Mississippi State University Libraries
Emerging Technologies Summit
(Submitted for presentation)

The Disability Experience in a Post- 2.0 World: Implications for Libraries

“Are social networks accessible?”
“Do people with disabilities use Facebook?”
“How do people who are blind ‘see’ Twitter?”
“Are people with disabilities benefitting from our library’s use of emerging technologies?”

Academic libraries provide a range of services to ensure access to information for library users with disabilities, facilitating equal access through accessible spaces, adaptive technology, and specialized reference, instruction, and other services.  As the use of blogs, wikis, and social/shared bookmarking and networking tools in libraries continues to increase, librarians and other information professionals are coming to realize the importance of making these resources accessible to people with disabilities.

This session will address the accessibility of several widely used web-based tools, including blog publishing platforms, wikis, and social networks.  The disability community’s use of emerging technologies will be discussed, and attendees will leave the session with tools to help them provide greater access for all patrons.

2010 Alabama Library Association Annual Convention

I presented Access to Electronic Resources and Patrons with Disabilities at the 2010 Alabama Library Association Annual Convention.  From the abstract:

As the availability and use of electronic resources in libraries continues to increase, librarians and other information professionals are coming to realize the importance of making these resources accessible to people with disabilities. This session will address the accessibility of Web-based databases and indexes. The recently adopted “Purchasing of Accessible Electronic Resources Resolution” (ALA Council Document #52 Revised, 2009) will be discussed, and attendees will leave the session with tools to help them make better-informed purchasing decisions and ultimately provide greater access for all patrons.

The collection of resources I created as a companion to this AACRL Best Practices Mini-Session is available at http://www.melissafortson.com/access.

2009 Alabama Library Association Annual Convention

Librarian Jane C. Daugherty and I presented The Brewer-Porch Children’s Center Library Initiative: Serving the Needs of a Specialized Community Through Communication and Collection Building at a poster session of the 2009 Alabama Library Association Annual Convention. From the abstract:

In the fall of 2007, the Brewer-Porch Children’s Center did not have a circulating, client-accessible library; by fall of 2008, Brewer-Porch had a working library with a growing collection of children’s and young adult fiction, and Brewer-Porch’s clients were receiving library cards. This library project was conceptualized and implemented by a student of the University of Alabama’s School of Library and Information Studies and facilitated by the receptiveness of the administration at Brewer-Porch. The project included reclaiming a library space, setting up a cataloging system with internet access, assessing the outdated research-based collection, eventually changing collection development gears completely to build a fiction collection for the clients at Brewer-Porch, and cataloging as many items as possible—with no previous experience in any of these areas. Through the project, a mutually beneficial partnership with UA SLIS was forged, and the library is now maintained part-time by an intern from the library school. This poster session will inform you about those challenges, including learning about and becoming involved with a specialized community, adapting the library to the challenges and needs of that community, and utilizing space and time with maximum efficiency. We invite you to learn more about the inspirational story of the
growth of the Brewer-Porch Children’s Center Library.

In its printed form, the poster is 78″ x 40″.

ALLA poster (click to enlarge)

Disability & Rehabilitation Conferences

I have presented on finding services for people with disabilities at several conferences, including the 2005 Tennessee Recreation and Parks Association Conference, the 2007 Tennessee Conference on Social Welfare (TCSW) Training Conference and the 2007 Tennessee Disability Megaconference. The session description below is from the TCSW conference program.

This program will provide an overview of Tennessee Disability Pathfinder, a statewide information and referral service connecting the Tennessee disability community with service providers. In this session, Pathfinder staff will introduce participants to phone, print, and internet resources, including a searchable database of over 1600 disability supports and services and a disability-related events calendar. The presenter will share outcomes and best practices related to Pathfinder’s efforts to assist underserved Hispanic individuals with disabilities and their families by increasing knowledge of available disability resources and community support services. Basic disability awareness/etiquette and People First language will also be addressed.