Images of the Braille and talking book library where I began work yesterday (click on each image to enlarge).
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Posts Tagged ‘lbph’
Yesterday, I began work as a library assistant with the Braille and talking book library. A Subregional Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped [sic], the library is administered and funded by the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped [sic], the Library of Congress and the local public library system.
I am beyond happy to be working in the area of library services I left my work in the disability community to pursue. It was around this time two years ago that I decided to earn my MLIS degree, later writing the following in my application to the School of Library & Information Studies:
I am considering work in library services for people who are blind, deaf or hard-of-hearing, or have other disabilities. I have seen how alternate formats- like recorded, large print, and Braille books- allow people with visual or other disabilities to benefit from library offerings. Magnifiers, screen readers, listening
and other assistive devices give persons of all abilities equal, independent access to library programs and services. A position in a library’s equal access or disability services division would allow me to use technology to meet the information needs of a specialized population.
It was while working in information and referral-which has its own ties to the library community- that I learned of library services for people with disabilities. While maintaining resources databases and compiling directory entries, I edited descriptions of Nashville Public Library’s services for people with disabilities, including the Nashville Talking Library and its offerings in the areas of assistive devices and Library Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. I had the opportunity to connect older adults, people with disabilities, and their families with organizations like the Tennessee Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped and Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic. I did a lot of outreach work in Tennessee; this sometimes included staffing booths at conferences and other events. On one such occasion, my program was assigned to a table adjacent to the state’s LBPH program. As I watched the librarian show attendees audio and Braille library materials, I thought to myself: “Wow. THAT is my dream job. Who is lucky enough to get to do THAT?”
Me, that’s who. This working girl couldn’t be more thrilled to be living her dream.
A note on language: It is my preference to refer to the library as a “Braille and talking book library” or, if absolutely necessary, library for people “with disabilities” or “with visual disabilities.” However, the arm of the Library of Congress that administers the national network of cooperating libraries is known as the “National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped,” and many of its state, regional, and subregional libraries are known as libraries “for the blind and physically handicapped.”
LINKS IN THIS POST
- Library of Congress
- Nashville Public Library
- NPL: Assistive Devices
- NPL: Library Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
- NPL: Nashville Talking Library
- National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS/LBPH)
- Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic
- Tennessee Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped