Special Needs and Inclusive Library Services (SNAILS)

Infiniteach , the developer of accessibility apps for Chicago Children's Museum, Shedd Aquarium, and the Field Museum, has announced the (soft) launch of SensoryCPL, the Thomas Hughes Children’s Library app to support individuals with autism and their families! Co-founder and CEO  Katie Hench  said the goal in launching this free app ( iTunes | Play ) is to help families feel welcomed and supported anytime they visit the library. The app includes text and video social narratives, a customizable visual schedule, an emotions chart, and more. It can be used as a pre-visit planning tool or as a resource to help during a visit. If you have a few minutes, Katie would love to hear your feedback and ideas for the app as it continues to grow and change. Which features do you think are most helpful for families? What other features could we add to support families? What else do you offer at your library that individuals with autism really enjoy / appreciate? ...

Yes, it is true that our fearless leader has left Illinois for Minnesota, but that doesn't mean she is out of reach. On the contrary... Renee Grassi will be presenting a free webinar called Creating Welcoming and Accessible Libraries for Children with Disabilities on Wednesday, April 12, 10:00-11:00am CST  for Minitex , an information and resource sharing program of the Minnesota Office of Higher Education and the University of Minnesota Libraries. Big or small, rural or urban--all public libraries serve children with disabilities in their communities. Librarian and advocate Renee Grassi will show how your library can develop an awareness and an enhanced spirit of inclusion to children with disabilities and their needs for library service. In this workshop, attendees will learn how to perform a community needs assessment and advocate for families, forge new partnerships with other agencies and organizations, and find new and innovative children’s programming and outreach i...

This guest blog post is written by Carli Spina, Head Librarian for Assessment and Outreach at Boston College Libraries . She has extensive experience working on web design and technology projects as well as serving as a coordinator for services to patrons with disabilities. She has taught classes and workshops for librarians, academic staff, and students on a range of topics, including accessibility and web design. Visit Carli's website at http://carlispina.com . Last month, I had the opportunity to talk to the SNAILS Group about Universal Design and how it can be applied to library spaces, programs, and services. Universal Design , a term coined by Ronald Mace , refers to design processes that take into account the needs of all potential users, including those with disabilities, elderly people, individuals who do not speak the dominant local language, and more. It goes beyond typical approaches to accessibility because it is not focused on minimum legal standards or se...

Instructor: Carli Spina Dates: September 5-30, 2016 Credits: 1.5 CEUs Price: $175 Register for this course Approximately 15% of the population worldwide live with some type of disability, making individuals with disabilities an important and often underserved constituency for libraries. Despite this, many libraries overlook simple and affordable measures that could improve their accessibility. In this course, you will learn concrete techniques for improving your library’s accessibility for individuals with a wide range of disabilities. You will learn the meaning of accessibility and universal design and how these apply in a library setting through a combination of readings, hands-on exercises, online discussions, and demonstration videos. Students who complete the assignments will have concrete ideas for integrating accessibility and universal design principles into library workflows. This four-week course will cover techniques and tools for testing webs...

Hosted by ASCLA (Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies) Instructor: Kate Todd Dates: August 1 through August 28, 2016 Cost: $100 for student and retired members; $130 for ASCLA members; $175 for ALA members; $210 for non-ALA members Click here to register   Who should attend? Library staff in schools, public, college or special libraries would benefit from this course.  Staff at all levels, including librarians, support staff and IT staff would be able to apply their learning to work assignments.  Why Closed Captioning? By Kate Todd Library staff have found short instructional videos to be an effective way to help readers use resources, even when the library is closed. However, patrons who are deaf or those with hearing loss cannot get the full benefit unless the videos have captions. Unfortunately, technology has not provided a flawless solution. Speech recognition is still an imperfect tool. Planning and attention to ...

If you are headed to Orlando this month and are interested in learning about accessibility, inclusion, and serving people with disabilities, check out the list of ALA Conference programs below! ASCLA 101 Saturday, June 25 at 10:30 am Rosen Centre, Room Salon 01/02 ASCLA is a small but mighty division! With more than 800 members national and worldwide, ASCLA is home to library consultants, and those that work in state, public, government, prison, and special libraries and cooperatives. Come meet some of our members and hear what they have to say about ASCLA and our diverse Interest Groups and volunteer opportunities. Universal Accessibility Interest Group Meeting Saturday, June 25 at 1 pm Orange County Convention Center, Room W309 Joint ACRL / ASCLA / LITA working group where members work together on projects related to making all kinds of libraries and library services accessible for users with disabilities. We Need Diverse Books and More: Multiple Diversities Cap...

This post was written by Maria Papanastassiou, Early Literacy Services Supervisor at the Arlington Heights Memorial Library in Arlington Heights, IL . For more information about the Arlington Heights Memorial Library's services to families with children with disabilities, check out their Special Child webpage .  Our library was fortunate enough to host a very successful Fairy Tale play exhibit for over two months this past winter.  Crowds of children and their caregivers enjoyed playing with the interactive exhibit pieces from open to close daily .  Due to the high customer traffic and noise levels each day, we wanted to offer an alternative time for exhibit exploration for families with members with special needs.  Our library is open daily at 9 am with the exception of Sundays when we open at noon; w e chose a Sunday morning early opening time of 10:30 am to accommodate this program .     How did we get this program off th...

The Chicago Lighthouse for People Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired  Free Demonstration Day Admission Cost: FREE! Date: Tuesday, May 17 Time: 10 am - 3 pm Location: Chicago Lighthouse North 222 Waukegan Road Glenview, IL 60025 The Chicago Lighthouse for People Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired is hosting a free demonstration day!  Don't miss this chance to see innovative products and enjoy a hands-on experience with the latest in adaptive devices.  You will get a chance to see and interact with a variety of technologies, including: New CCTV Reading Machines Portable Magnifiers Talking Clocks and Watches New Sunwear Independent Living Aids Kitchen Products...and much more! Their technology specialists will even be there to answer questions and work one-on-one to determine the best products for you or your organization.  Click here to get a preview of the products that will be at this event.  The Chicago Lighthouse is a world-renowned s...

Last December, Renee and I had the pleasure of presenting the final webinar in a five-part series celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Americans with Disability Act for Reaching Across Illinois Library System (RAILS). We opened with some statistics about the prevalence of disabilities and then briefly talked about models of service and inclusive technologies that create a welcoming library environment for young patrons. Our favorite part of the presentation was the time spent showcasing the amazing targeted and inclusive programs our SNAILS member libraries are offering children, teens, and young adults. We're so proud of you! We invite you to view the presentation and share it widely. An archive of the webinar, including handouts, is posted on the  RAILS website .

When: Thursday, November 12, 2015 from 1:30 - 3:00 PM CST Registration Information : Click here to register through L2 calendar Webinar Cost: FREE! The majority of library visitors are comfortable navigating their way through the library, approaching staff with questions and using available resources. But for some, these basic library experiences can be intimidating.  Presented by Noelle Burch and Gina Worsham, librarians from Contra Costa County Library System in California, t his webinar will provide participants with the tools to make basic, yet effective changes to their programming in order to create an inclusive library atmosphere for adults with developmental disabilities. The information presented in this webinar will guide library professionals on how best to create and implement a program at their library, as well as helping to identify community partners, perform community outreach and how to effectively create inclusive programming.  For fi...

Looking to learn about outreach and serving patrons inclusively and accessibly at this year's state library conference?  Join other public, school, academic, and special libraries at this year's conference " A Library State of Mind " where we will connect, network and learn together about serving ALL of our community members. Getting Started with Outreach In Your Community  Thursday, October 22 at 10:45 am This interactive class will provide a background in cultural competence and outreach skills as librarians make outreach efforts to underserved and minority populations in their communities. The goal of this course is to offer concrete ideas to enable librarians to initiate outreach programs with minority communities. Topics to be covered include resources for locating community demographics, the importance of developing relationships, the basics of building and developing community-based partnerships, recognition and acceptance of cultural differences,...

 More than 1 out of 10 people in Illinois have a disability.   In recognition of the anniversary of ADA25 , the RAILS library system as partnered with ADA25Chicago to offer professional development and learning opportunities to librarians and library staff about serving people with disabilities.  Here is a snapshot of what is available for you and your staff from now until the end of the year. Webinar: “Beyond Assistive Technology: Improving Library Services to People with Disabilities” Thursday, August 20 from 9:30 – 11:00 a.m. More info: http://www.librarylearning.info/events/?eventID=20212 Webinar: “Autism 101 for Libraries: What is Autism Spectrum Disorder and How Can We Help Students and Families at the Library?” Thursday, September 17, 9:30 – 11:00 a.m. More info: http://www.librarylearning.info/events/?eventID=20211 In-Person Training: “Mental Health Awareness Training for Library Staff” Wednesday, October 7, 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. Loca...

The Metropolitan Mayors Caucus is conducting a survey as part of ADA 25 Chicago to identify best practices in community inclusion for persons with disabilities. RAILS libraries are encouraged to participate. The information will be used to formulate and share best practices for accessibility. Responses are due by Friday, June 5 .  Direct questions to Jeffrey Walter or 312.201.4508 .

This guest post was written by Cate Loveday, Youth Services Associate at Helen Plum Memorial Library .  She will graduate in May, 2015 with her MLIS from Dominican University.  Cate recently attended the 2015 ALA Midwinter Conference in Chicago, Illinois and shares her takeaways from that learning experience.  Thank you, Cate, for sharing such a valuable message! We are Accessibility Advocates for all of our patrons.  Everyone who comes into the library should be able to have access to the materials and programs they need. I realize we understand this, but sometimes it can be challenging to put into the right words.  While I was at ALA Midwinter and attended the Leadership & ALSC meeting, I was able to hear Jenna Nemec-Loise from Everyday Advocacy speak about the benefits of using VBL (Value Based Language) when talking about the services we provide. The idea around VBL is that it shifts the focus away from the program and puts emphasis on th...