Book review: Improving library services
Title of Book - Improving Library Services to People With Disabilities
Author -Courtney Deines-Jones (editor)
ISBN - 1843342863
Publisher - Chandos Publishing
Publisher Website - http://www.chandospublishing.com
Reviewer Name - Chloe Stewart
Email - chloe.stewart@northglasgow.scot.nhs.uk
Review
How people with disabilities are treated by library and information services has been an interest for me since my MA dissertation and for personal reasons. How to deal with this user group still seems to be source of anxiety for some library workers and there is often great confusion over legal requirements and technical options. A volume such as this one is thus always a welcome sight. The preface explains that it aims to provide 'international insight into services for people with disabilities'1, to provide 'concrete strategies for service improvement'2, and to support librarians in reaching people with disabilities. Prior to this, though, there is a surprise - a trenchantly-expressed foreword from the RNIB Vice Chair chastising both LIS professionals and the visually impaired for refusing to face up to the limitations of current provision and attitudes. Refreshing as this is, most of the rest of the book does not reflect this call to arms, and has limitations as a how-to manual as well.
One possible problem is the international focus, a tall order for a slim volume. A number of chapters lurch uneasily between generalising without acknowledging limitations on e.g. technological availability in some countries, and heavy use of anecdotes, chiefly of good examples of service, limited in their usefulness without context. Onatola's chapter, which focusses solely on university libraries in Nigeria, is for this reason one of the more successful. Attempting to cover the whole range of disabilities is similarly problematic, with scant mention of some areas such as learning difficulties and disabilities - again, Carey's focus solely on access to information for the visually impaired and Allen's on the hearing impaired are more successful for being clear about their limitations.
The main culprit, though, seems to be that the contributors were the result of a general call for papers, rather than requests to the allegedly small group of usual suspects. This could have been exciting, but too often the result is muddled and repetitive, reiterating basic facts on legislation, demographics, etc., which are readily available elsewhere (while skimming more interesting and arguably important issues such as the politics of disability or the problems of the whole physical library concept), and giving insufficient detail on solutions, especially technological. Tighter editing and a clearer vision of the book's intent could have produced a more useful set of chapters.
There is also a lack of clarity about whether the overall focus is on the physical library and its services, or information access in general - again, Carey's chapter is one of the better ones here and has a clear grasp of changing technologies and helpful reminders of the increasing amounts of free quality texts as well as controversial views (echoing his foreword) on the distortion of format production by vocal minorities, and the over-reliance on NGOs. However, he seems to me overly optimistic about the imminent future accessibility of print media, and over-preoccupied by multimedia, as well as implicitly forgetting at some points that the majority of the visually impaired, at least in the UK, lose their sight in adulthood, and usually old age.
It is a frequent truism that library and information services which are accessible to people with disabilities are thus made more accessible to all, but this fact could be better stressed by the book overall. In particular, it is a little depressing if library workers have to be urged to support users' online searching, provide flexible services and be respectful and helpful in communicating, as is reiterated in several chapters. Information literacy, confidence, etc. are common problems for library users in general, not just 'special' populations.
This is not to say that the book is not worth a look - Onatola's chapter has additional interest in covering African disability issues, as well as a focus on higher education in an otherwise largely public library-aimed volume, but most of her recommendations for practical improvements are equally applicable in the UK and it is debatable whether the UK situation, in universities in general as well as libraries, is so much better than in developing countries. Lee usefully warns against the ghettoisation of disability services in libraries, and Allen and Tilley both cover technological solutions, though at something of a gallop.
Deines-Jones' final chapter on low or no-cost improvements is probably the best place to start for anyone looking for practical ways to improve their physical library service; though much of the content is covered in other chapters, some suggestions should be part of normal good practice and the most obvious and respectful place to start - asking users with disabilities what could be improved - is not mentioned (from experience the results can be unexpected). Some acknowledgement of the hidden nature of some disabilities would also be useful.
An extensive reading list (some volumes debatable in their usefulness due to age, given the pace of change of this area), the final chapter and that by Carey are recommended as a starting point for the practical librarian who wishes to improve their services, but most of the rest of the volume does not really live up to its promise.
References
1. Deines-Jones, C Preface. In Deines-Jones, C. editor. Improving library services to people with disabilities. Oxford: Chandos Publishing; 2007, p.xiii
2. Deines-Jones, C Preface. In Deines-Jones, C. editor. Improving library services to people with disabilities. Oxford: Chandos Publishing; 2007, p.xiii