Friday, March 31, 2006

Closing the 95 percent gap

Some interesting points from an article in the winter '06 Library Trends:
  • Only 5% of published material worldwide is accessible to people who cannot use print
  • It's estimated that about 10 - 20% of the population have print disabilities
  • A variety of delivery methods to get materials to users is needed including home delivery of materials via mail, electronic delivery via the Internet, or in-library delivery with librarian assistance. One size does not fit all!
  • "The single most important aspect of creating an accessible environment is staff attitude" - YES! and "The presence of assistive technology in and of itself does not guarantee that these students will have access to information technology" - Yes, again!

The article goes on to discuss ways libraries can share resources for those with disabilities as well as challenges to resource sharing, including the lack of standards and diversity of alternate formats. (Epp, MA. "Closing the 95 percent gap: Library resource sharing for people with print disabilities" Library Trends 54, 3: 411-429.)