities, but also
serves as a good refresher for a librarian who has forgotten some of the laws,
policies or educational practices that revolve around students with
disabilities.
Teacher Vision- Children’s Books About Disabilities
Children’s
Books About Disabilities -TeacherVision.com. (2012). Teacher Vision.
Retrieved November 28, 2012, from http://www.teachervision.fen.com/learningdisabilities/reading/5316.html
This
resource provides a list of books that discuss or have main characters who are
disabled. The great thing about this list is it is really comprehensive, giving
a brief description as well as the ISBN and reading level of that book.
IDEA-Building The Legacy of IDEA 2004
US
Department of Education. (n.d.). IDEA-building the legacy of idea 2004.
Retrieved from http://idea.ed.gov/explore/home
This
source holds various resources discussing and relating to the Individuals with
Disability Act of 2004. This source gives information on the updated policies
dealing with disability, but also serves to help educators understand the
I.D.E.A. law. It is consistently updated and helps libraries and schools ensure
their school environment is following I.D.E.A.
Articles and
PDFs
Americans with Disabilities Act 2010 Design Standards
Department
of Justice. (2010). 2010 ADA standards for accessible design. Retrieved
from Federal Register website: http://www.ada.gov/regs2010/2010ADAStandards/2010ADAStandards.pdf
This
site is run by the Department of Justice and this particular page provides a
printable addition of the Americans with Disability Act Design standards for
2010. A downside to this source is it is quite lengthy, however; it does
provide detailed information on what ADA design and building standards are and
what a building (school library) has to do to uphold them.
The Association of Specialized and Cooperative
Library Agencies:
Association
of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies. (2001, January 16). Library Services for People with Disabilities Policy. ASCLA. Retrieved
November 28, 2012, from http://www.ala.org/ascla/asclaissues/libraryservices
The
official opinion on libraries and disabilities as put forth by the American
Library Association (ALA). This article found on the ALA website discusses
policy on library services for people with disabilities. It covers everything
from having library facilities accessible to having ALA publications in several
different formats.
US Department of Education: Free and Appropriate
Public Education for Students with Disabilities
US Department of Education. (2010,
August). Free appropriate public education under section 504 Retrieved from
http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/edlite-FAPE504.html
This document will help provide
background information on education policy related to students with
disabilities. This document explains FAPE, and why school librarians need to
provide adequate resources for students with disabilities that will enable them
to participate equally with non-disabled students. This document describes a
librarian’s duties towards students with disabilities according to the law.
Journal/ Serial Resources
Journals/
Magazines
Disability Studies Quarterly
(2012). Disability
Studies Quarterly, Retrieved from http://dsq-sds.org/
This
is the Disability Studies Quarterly Journal. This journal is published by the
Society for Disability Studies. This
journal is an open access journal that provides information about disability
through a series of articles, interviews and research studies. The articles are
peer reviewed and available full text. This is useful for school librarians who
may want to further their knowledge of the disability field. It can provide
librarians with new ideas on working with students with disabilities.
Databases
The following
are databases that can provide articles, journals and other types of
information on libraries and disability. The following key words can be used to
search these databases for good results.
Key search words: Students with Disabilities AND Library, School
Media Specialist AND Special Education, School Libraries AND Special Education,
Individuals with Disabilities Act AND Libraries, Americans with Disability Act
AND Libraries, Disability , School Media Center AND Special Education, School
Media Specialist AND Disability, Accessibility, Universal Design AND libraries.
Education
Research Complete
Education
research complete [database]. (n.d.). Retrieved November 28, 2012
from http://web.ebscohost.com.libezproxy2.syr.edu/ehost/search/advanced?sid=6d88e86d1de0 4d33-8ec3-113810a13954%40sessionmgr12&vid=1&hid=14
This database
had journals in all areas of education. It will provide a librarian with
comprehensive articles on all types of issues related to disabilities and
school libraries.This resource links to journals such as Library Journal and School Library Monthly.
Education
Full Text
Education Full Text [database]. (n.d)Retrieved November 28th
from http://web.ebscohost.com.libezproxy2.syr.edu/ehost/search/advanced?sid=8c31c3d094e649be-9683-39477585287c%40sessionmgr14&vid=1&hid=14
Another database that provides information on a
wide range of education related topics. However, this database has purely
full-text resources that discuss not only libraries and disability services,
but teaching methods related to disabilities.
Video Resources
Disability Services at ASU Libraries
Disability
Services at ASU Libraries. (2008). Retrieved from http://vimeo.com/1977497
This video discusses disability resources in ASU or Arizona State University, however; a lot of technology and resources that they discuss are great resources for school libraries. They discuss several types of assistive technology and how it helps students with disabilities. This resource is useful because it actually shows images and demonstrations on how people utilize the device, whereas other sources simply mention that it is useful. This would give a school librarian an idea of what might work best with their students.
Kurzweil 3000 v11 - Text-to-Speech -
Complete Overview
Kurzweil 3000
v11- text-to-speech- complete overview. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Xe5Dhf5_mM
A previous resource mentioned above
was Bookshare an organization that provides books that can be read on iPads,
computers, lap tops, etc. One technology that Bookshare utilizes is Kurzweil
3000 which is an text to speech software that allows the computer to read the
books aloud. This tutorial explains in detail how to use Kurzweil and all of
its uses for students with disabilities.
This is useful for librarians and students who have never utilized this
technology before.
Multi-Sensory Story telling
Why
Multi Sensory Story Telling is Important. (2012). Retrieved from http://vimeo.com/36868362
This video discusses how having students
with severe disabilities touch, hear or smell items in the story might get them
more engaged. It might be an idea that librarians might want to bring to their
classrooms or perhaps make a visit to the special education teacher’s room.
This video has a link to the organizations website Touchingstories.org,
which provides explanations on why this works and is a great starting off point
for librarians researching how to include such a practice in their library.
People First Language
People-First Language. (2011).
Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQ0pKPxoyHs&feature=youtube_gdata_player
This
is a Youtube video that describes what people –first language is and why you
need to use it when talking about or to a person with disabilities. This is
essential to anyone who is working with someone who is disabled. This is an
excellent resource because it explains what people-first language is and why it is important to utilize it.
Blog Posts
The e-future
looks Bright –
Strick,
A. (2012, January 5). The e-future looks bright | Booktrust. Bookmark: Books
and Disability. Book Trust. Retrieved
from http://www.booktrust.org.uk/books-and-reading/children/bookmark/blog/285
The
Books and Disability Blog is something a school librarian might want to check
for new ideas involving students with disabilities and how to involve them in
reading and books. This blog post, from the Bookmark: Books and Disability Blog,
discusses the importance of e-books for students with disabilities. This
article discusses how having iPads can be a lot more helpful to a wider variety
of students, especially students with low vision.
Podcasts
How Disabilities
Has Influenced Architecture
Siegel,
R. (n.d.). How The Disabilities Act Has Influenced Architecture : NPR.
Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128778558
This podcast discusses Universal Design.
It not only defines what this concept is, but it also discusses how a library
was designed using the universal design principals. This is a great resource
for a school librarian who is looking to redo their library to promote
accessibility. It will give you a good introduction as to why Universal Design
is so important.
