Reflections

This semester has opened my eyes, and I am seeing the Library and Information Science profession as I've never seen it before.  This is a good thing!  I knew that being a librarian was much more than reading books and telling patrons to be quiet.  But I am especially enamored with how much I've learned about technology this semester.  I feel as though, already, I can confidently go into a job and use my newfound computer skills to enhance the library experience for not only the patrons, but for my fellow co-workers, as well.  Now, I know that I've still got a lot to learn, so the thought of being a tech-wiz may be a bit of an exaggeration.  However, this semester has taught me skills that I know I will be able to apply to my future career.

As for technology with regards to Universal Access, I know I'll be learning more about that next semester.  However, from what I've learned already, I can only see the benefits of implementing accessible technology (such as screen readers, braille readers) in the library setting.

Overall, I am pleased with how the semester turned out, and I am excited to see what future semesters hold in store.

What services does DPL offer its other patrons?

The Detroit Public Library System is made up of twenty-three different branches beside the main library.  The main library, alone, is very large and offers a variety of different programs, so that will be the only DPL library that we will focus on for this post.  The main branch of DPL has a lot that it offers its other patrons that aren't elderly.

For example, they have the HYPE Teen Center for young adults.  Within this teen center, many services are offered, such as, homework help, mentoring for girls (called Jewels of HYPE), plus an Anime Club and Teen Advisory Board.

But it's not just the teens that can get in on the action, there are multiple services for younger children, as well.  These include: Preschool Storytime, a Tween Chess Club, an American Girl Program, and a Junior Great Books program.

For adults, they recently had a lecture called Copyright for Creative people, in which the attendees learned the basics of Copyright Law, and the rights it gives them.  Also, they recently had a Winter Hazards Awareness Workshop, warning attendees about the hazards of the upcoming season and teaching them how to stay safe.  This last workshop was open to all, and was very beneficial for persons of any age in teaching them how to safely combat Michigan winters.

On top of all of this, they regularly offer classes on how to use Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint, etc.  And for the holiday season, they have a class that teaches attendees how to make holiday flyers.

The point is, there's a little bit of something for everybody at the Main Branch of the Detroit Public Library.  Age, race, physical ability, it doesn't matter.  All one needs to attend these events or programs is an interest in the subject.

Universal Access: What is it?

The concept of Universal Access is something that should be considered not just in the Library and Information Science field.  All public places should provide various types of access so that people with varying disabilities can use these public facilities to their fullest extent.  Universal Access is what sounds like, access for all, keeping all of the different of the types of challenges people face in mind.

However, within the Library and Information Science field, Universal Access is something that should definitely be thought of.  Many libraries are older, and have characteristics that make it harder for disabled person to access the building, such as steps to get to the front door, or to get to various levels of the library.  Without a ramp or an elevator, these physical barriers are very damaging for the library, as it inhibits those who have physical disabilities from coming to the library.

But physical barriers in a library are not the only barriers that could be fixed.  For the visually impaired, the library could offer a variety of braille books, or audio books.  Also, library computers could have screen-reading software installed on them so that a visually impaired patron can easily have access to computers and enhance the information they can obtain from their library visit.

The importance of understanding that persons with disabilities experience oppression:

In understanding that a person with a disability experiences oppression, you understand fully the challenges that this minority faces.  For a Library and Information Science professional, it would be important to understand that oppression.  Many persons with disabilities are often treated in a condescending manner, which does nothing to help them feel like they are just the same as every other person.  If a Library and Information Science professional can understand how this particular treatment of a person with a disability is the wrong way to go about things, they can help their disabled patrons to feel more at home in their public library.

In treating a person with a disability how they would any other patron, it helps the disabled person to feel less oppressed.  If the person needs help, they will usually ask, so it is important for library professionals not to automatically assume that all persons with disabilities need help.  However, if it looks as though the person is struggling, it is important for the library professional not to ignore that person and come to their aid.  It's a balance between being helpful without being overly so, and being kind without making it seem as though the kindness is forced.

What is the digital divide? What does it mean? What role does age and disability have in the digital divide? What steps can/should libraries and information agencies take to narrow or eliminate the gap in services among the various service populations?

What is the digital divide?  From how I understand it, the digital divide is the divide between those who are privileged enough to have access to technology and are able to use it to their advantage and those who are underprivileged and are unable to gain access to technology.  In an article that I read for another course, "The Internet, Public Libraries, and the Digital Divide" author Bo Kinney discusses how providing access to computers may not be enough in order to close the "digital divide". It would seem that although certain minorities have gained higher access to computers and the internet over the years, the gap is still evidence of the struggle between the advantages of the majority and the disadvantages of the minority. 

The disabled and the elderly are in the minority when it comes to being able to affectively access and use technology.  For the disabled, many times it is due to the lack of adaptive equipment that they are unable to access technology.  For the elderly however, the problem is, for the most part, a lack of education when it comes to how to use the technology provided to them.  Librarians have to become the educators.

Libraries may offer access to technology, but providing access alone is not enough.  Librarians need to be able to teach the public, the disadvantaged especially, how to utilize the technology that is provided to them.  Some librarians would argue that they did not become librarians in order to teach.  However, it stands to reason that libraries have always been a source of information.  If the general public knew how to access the information provided by the library without any assistance, what would be the use of Librarians?

Especially when it comes to the elderly and patrons with disabilities, it is extremely important for librarians to understand how to properly assist these patrons so that they can learn how to use the technology provided to their advantage and start closing the digital divide.  This is part of what Project ALFA is all about.  The ALFA fellows are learning how to use different adaptive programs and assistive technologies in order to make computers and other forms of technology more user-friendly for those patrons who need assistance. In our own small way, we are working toward bridging the gap that is the digital divide.

Kinney, B. (2010). The internet, public libraries, and the digital divide. Public Library Quarterly, 29(2), 

Retrieved from http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01616841003779718

Why is knowledge of Disability culture important to library and information professionals/practitioners?

Knowledge of Disability culture is important for anybody to know, not just library professionals.  However, it is important for future library professionals to have an incredibly strong knowledge of the disability culture so that they can better serve their patrons who have disabilities.

In serving a person with a disability, it is important to know how to interact.  A person with a disability is first and foremost a person.  That should always be remembered.  Pre-concieved notions of what you think a person with a particular disability should be like should go out the window.  You do not need to yell at a blind person, for example.  Just because they can't necessarily see you does not mean that they don't hear you just fine.

This is where having a strong knowledge of disability culture would prove to be beneficial.  A lot of times, people don't know how to interact with persons with disabilities, as they've never had to do so before.  They act how they think they should, copy what they see in the media.  This approach is not always correct.  Understanding of disability culture means understanding of the person behind the disability.  Understanding how a person to best serve a person with a disability without making them feel awkward or ashamed about who they are.  As I will state over and over again, the disability is only part of a person, like the color of their eyes or hair.  It's a trait.  You wouldn't treat a person with brown hair differently than one with blonde hair.  For persons with disabilities, you may have to come up with creative ways, or different ways to best serve their needs.  And if a library has up to date accessible technology, this can be easily accomplished.

Library Services, and Other Activities For Senior Citizens in the Detroit Area:

The Detroit Public Library, and its many branches, offers many services for the senior citizens of Detroit.  First of all, there is the Frederick Douglass branch of DPL which is used as the Library for the Blind and Physically handicapped.  For the elderly people of Detroit who have decreased vision, or decreased mobility, this library may be good for them to use.  According to the Detroit Public Library website, "The LBPH collection is primarily a leisure collection of audio books which includes adult and juvenile, fiction and non fiction, Bestsellers, Mysteries, Romances, Westerns, Biographies and Black History. It offers, Books on Tape, Digital Books, Large Print books, Descriptive Videos, regular print books about disabilities, and reference sources on the ADA".  For senior citizens who love to read, but have difficulty seeing print, books on tape and audio books would be the perfect way for them to continue with their love of literature.

For those senior citizens who cannot leave their house, the Detroit Public Library also offers the service entitled, "Library on Wheels"(LOW).  According to the Detroit Public Library's website, the LOW's Bookmobile makes multiple stops a month at places where seniors congregate, such as community centers or retirement homes.

As far as programs to get the seniors in the Detroit community interacting with each other, DPL offers classes to teach technology to those of an advanced age.  They also offer talks and events such as this one coming up on October 26th called, "Healthy Aging: Connecting Older Adults to Health Information".  This specific lecture could be particularly informative and helpful for senior citizens in the Detroit area.

Outside of the Detroit Public Library, the city of Detroit offers outreach and assistance to its elderly population through the Senior Citizens Department.  According to the City of Detroit's website, "The Senior Outreach and Assistance Service is the senior’s link to vital services in the community. The department offers personalized service to seniors who need assistance with transportation, housing, health care, medical supplies, prescriptions, etc. Programs and services tailored to meet individual needs are just a telephone call away. We can help."

So whether its through the public library, or the city itself, the city of Detroit offers many services to its aging population.  The city of Detroit helps to fund public libraries, and with a lack of funding, it seems likely that programs for elderly library patrons could be cut.  Hopefully the city of Detroit, seeing as it seems to care so much about its senior citizens, would know better than to cut funding to such valuable programs and work together with DPL to keep programs for senior citizens going strong.

Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped:
http://www.detroit.lib.mi.us/lbph/LBPH_index.htm


Library on Wheels:
http://www.detroit.lib.mi.us/low/low_index.htm


Events and Programs of the Main Branch of DPL:
http://www.detroit.lib.mi.us/events/Main_Library_Events.htm


Senior Citizens Department:
http://71.159.22.28/DepartmentsandAgencies/SeniorCitizensDepartment/OutreachAssistance.aspx

Libraries on American Indian Reservations and how they could help elderly American Indians(Response to question #8 on page 186 of Novak):

On page 183 of his book, Novak discusses Baldridge's 2002 study that proves, in Novak's words,"that improvement of elders' conditions depend on improving conditions of Indian life in general." Baldridge goes on to say that "until tribes can generate sufficient revenues, or until federal and state governments provide better funding and access to programs, local improvement of these infrastructures is unlikely" (Baldridge, 265).  Programs to help improve the lives of elders could be held at the reservation's public library.  However this begs the question of how much funding is available for libraries located within the boundaries of the American Indian reservation.


According to the American Indian Library Association (AILA),"The U. S. government supports improved library services to Native Americans. Goals relating to libraries serving Native American communities include improving funding, providing training and technical assistance, increasing library holdings in all formats, supporting better technology, and developing cooperative arrangements and partnerships at the state and local level."  The extent of the support that the U. S. government provides remains to be seen.  The quality of life on Indian reservations is not known to be of high quality, and Novak's list of problems that face the American Indian community includes: "low incomes, poor-quality housing, lack of transportation, and poor health care affect the old as well as the young" (183).  It seems logical, then, that if the U. S. government is providing money to support the various Native American reservations, and the tribes that live on them, it would go to problems such as poor health care before it would go to the reservation's local library.  This is a shame, because libraries could provide community programs that would help both the old and the young, and provide them with information that they were without access to beforehand.  But a library is only as good as the funding it it provided with, and  with limited funds, such community programs and newer technology more than likely do not exist.


In his novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, proud American Indian author leaves us with this piece of wisdom though the protagonist of the novel, Arnold, a teenage boy who lives on Native American reservation in Spokane, Washington: “I suddenly understood that if every moment of a book should be taken seriously, then every moment of a life should be taken seriously as well"(Alexie, 95).


Every moment in the lives of American Indian elders, especially, should be taken seriously.  According to Novak, high rates of preventable diseases such as diabetes, obesity, cancer (due to heavy smoking), and liver disease (due to heavy drinking) plague the elderly community of Native American reservations due to low quality of life.  If money could be given to help support local, tribal, libraries, perhaps, in a small way, it would help to improve the quality of life for not only elders, but everyone else.


The AILA shares this link on their website with ways that the public can help American Indian Libraries, and so I will leave you with that:


http://www.ailanet.org/activities/supportTribalLibs_tipsheet.pdf


Sources:



Alexie, S., & Forney, E. (2007). The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian. New York: Little, Brown.

Baldridge, D. (2002). Indian elders. In D. L. Infeld (Ed.), Disciplinary approaches to aging: Vol. 4, 
          Anthropology of aging (pp. 255-267).  New York: Routledge.


Novak, M. (2008). Issues in aging. (2nd ed.). Boston: Pearson.

Journal Entry 2, Continued: Is Life Post 60 Really Golden?

The 80s television hit, The Golden Girls, followed the life of four very different women of a certain age who lived together in the same house.  All of these women were not married, their husbands were deceased with the exception of Dorothy Zbornak, who was divorced from her husband, Stan.  But instead of sitting around the house knitting, accepting their fate as spinsters, and waiting to die, these older women actually did things with their life.  The show actively fought against the stereotype of what an older woman could do with her life.  Not only were these women active, but they actually were frequently on the dating scene and had sex lives which were a constant topic of conversation.  This was revolutionary!  The thought of 60+ women who no longer had husbands acting like thirty-something single women definitely broke the mold.  It was like Sex and the City before Sex and the City ever existed.  The only difference is that these women, instead of being working New Yorkers, were retired Floridians.

The show definitely gave the impression that growing old was definitely not a bad thing; after all, these girls were "golden".  But that is not to say that the women on the show didn't struggle with the difficulties one faces while growing older.  From death scares to wrinkles, there was no doubt that although they acted young, these characters were aging.  They didn't mourn over the loss of their youth, though, usually they found comedy in the situation.  For example, listen to Sophia talk about her trip to the doctor's office in the first few seconds of this clip:

Although their characters brought about an idea of vitality and youth being still alive in an aging woman, and dealt with things in a mostly comedic fashion, the show was not without its serious moments.  

Golden Girls is an incomparable show.  There was no show like it before its time, and there has been no show like it since.  It celebrated the aging woman, something the media is usually very hesitant to do.  In a world where ageism is prevalent, these women defy the norms.

And now, I'll leave you with a bit more humor from the show; just because I can. :)

He can dance, but should he? A profile on the character of Artie Abrams on the FOX show Glee:

On the television show, Glee, the character of Artie Abrams is a wheelchair bound student at William McKinley High School in Lima, Ohio.   When the show started, Artie was harassed by his peers and bullied as a result of his disability.  This bullying included, but was not limited to, being locked in a porta-potty by members of the football team while the football players proceed to knock the porta-potty over.  Artie was unable to defend himself, and the show brought to light, as is their goal, the hardships of what they call “the underdog”.  Show creator Ryan Murphy said in a 2009 interview with Hollywood Chicago: “it’s a show with a lot of heart, and it’s a show about underdogs…” (1)

 Throughout the run of the series thus far, Artie has grown as a loveable character who has taken on what seemed to be the impossible.  As a member of  McKinley’s glee club, called “The New Directions” Artie dances and sings with the best of them, all while in his wheelchair.  Also, he managed to convince the football coach to add him to the team, where he now plays alongside, as an equal, of some of those same football players who once bullied him.  This YouTube clip displays Artie excelling in both of his rolls as football player and glee club member as he joins his fellows to perform Michael Jackson’s Thriller:

 While it may not be completely realistic that Artie is able to be in the football team and the glee club, it is refreshing to see, nonetheless.  Here is a media representation of a person with a disability who fights to do what he wants to, and does not let his disability limit him as to what he is able to pursue.  This character can be seen as an especially great role model for children who are disabled.


However, there are critics Glee who are not pleased with the portrayal of Artie; mainly because the actor who plays him, Kevin McHale, is not actually a disabled actor.  Glee managed to take advantage of this fact in season 2 in which Artie is part of a “dream sequence” in which he is able to get out of his wheelchair and dance:

While Glee was never completely “realistic” from the beginning, this question raises the question of whether or not Artie should have been shown out of his wheelchair.  Children watching the show who find they have a common bond with Artie, as they are in a wheelchair or they also have a disability, could feel alienated by the fact that in real life, “Artie” can walk.  So, while I commend Glee for a more inspiring and realistic portrayal of a disabled person than has been seen previously, I suggest that they exercise caution and not take things too far out of the realm of possibility so as to detract from the credibility of this disabled character.

Sources:

1. http://www.hollywoodchicago.com/news/7720/interview-ryan-murphy-dances-his-way-to-glee-on-fox

An Introduction:

As a person with a disability, I am curious and excited to see what I will get out of this course, Introduction to Universal Access.  While it may seem as though I would already know a lot about Universal Access as a result of having a disability, I do not think that is necessarily true.  I do know what it's like to have limited mobility, but there are various other disabilities that, although I am aware of them, I am not as knowledgeable about the problems that persons with these various disabilities face.

Through this course, I hope to gain a better understanding of mulitple disabilities and how they effect the persons that have them.  Also, I hope to learn how to take this knowledge and apply it to my works in the Library and Information Sciences field, so as to make libraries accessible for all who use them.

I look forward to a fun semester!