Libraries and Accessibility

Libraries especially need to expand staff awareness and sensitivity to a more diverse group of library users through training. These resources provide guidance on how to interact with persons with disabilities and how to create appropriate services.

• Niche Academy - Self-paced tutorials and recorded webinars, including classes on the ADA for Libraries, Supporting Staff with Disabilities, and Disability Etiquette and Awareness.

• Project ENABLE (Expanding Non-discriminatory Access By Librarians Everywhere) Free, self-paced, online training specifically for librarians. Users who successfully complete all of the training modules and quizzes can obtain a Certificate of Achievement.
• Tips On Interacting With People With Disabilities - Booklet that provides guidance for a wide range of situations. This one is worth printing and sharing with all your staff.
• People First chart - Learn how to speak about people with disabilities using language from this.
• RespectAbility - Shares a video of etiquette tips for Interacting with People with Disabilities.
• "At Your Service: Welcoming Customers with Disabilities" - Self-paced webcourse for people interested in discovering best practices for working with patrons and customers who have disabilities.
• "Reaching out to Customers with Disabilities" - Self-paced webcourse explaining how the ADA applies to nonprofits and businesses.
• Serving Library Users on the Autism Spectrum - Online course designed by experts in both the library and autism fields. It consists of a series of four independent, self-paced instructional modules that are intended for librarians and library staff to learn how to better serve their users with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
• Autism Services and Resources of Connecticut or the FOCUS Center for Autism - For training on interacting with patrons with autism.
• GELS: Accessible Library Programs - webinar recording from the CT State Library's Division of Library Development's Growing Equitable Library Services (GELS) series. 
  • GELS Accessible Library Programs Webinar transcript
  • GELS Accessible Library Programs Webinar slides