DC Public Library (DCPL) has a Center for Accessibility to serve individuals with disabilities. This center does a great job serving patrons in many capacities. But it only has one children’s librarian. This person cannot be expected to serve all 26 DCPL libraries alone so it is imperative that other children’s librarians also be experienced to serve a diverse population.
We say “the library is for everyone,” but what efforts are we making to include all children. DCPL youth services librarians want more experience and training to reach more children. The Library is committed to 1) providing learning opportunities for staff to create more universal design programs; and 2) increasing the number of children with different abilities using our resources.
Professional Development for Staff
To help us with the training component of this endeavor, DCPL worked with Carrie Banks, the Supervising Librarian for Brooklyn Library’s The Place for Children & Teens with Special Needs, and staff from the Division of Early Learning, Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE). Both workshops provide a wealth of helpful information. DCPL Librarians have also been participating in peer learning circles to share knowledge, information on successful programs, challenges and new ideas. And the learning circles are a great way to discuss what was learned in the workshops and the best way to start implementing some of the recommendations.
Suggested Resources
Carrie Banks’s Barrier Busting@Your Library: Making it Work for Youth with Disabilities workshop covers a lot of information. Some of the things learned were current laws, knowledge about various disabilities, appropriate language to use and program ideas with suggested materials to use. She also provided helpful statistics on the population served in DC. Although the OSSE workshop focused on services to young children, it covered how to use universal design and multiple intelligences to create programs for children to participate in multiple environments and have a number of ways to learn and participate. Both workshops stress recognizing and encouraging the learner’s interest to increase motivation and participation.
Libraries looking to increase services and participation from youth with different abilities should contact government agencies and knowledgeable individuals such as Ms. Banks for your professional development efforts. Both of these resources have been very beneficial to DC Public Library.
Carmen Boston is the Children’s Services Coordinator at DC Public Library and a member of the ALSC Library Service to Underserved Children and their Caregivers committee.