ACCESS-ed Resource Description

This 27-page, 2001, document offers guidance to comply with federal legislation mandating equity of access to public resources for disabled and non-disabled persons, and to ensure that patrons with disabilities regard computers as an aid to their successful library use. Libraries need to plan for and implement accessibility measures for both patrons and library staff members who may also have disabilities. Equitable access to the library's facilities means not only using technology that translates print into speech to provide access to traditional media, but also ensuring that new technology used to support library programs (on-line catalogs, microcomputers provided for public use of application software and the Internet, etc.) are made accessible. The focus of this document is predominantly on this latter need. (The original version of this document was funded by the Trace Center, Madison, WI.)