Journal Article: “Analyzing Service Divide in Academic Libraries for Better Serving Disabled Patrons Using Assistive Technologies”
The following article was recently published by College & Research Libraries.
Title
Authors
Devendra Potnis
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Kevin Mallary
Western Carolina University
Source
College & Research Libraries
Vol 82, No 6 (2021)
DOI: 10.5860/crl.82.6.879
Abstract
Academic libraries invest thousands of dollars in assistive technologies (AT) for enhancing the delivery of information services to disabled patrons. However, offering AT might not result in their use by the patrons who need them, thereby leading to a service divide. The analysis of qualitative responses, including more than 1,400 quotations, elicited from academic library administrators and librarians in 186 public universities across the United States, reveals that academic libraries encounter 51 challenges related to the knowledge and skills of librarians, hardware and software concerns, institutional factors, finances, and external actors, when serving disabled patrons with AT. Finally, the researchers propose 15 solutions for bridging this service divide.
Direct to Full Text Article
Filed under: Academic Libraries, Libraries, News, Patrons and Users
About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.
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