Perceptions of Public Library Accessibility for People with Disabilities

Submitted by mlb78 on Fri, 09/16/2016 - 17:21
TitlePerceptions of Public Library Accessibility for People with Disabilities
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2009
AuthorsBurke, Susan
JournalThe Reference Librarian
Volume50
Pagination43-54
AbstractMore than 5,000 households with a person identified as having a physical, mental, or emotional condition that impairs participation in activities were surveyed about their opinions concerning barriers to public library use and opinions about efforts by public libraries to be useful to people with disabilities. Results showed that perceptions of accessibility, collections, and presence of assistive or adaptive devices for people with disabilities were slightly more positive if someone in the household had used the public library in the past year. Data used for the study were from the October 2002 Current Population Survey, a federal survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
NotesThis article identified that for people with disabilities, there were fewer difficulties with physical access in libraries than assistive or adaptive devices. Also, more opinions of disabled people should be included in developing public library accessibility. Therefore, in the future public librarians should continue improving not only physical facilities, but also all kinds of library services, including purchasing more user-friendly assistive devices and focusing more on staff training, so that people with disabilities could experience less trouble in public libraries.
DOI10.1080/02763870802546381