 Our second lightning round speaker this morning is going to talk to us about accessibility audits in academic libraries. Sounds like a very daunting thing, but I'm sure you will make it much more fun towering book stacks and heavy doors. So, Abby, go ahead and take it away. Introduce yourself and tell us about how you're doing this at your library. Yeah, great. Thank you. My name is Abby steam and I am the research and scholarship librarian at Dakota State University. RFT is around 2000 or so. But yeah, recently we've been having a new look at the library and that we're trying to make it more accessible, acquire new furniture and stuff that just makes it again accessible for any and all students. So I also had performs an accessibility audit during my time as a student at the University of Iowa, where I was the president of the UI students for disability advocacy and awareness. So I have that hands on experience as well. And I just today I will just be showing you some of some basic stuff about accessibility and just some some tips and ideas to kind of get thinking about how you can make your own library more accessible, even if you don't have the budget to do so. So to start off, I want to go over the priorities for accessibility, named by the ADA. So this is basically the stuff that you have to have, according to the ADA. So, as you can see, forming points, accessible approach and entrance access to goods and services, access to public toilet rooms and access to other items such as water fountains. So these are, this is a good checklist on just for a general approach to things. So just when you, whenever you look at a room or something in your library, just ask the question, you know, can people access this. Basically, the question is, can they get in and if they can, can they access whatever's inside, right? But at the same time, it is pretty vague and it doesn't really help in more specific areas, especially when disabilities, especially when you get introduced into the broad range of disabilities, and especially when some disabilities go against others in that, like, for example, low site people or low vision, people with low vision, they might prefer brighter lights while people with sensory issues might prefer lower lighting. But to help with that, we can look at the universal design principles. These can help us narrow down things. So the first one, equitable use, the design is useful to people with diverse disabilities. So think of that small little ramp in the sidewalk. People usually use it when they're biking to get onto the sidewalk from the road. This is useful for people, whether you're walking, whether you're in a wheelchair, whether you have a stroller or a cart. It's useful to anyone and everyone. The next is flexibility and use. So it accommodates a wide range of preferences and abilities. You can think of like a dimming light switch where you can adjust the brightness of the lights. So if someone, if the bright lights are too much, they're able to dim it. But if they're not able to see, they can up the brightness, you know, it accommodates any reason or ability in that case. Low physical effort. One main issue when I was a student at the University of Iowa was that the doors to the library were super heavy. And so it took a bit of extra, extra umps to get the door open. And that can be exceptionally hard for people, whether you're, whether they have like mobility aids or if they're carrying a lot of things, or if they just aren't that strong for whatever reason. Or they don't have all that good stamina that just makes it more difficult. So make sure the design, it just has that low physical effort. You can just do it and not waste an extra breath on it. Simple intuitive use. So the design is easy to understand regardless of the user. Basically, like, say if you have a computer that patrons come in and use but it needs to have all these certain buttons be hit in order for it to turn on in the first place. That would not be really a simple intuitive use. So just think if can a patron just walk in and start using it and knowing how to use it on their own. Perceptible information so the design communicates necessary information effectively to the user. So this one can be is very important for to use with things like signage. Does the sign tell the patron what they need to know? And does it do so accurately? So the sign can say this is the library. But if the sign is in a building across campus, that's not very effective, right? So making sure that it is able to communicate that information but also do so accurately. So that sign, for example, should be placed in the library and then it'd be more accurate and effective. So tolerance for error. So the design minimizes hazards and adverse consequences. My biggest pet peeve is when I hit my hip on the sharp edge of tables. Oh, I still need bruises from that. Yes. Yes, so much. And it's the smallest thing but it hurts a lot. And that can be even worse for other for other individuals depending on the disability as well as even for kids, you know, a lot of households. They'll put in the edge guards so that if their kid hits it by accident, they won't get hurt. So that's one of the things you should look out for is just to make sure that if there are any hazards possible that they're at the bare minimum. And then size and space for approach and use. So a big issue with any library is book stacks, right? There's not. That has been an ongoing conversation. I don't have a definitive answer to that. You know, we all have a lot of bookshelves filled with a lot of books. They're very tall or you either where you have to stand on some stools in order to reach them or you have to bend down in order to grab them. And there's very little space in between. Ideally, you'd be able to kind of open it up a bit, add some more space in there. At least two people can be happy in the same book stack aisle comfortably, right? But again, I understand that physical space is very limited. So this is one that requires a lot of creativity to think about. But so in my experience, I've come across some patterns. And so here are some kind of helpful tips just to think about. For example, curves, arranging spaces and smooth curves and sort of like sharp edge boxes. This is a very helpful just in creating that extra space as well as minimizing hazards. And then versatility. So getting furniture that allows patrons to transform the space to fit their needs. This is very one of the greatest, a great thing to get is like tables and chairs with wheels that way that they're light enough so that they're able to be moved to whichever part of the room. And then you can redesign the room to fit whatever group of people are in that room for that time being. And then you can easily put it away once again. Also, signage label everything. It might come across to you. You might think, Oh, no, this is this is into this is pretty basic like you'll get it. Even if you think that label it anyways, it's never it never hurts to have everything labeled. And ideally, it would also have label with Braille at the bottom. But again, that is that can be dependent on your library and your budget and services. So placing the reference desk near the entrance and offering helpful items and services those items and services can be like noise canceling headphones, lockers to store things. Having a book pickup option near the front door. This helps in just this helps in preventing a disabled person from having to struggle throughout the physical library building. And only to find out that they're not able to fit into the book stacks or they're not able to get access to this one book or to this room. Instead, they can have they'd be able to just go in and at the front and get the help they need right there at the center at the door. And since I have a little extra time, I want to show you these pictures I found. These were designs created in this report published by the Library of Congress. It's in it was from 1989 so it's a bit outdated but the designs are still very much applicable today. As you can see here with the receptionist desk it's right at the entrance and you can see the curve of the desk and how that offers quite a bit of room, especially for wheelchair users so they're able to turn around and better move themselves within that room. So that's what I mean by designing with curves instead of straight edge boxes. And here that there's a quite a quite a few ideas going on here but so for example, doors, having power sliding doors so that automatically open doors. That's always great and fantastic for bathroom doors. I know there's the maze design where you walk in and then you go around a wall in to enter the bathroom instead of actually opening a door. All those are great accessible door designs. And then a change in the flooring to define different areas. That's great, especially if you have a, especially for like young, younger patrons for children. You can say here's the play area if you go outside onto the wood floor here you know you can't like run around anymore, you have to kind of be quiet and walk. You see curve walls so that you're, you can feel your, you're able to feel your way around it instead of heading straight into another wall. Handrails, and my favorite part of it is the textured needlepoint artwork. We've all kind of, we've all had like a painting that we want to reach out and touch. And they generally say no, don't touch. Exactly, no, don't touch but having that artwork that is specifically designed so you can touch. That's just fun for everyone, you know, and for people who are blind or low vision, they'll be able to participate in it too. And that's just, it's just a good reminder that this isn't doesn't have to be this like a kind of monotone dole thing to do, you know, following regulations and everything it can be fun and you can have end up with a very beautiful library by the end of it. So here are some those resources I used in the accessibility audits, the ADA checklist. This one the planning barriers for free libraries is where I got those those last two images and the universal design principles as well so I'll send that to you so you can share it with everybody but So are those links in the slides those are those are actual links to those documents that those are actual links. Yeah, they're okay, perfect. So that is all I have for you today. Okay, yes. Thank you so much. Go ahead and leave that slide up there so people can see that all that up there now we do any questions. Does anyone have any questions you want to ask about anything more information want to know about anything. Has anyone done one of these kind of accessibility audits audits just scary word for some people. But it's not that kind of audit you don't get in trouble. Well, there is a day that you do need to be, you know, depending on you know your public space for things available. Yeah. I have a question about the resources yes so these resources don't want to know resources basically how do you you know if you you are the staff person and you know this is something important. Do you have any and you said you had done this they want to give any tips for convincing admin or people in charge that this is something that needs to have effort money, whatever put into. If you had done this before. So, is that how you, you know, convince them saying, I've done this I know we should or do you have any tips for people on how to make. Yeah, yeah, sure. I mean, I've been lucky in that the people I've worked with have already been like wanting to be more accessible and just above ADA compliancy so I've been lucky in that. But yeah, that is hard, depending on the person you know but if if you have these checklists and these mark offs on what to do. And then just coming up with your own ideas and having something to bring to the table so it doesn't seem like, oh that's a lot of extra work we need to do. Because I know the work is done it's right here. You know, for example if you're getting new bookshelves and you want to make them more accessible. Go ahead and like research and find bookshelves that would be ideal ideal for your library and also accessible, you know, just kind of, as you're going through it. Sorry. But as you're going through working on how to propose this stuff to admin just really just have those ideas up already. And having those checklists saying, look, we've already done some things it's already here but right better. There's all these boxes we haven't checked. Right, exactly. Okay, but it could be better. Exactly. And there's someone actually a comment here that just came through is great comment. Having had a coworker who was wheelchair bound I am much more content conscious of accessibility. I think you might narrow space between bookshelves is a huge pet peeve. I mean, even as a non, you know, someone who doesn't need to have any issues with that. Sometimes those are just way too close for comfort. I oftentimes will stop and go around a different way, if I unless I absolutely have to go down that particular aisle, but you definitely need to. And then you can't access those books and so it's like, yeah, that one, that one is a bit tricky because it's just not everyone can do can say, oh, we have a digital library we can build up the digital library because not all patrons have access to the digital library either, especially with, you know, our small, small town libraries, a lot of page patrons are in rural areas and they might not have internet access or solid internet access so again, that's just a lot of this is just really brainstorming and finding, finding like that perfect furniture as well, and just moving your what you have around a little bit, it can just be the placement of a chair, you know, placing it in a different corner to make some more open room that can make a world of difference. So we have another question, I think to be the last one we'll take down so we do have to get on to our last lightning round speaker. Someone says I work in an academic library as well oftentimes ADA compliance is an afterthought for our designers and administration. Sadly designers I mean I get admin might be not aware but you think someone designing or construction would. Yeah. But for example we had all new light fixtures put in and they're extremely bright and there's no dimmer switches. So I guess the same kind of questions the previous person had suggestions and tips for having conversation with administration always conscientious of this other similar ADA issues. Do you think in some cases it's more of a, do we need to, I don't mean to be rude about throw the legality of it at them. I mean, legally you need to be doing certain things and you're if you don't. Yeah, and who you have coming into your building you could have a lawsuit or some PR that you just don't want. And it's that is definitely is sometimes it will have to come down to that where you do have to bring up the ADA and say you've got to do something about this. Honestly, they should have they should have already thought of it beforehand it shouldn't have been an afterthought so that is ultimately not to not to place blame but it is ultimately on them if they have to redo everything. But for so. Yeah, and that can that can always be tough and definitely intimidating. So I also recommend having people go with you or be with you when you present this information and also to don't be afraid to reach out to like student groups as well, because students are also very much a part of the library and are very much using it. So, if they are definitely bothered, you know, by the light switches as well because I know in my libraries, quite a few students are very bothered by how bright the lights are can be. So just bringing them along as well to kind of have that extra push that it's, it's a pretty good space for and they're not happy. Exactly. Yeah. All right, thank you so much. This is great very useful and I got some comments coming because it was great. Thank you. Totally, totally awesome presentation. Thank you. All right, great. Thank you so much.