A poster by JJ Pionke, PF Anderson, Scott Lissner, Anna Ercoli Schnitzer, Stephanie Rosen, Lynne Cutler, and Jane Vincent for the 2017 Annual Meeting of the Medical Library Association.

1. Exemplary
Practices to
Inspire
Accessibility:
A Toolkit
Respite Rooms
JJ Pionke
University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
Rooms are designed as a place for
students to calm down and re-center
when they feel overwhelmed.
Rooms contain a rocking chair,
balance ball, and white noise
machine. Students can check out
“Tranquility Kits” that contain noise
canceling headphones, a SAD light,
and a stress ball.
Using Social Media to Expand
Access to Library-Sponsored Events
PF Anderson
University of Michigan
Social media brings a broader audience to
events created, hosted, or supported by the
library, and can make events accessible to those
who could not participate or attend otherwise.
We use both real-time strategies (live-streaming
and live-tweeting) as well as tools to archive
event information (YouTube and Storify).
Presenters are delighted to receive questions
"from the Twitter audience," and campus
managers appreciate having archives of live
interactions to help inform decisions, resource
allocation, and policy.
http://bit.ly/A11y4LibSocMed
Accommodations for Employees
Scott Lissner
Ohio State University
Developed a comprehensive
resource list for employees with
disabilities that parallels what is
available for students. There is also
an accommodation fund available to
help employees get their needs met.
https://ada.osu.edu/resources/Links.htm
Service Animals and Therapy
Dogs
Anna Ercoli Schnitzer
University of Michigan
One big event held in front of library
every October as part of the annual
Investing in Ability series brings
together dogs to campus for the
purpose of de-stigmatizing disability
in a positive way while focusing on
the animal-human bond and the
assistance dogs can provide re:
accessibility to daily activities.
User Interviews
Stephanie Rosen
University of Michigan
By reaching out to students
registered with the Office of
Services for Students with
Disabilities and people in the
disability community on campus,
we were able to arrange group
interviews to learn more about our
users' experiences of our physical
and digital accessibility.
Dewey Pictograms
Lynne Cutler
Oakland Public Library
The Oakland Public Library, with the
help of a California State Library grant,
created 150 full-color pictograms that
convert the Dewey decimal system into
easily recognizable images for library
patrons with learning disabilities. The
universal access of the symbols will
also help many other patrons, including
those with poor vision, non-English
speakers, or anyone who finds it easier
to locate books using visual images.
http://tinyurl.com/pictogramsMLA
Tips For Inclusive Meetings
Jane Vincent
University of Michigan
Representatives of the U-M Libraries
and several other academic and
service departments developed a set of
ten tips to improve meeting
accessibility for people with
disabilities, people with specific
dietary needs, nursing mothers, LGBT
individuals, etc.
http://tinyurl.com/mh9ojh3