Accessibility, including access for people with disabilities, is fundamental to the concept of the library. Here are the statements from two completely different library jurisdictions, one in Canada, one in Australia.

British Columbia Library Association (BCLA) advocates for libraries and library services for all British Columbians. This includes barrier-free facilities, resources, and open and equitable access to library services (British Columbia Library Association, 2016).

One of the key principles of a library is that access is provided equally to all citizens of the community it serves (State Library of Victoria, 2009).

Most library associations have similar statements regarding their commitment to universal access, equitable and accessible services for all. Despite these grand narratives, emerging research indicates that these statements do not always translate into the actual experiences of children with disabilities and their families in public libraries. As two children’s librarians, practicing in different hemispheres, we had both witnessed many examples of the difficulties children with disabilities and their families face in accessing and benefiting from library resources, programs, and spaces. Passionate about improving access and inclusion for this group of the community, we independently embarked on doctoral research in the area.

Jo’s study involved surveying and interviewing public librarians in Australia, Canada, and the United States and Australian families of children with disabilities. She wanted to learn about the experiences and perspectives of library access and inclusion from both groups. Her research revealed that, despite the best of intentions, many librarians did not fully understand the issues that children with disabilities and their families face when visiting a library. She also discovered that the families of children with disabilities were not necessarily aware of what the library could offer them or that their children were actually welcome. Jo believes that many of their perceptions are based on models of school and public libraries that they experienced as a child. One example of this is a parent who said that she did not take her small child to the library “because of the noise.” When Jo replied, “Yes, it can be noisy during children’s program times,” the parent commented that they were referring to the noise their own child made, which they believed would be disapproved of in a library environment. The parent kept their child away from the library to avoid what they believed to be inevitable disapproval.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Pacific Ocean in Canada, Tess interviewed a mother who said her child’s behavior was frowned upon by library staff who were not aware that it was due to his autism. She was left with the feeling that they perceived her as a parent who could not handle her child. Both of the children in these scenarios have the same right to access library resources as other children. Even if their paths to literacy are different, even if their eventual literacy development is different, they still have the same rights as their non-disabled peers to access the resources of the library (any library). But in both these scenarios, the children were denied access. Jo’s participant avoided the library out of fear that their noisy child would be disapproved of. Tess’s participant stopped going to the library because she felt judged over her autistic child’s behavior there. These are barriers, and librarians in both school and public libraries need to recognize their important roles in dismantling them. Jo found that, central to the disconnect between librarians and families of children with disabilities is the belief that many librarians held about how welcoming their own libraries actually were. Jo’s research revealed that the majority of librarians she spoke to did not actively promote the fact that their libraries supported access and inclusion. The librarians believed that children with disabilities and their families would already know they were welcome and all they had to do was ask if they needed any assistance. In contrast, the mother that Tess interviewed was too embarrassed to ask for help, as she had already been admonished by library staff for her child’s behavior. Another parent she interviewed had been told her child could not attend an after school club without her because staff could not accommodate his minimal extra support needs.

When Jo asked, “If you do not promote you are accessible and inclusive, how do families know they are welcome?” most of her librarian participants were unable to answer. When Tess was talking to a librarian about children with disabilities coming to storytime, her participant said that she felt like some families had already made up their minds that the programs would upset their kids so they choose not to come. This librarian does not try to change their minds because she knows the setting is loud and busy and upsetting to them. This disconnect is also very clear in the following comment a parent made during an interview with Jo, “If the library wanted us to visit, wouldn’t they put a flyer in my son’s school newsletter?” It is a simple, but revealing comment and should give librarians pause to consider how their libraries might be perceived.

Although the librarians Tess spoke to all had deep commitments to including everyone in their libraries, they only rarely encountered families of children with disabilities in their libraries. The families she interviewed had mixed experiences in their libraries; some were shushed and frowned upon for their children’s behavior, while others were welcomed and accommodated. Tess noticed that the families of children with physical disabilities had much more positive library stories to share than the families of children with behavioral disabilities, several of whom said they actually dreaded going to the library with their children. Librarians in public and school libraries, as well as teachers and other school and library staff, must keep in mind that people of all ages with disabilities, as well as their family members, experience both overt and subtle discrimination (also known as “ableism”). This is an uncomfortable truth to face as professionals who work for organizations that have inclusive philosophies. However, philosophies do not automatically translate into inclusive practices and the parents that we spoke to were already expert advocates for their very young children, suggesting that they had to work very hard to get their children the support and services they needed to help them develop to their potential. Nothing was automatic. Since we have both raised children with disabilities, we were able to concur with our parent participants’ constant need to advocate for their children. So, it was not surprising to hear some of the parents say that the library was not a welcoming or accommodating place to take their children.

As librarians in both public and school libraries, we need to ask:

• How do I put out the welcome mat for children with disabilities and their families?
• If families of children with disabilities do not know I am here to help and do not ask me for assistance, how do I actually know what they need?”
• How do I change some of the things I am doing to make them more inclusive of children with disabilities and their families?

Jo’s research revealed the importance of “partnerships” in answering these questions. Of the librarians that were actively focusing on access and inclusion for children with special needs and their families, 94 percent had developed partnerships. These were partnerships with a broad range of organizations as well as with families. One of the main reasons given for developing partnerships with families of children with disabilities was to help the librarians gain an understanding of the characteristics and needs of children with disabilities and their families.

Tess’s research also pointed to the importance of effective outreach. Her librarian participants struggled to find the time to make those partnership relationships flourish and some wondered if the library was just too far down the list of priorities for families of children with disabilities. What is clear to both of us is that much work remains to be done if libraries are to actually become fully inclusive, accessible places for children with disabilities and their families. Our research emphasizes the importance of developing trusting relationships with the children and their families that will help parents feel like their children are welcome and be more confident about asking for specific things that might help their child to thrive in the library. These kinds of relationships and connections will lead to authentic inclusion in both school and public libraries.

If you would like to find out more about our research, please visit our blogs. Jo blogs at http://librarylionsroar.weebly.com, and Tess can be found at https://inclusiveearlyliteracy.wordpress.com/.

Works Cited

British Columbia Library Association. BCLA Values Statement. https://bclaconnect.ca/about/bcla-values-statement/ (accessed October 30, 2016).

Kaeding, Joanne H. “Increasing Access to Public Libraries for Children with Special Needs and Their Families.” Australian Library Journal 63, no. 4 (2014): 320-324.

Kaeding, Joanne H. Opening Access to Public Libraries for Children with Special Needs and their Families. Government of South Australia,.2015.

Prendergast, Tess. “Growing Readers: A Critical Analysis of Early Literacy Content for Parents on Canadian Public Library Websites.” Journal of Library Administration 53, no. 4 (2013): 234-254. doi:DOI: 10.1080/01930826.2013.865389

Prendergast, Tess. “Inclusive Early Literacy.” In Library Services from Birth to Five: Delivering the Best Start, Carolynn Rankin and Avril Brock (Eds.), 183-197. Facet, 2015.

Prendergast, Tess. “Seeking Early Literacy for All: An Investigation of Children’s Librarians and Parents of Young Children with Disabilities’ Experiences at the Public Library.” Library Trends 65, no. 1 (2016): 65-91. 

State Library of Victoria. State Library of Victoria: Disability Action Plan 2009–10. 2009. Melbourne, VIC (Australia). http://web.slv.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/DisabilityActionPlan_2009-10.pdf