Disability Resources

One of the important roles libraries have in our society is to provide access to information for all. Not everyone's needs are the same, and libraries should make every effort to meet those needs. Disability Resources Monthly provides numerous resources on its Web site, including "Librarians' Connections": www.disabilityresources.org/DRMlibs.html

The Web site could certainly be more attractive, but it nonetheless provides a valuable resource for librarians. As is pointed out on the Web site, providing these resources for librarians is important to Disability Resources. The editor of DRM is a librarian, and many of the subscribers to the periodical are libraries. Disability Resources believes that libraries "can play a vital role in connecting people with disabilities with information that can help them lead productive, independent lives."

Just by browsing through the Web site's resources, you'll see that there is a huge amount of information available online. Disability Resources helpfully brings together and organizes the best and most useful to libraries.

The "General Information" page alone is full of useful links, categorized by "Web Sites," "Policies, Standards, and Guidelines," "Articles, Speeches, and Documents," and more. This is a good place to start. Other pages provide links to listservs, professional organizations, and pages with resources specifically for resources to assist patrons with visual and hearing disabilities.

Overall, this is a great place for library workers to go to find out how to better serve patrons with disabilities. Bookmark it and make it the first place to check for online resources.