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Creating Welcoming Spaces in Academic Libraries

Overview

Academic libraries serve students and patrons from a variety of backgrounds, including people with disabilities. Both physical and online spaces must be considered from an accessibility standpoint. Not all disabilities are visible! Creating accessible spaces assists patrons with and without disabilities to effectively engage with your library.

Adaptive or Assistive Equipment for Students and Patrons

Adaptive Gaming Equipment available for checkout from the University of North Texas (UNT) Libraries

Suggested Resources

Research

Online Accessibility

Billingham, L. (2014). Improving academic library website accessibility for people with disabilities. Library Management, 35(8/9), 565–581.
 
Brunskill, A. (2020). “Without That Detail, I’m Not Coming”: The Perspectives of Students with Disabilities on Accessibility Information Provided on Academic Library Websites. College & Research Libraries, 81(5), 768-.
 
Brunskill, A., & Gilbert, E. (2023). Academic libraries’ social media posts related to disabilities: A review of libraries’ tweets in terms of their content and accessibility. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 49(3), 102684-.
 
Hopper, T. L. (2021). Accessibility and LibGuides in Academic Libraries. The Southeastern Librarian, 68(4).
 
Liu, Y., Bielefield, A., & Beckwith, J. (2024). ADA Digital Accessibility on Academic Library Websites. College & Research Libraries, 85(2), 166-.
 
Yang, W., Zhao, B., Liu, Y. Q., & Bielefield, A. (2020). Are Ivy League Library Website Homepages Accessible? Information Technology and Libraries, 39(2), 1–18.
 

Accessibility in Library Instruction

Clossen, A., & Proces, P. (2017). Rating the Accessibility of Library Tutorials from Leading Research Universities. Portal (Baltimore, Md.), 17(4), 803–825.
 
Dahm, J. J., & Reese, J. G. (2021). Sharing electronically and accessibly in library-led instruction. Journal of the Medical Library Association, 109(4), 690–692.
 
Whitver, S. M. (2020). Accessible Library Instruction in Practice. Portal (Baltimore, Md.), 20(2), 381–398.
 
 

Library Building Accessibility

Schomberg, J., & Corley, C. (2022). Asking the Right Questions: Accessibility and Library Study Rooms. Journal of Library Administration, 62(4), 572–579.