Collection Development and Maintenance
Collection Development and Maintenance
Much of the advocacy for ensuring public library collections are diverse and designed for patrons with disabilities is focused on those with print disabilities, such as dyslexia and poor vision/blindness. But the range of physical accommodations made by the library must extend to those with other physical disabilities as well. In Open Education Alberta’s book, Contemporary Issues in Collection Management, Turnbull, Pouliot and Hakimizadeh elaborate, stating that “public libraries must consider those with mobility impairments when designing the layout of the collections, the weight and shape of materials for those with dexterity impairments, or streams of communication for those with speech or hearing impairments when attempting to access assistance with navigating the collection” (Turnbull et al., 2024).
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Instead of simply looking at a collection as two main formats – print and electronic books – we need to look at additional physical and other formats that can help make the collection more accessible to patrons with disabilities. Physical formats should include DAISY players, large print editions, books in Braille, as well as study materials and toolkits for home use. We should also consider adding video games and consoles along with our existing computer access that is available at many of our libraries, as well as toys, games, and puzzles that can be utilized by the disabled and neurodivergent community.
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Looking at the content we have in our public libraries, to ensure our collection is accessible to the disabled and neurodivergent community, we need to ensure that it is relatable to them. These patrons should be able to see themselves represented in the materials not just in the children’s area, but also in the adult and teen collections. We can accomplish this by including content that raises awareness about disability, literacy materials for people with various disabilities and their families (books about teaching and learning sign language for example), and resources for emotional health for these patrons. Our collections should also include books illustrating challenges and success stories of individuals with disabilities as well as works created by disabled and neurodivergent authors (Turnbull et al., 2024).
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When designing our collections, we need to ensure we remember our patrons who may not be visibly disabled – those with invisible disabilities. Invisible disabilities include a wide variety of psychiatric disabilities such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, chronic anxiety or depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as well as other disabilities such as chronic pain, chronic fatigue, epilepsy, Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Autism Spectrum Disorders, and various learning disabilities (Willauer, 2024).
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While these disabilities may be “invisible,” they still inhibit individuals’ ability to do normal everyday tasks. People with these disabilities often have difficulty remembering information, concentrating, or making decisions, difficulty doing errands and chores by themselves, or even difficulty getting out of bed, dressing themselves, feeding themselves, or maintaining personal hygiene. These same difficulties can inhibit their ability to access the collection at the library. It can affect the types of resources they can use, the length of the resources, what format it is in, or even if the user can browse the resources in the first place (Willauer, 2024).
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We can make our collections more accessible for our patrons with invisible disabilities in some easy ways! Simply installing browser extensions onto library computers such as ATbar (https://www.atbar.org/), Spreeder (https://www.spreeder.com/), and NVDA (https://www.nvaccess.org/download/) allow users to change font style and size on web pages, add color overlays, break down text into smaller chunks, and provide Text-To-Speech (TTS) technology. These extensions might not solve all the problems, but they will help make some previously inaccessible materials available to these patrons.
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Also, library staff can check websites and other resources for accessibility by using Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) link checkers that check for broken links. And there are disability simulators such as Funkify (https://www.funkify.org/) that will allow staff to simulate what it is like to use the library’s website, or some other resource, with a variety of disabilities.
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While there are no definitive answers on how we, as librarians, can make our collections more accessible to these users, there are many small things we can do to assist this community right away!
Let's Talk About Weeding!
One aspect of collection management maintenance that we have not talked about yet is weeding. And I am not talking about the weeds popping up in your garden, although I am sure you already knew what I was talking about, and you probably had one of two very different reactions. Some librarians LOVE weeding! It is their favorite thing to do, as they see it as an opportunity to have fresh, net materials come into the library! While others simply DETEST weeding… It is one of their least favorite parts of the job, and de-selecting a book from the collection is like ripping a little bit of their soul out, every single time…
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Ok, maybe I am being a little melodramatic. But weeding is part of the job, and it is something that every one of us will have to do. So how do we ensure we are doing a good job in our weeding and maintaining a diverse collection for our disabled and neurodiverse patrons?
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Thankfully, the American Library Association (ALA) is there for us! They have published an article entitled Diverse and Inclusive Collections: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights (Diverse and Inclusive Collections, n.d.), and this document contains a ton of good information to help you in your selections, or de-selections.
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Obviously, we want to ensure our collection includes content by and about people from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and viewpoints. This would include our patrons in the disabled and neurodiverse communities. The collection management tips provided by the ALA include:
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Selecting content in multiple formats.
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Considering resources from self-published, independent, small, and local producers.
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Looking for content created by or about marginalized and underrepresented groups.
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Checking how metadata reflects diverse resources in the collection.
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Reviewing how diverse materials are labeled, shelved, and displayed.
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Including content in all the languages used in the community, for all age groups; and
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Offering materials in accessible formats.
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There is a lot here that we can apply to the disabled and neurodiverse community! We need to ensure that we have enough content in formats that are accessible to disabled patrons, so when weeding, ensure you check your reports for equity in this area.
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We also want to ensure we have content created by or about disabled and neurodivergent people. Before you weed a book written by an autistic author, or a book who has an autistic main character, consider how many other books like it you have currently in the collection. Do you need to replace this book you want to week with another one, to keep the collection equitable?
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We also want to ensure how our metadata is reflecting resources for the disabled and neurodiverse community in our collection. One thing in particular is to note how these patrons would find the information. Is our metadata in person-first language, which many disabled and neurodiverse patrons might prefer? If not, they may have trouble finding the resources in our collection.
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And we want to ensure that we are always keeping our collection with sufficient materials in accessible formats. We know how often the latest best seller flies off the shelves – we cannot seem to keep it in stock! Do we have enough in Large Type, or Audiobook versions?
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Keeping the ADA guidelines for Diverse and Inclusive Collections in mind when doing your weeding, whether you love it, or you hate it, can help you ensure that you have a collection for everyone who comes into your library!
