Special Needs and Inclusive Library Services (SNAILS)

This guest post was written by Michèle Freese, Senior Librarian at  Oak Lawn Public Library in Oak Lawn, Illinois. Thank you for sharing your experience with us,  Michèle! When I was in high school in the 1960's, I helped out a classmate, who was deaf, by repeating what the teacher said for her and sharing my notes. My classmate attended Argo Community High School through  A.E.R.O.  -- a special education cooperative in Burbank, Illinois composed of twelve member school districts. The acronym, A.E.R.O., stands for the four high schools in the cooperative – Argo, Evergreen Park, Reavis, and Oak Lawn. Little did I know then that I would also work with A.E.R.O. students as an adult. In the late seventies and early eighties, I supervised A.E.R.O. student workers at the Bridgeview Public Library where I was the Youth Services Librarian. Now, at the Oak Lawn Public Library , I have an even closer relationship with A.E.R.O. staff and students. At least twice a y...