Lee Public Library (Lee, New Hampshire)

In the process of using LTC funds to transform their children’s room into a multi-generational programming space, staff at the Lee Library realized that instead of being “just this one thing,” accessibility is ultimately about inclusivity.

Jessie E. McCully Memorial Library (Dixon, Missouri)

After hearing how patrons with disabilities were “completely underserved” in the community, staff at the Jessie E. McCully Memorial Library used LTC funds to make accessibility upgrades both within and outside their walls – including the addition of sensory items, a community garden, and new large print books.

Beals Memorial Library (Winchendon, Massachusetts)

Focusing their efforts on neurodivergence, the Beals Memorial Library has used LTC funds to create new sensory-friendly programs, an ASD caretaker support group, and to hold staff trainings aimed at promoting more effective interactions with neurodivergent patrons.

Bixby Memorial Free Library (Vergennes, Vermont)

In response to community feedback, the Bixby Memorial Free Library used LTC funds to improve physical access to their building, to make programs more accessible to patrons with vision- and hearing-related disabilities, and to build awareness of already existing accessibility features.

Vinton Public Library (Vinton, Iowa)

Through its Memory Café program, the Vinton Public Library used LTC funds to help patrons with dementia gain confidence in living with this disability — and to promote broader public awareness of its impacts and the stigmas surrounding it.

Accessibility in Libraries: A Landscape Review

Reviewing existing literature and best practices around libraries and accessibility, this report

attends to the different ways in which disability has been and continues to be understood, the ways in which the term has evolved, and what this has meant for libraries attempting to become some of the most inclusive and accessible institutions in society. In addition to reviewing the landscape of accessibility and its different applications in 21st century library settings, this report includes a list of resources that are available and most commonly used to include people with different kinds of disabilities into library programs and services.

Serving Patrons with Disabilities in Small and Rural Libraries: Practitioner’s Guide

This guide offers information, guidance, and resources aimed at helping libraries create more accessible services, programs, and facilities. Different topics addressed in the guide include disability language and etiquette, communication practices, universal design, assistive technology, accessible website design, program design and implementation, and accessible environments. Though written with small and rural libraries in mind, the guide’s recommendations have field-wide relevance.

Welcoming Patrons with Disabilities in Rural Libraries

How are small and rural libraries addressing the needs of patrons with disabilities? In this blog post, we offer a broad overview of grantees’ accessibility efforts, highlighting the different kinds of disabilities their projects focus on.

Building Accessibility into Community Conversations

How can libraries host community conversations that are accessible to people with disabilities? In this blog post, we document the creative strategies libraries are making use of to gather the perspectives of people with different disabilities.

Putting "Nothing About Us Without Us" Into Practice in Small and Rural Libraries

How are conversations with disabled patrons impacting libraries' accessibility work? In this blog post, we look at how involving people with disabilities in the planning and implementation stages yielded improvements in libraries’ accessibility projects.

What Neurodivergent Patrons Want from Small and Rural Libraries

What are the accessibility priorities of neurodivergent individuals, and how can libraries address them? In this blog post, we discuss how libraries are learning to incorporate the specific needs and priorities of neurodivergent patrons into their accessibility projects.

Enhancing Library Accessibility for Older Adults

How can libraries in small and rural communities best meet the needs of older adults? In this blog post, we share what libraries are learning about the kinds of accessibility improvements that are most beneficial to aging populations in small and rural communities.

Solving Accessibility Challenges in Small & Rural Libraries

How are small and rural libraries overcoming challenges to planned accessibility upgrades? In this blog post, we highlight some of the different strategies libraries make use of when encountering unforeseen implementation obstacles.

Partnering for Accessibility in Small & Rural Libraries

How are partnerships helping small and rural libraries meet accessibility needs in their communities? In this blog post, we highlight some of the many ways libraries’ accessibility projects were improved through collaboration with other community organizations.

What Library Patrons Have to Say about Accessibility

How are small and rural libraries’ accessibility upgrades impacting patrons? In this blog post, we share what three individuals who identify as disabled have to say about their libraries’ accessibility projects.

Visiting Santa at the Library: An Experience for All

As part of their “See Beyond the Spectrum” initiative, staff at the Beals Memorial Library have created a holiday program specifically designed to accommodate the needs of patrons with sensory differences or who are neurodivergent.

How to Add Sensory-Friendly Programs & Resources to Your Library

A blog post highlighting what LTC: Access grantees are doing to become more accessible to community members with sensory sensitivities – from designing new programs to improving existing ones to building sensory-friendly collections.

Sensory-Friendly Programming: Lessons from Small & Rural Libraries

As they expand access to patrons with sensory sensitivities, the things small and rural libraries are learning can benefit the entire field. This blog post highlights the benefits of sensory-friendly programming and tips for doing this effectively – including the importance of co-creating programs with neurodivergent community members.

Help! How Do I Talk About Disability at My Library?

The language we use to discuss disability is constantly changing, and no two disabled people are exactly alike. This blog post offers a number of general recommendations libraries can make use of to promote the goal of disability inclusion.

Pursuing Accessibility in Historic Sites: Insights from a Library

A conversation between Catharine Hays (director of the Bixby Memorial Free Library) and Knology’s Rebecca Norlander, this blog post offers insights on how to navigate the unique accessibility challenges and opportunities of working in historic sites.

Incorporating Accessibility into Library Strategic Planning: Examples from the Field

Strategic planning is an ideal way to formalize a library’s commitment to accessibility. This blog post highlights processes that have helped small and rural libraries make accessibility a top strategic goal, and shares some of the new accessibility objectives that have resulted from their efforts.

Setting up a Memory Cafe at Your Library: A How-to Guide

This blog post offers practical guidance on how to create an effective Memory Café program – courtesy of the Vinton Public Library’s experiences.

Making Dementia-Friendly Libraries

Outlining some simple steps libraries can take to become dementia-friendly spaces, this blog post highlights the importance of pursuing dementia-friendly training, improving physical access, and collections development.

Small and Rural Libraries Transforming Communities: A Discourse Analysis of Media Coverage

Small and rural libraries are increasingly at the forefront of initiatives to bring communities together to discuss and resolve important issues. This rising tide of libraries’ community engagement is reflected in local news coverage about small and rural libraries and the role they play for the communities they serve. Even so, very little has been published about how libraries in rural areas are depicted in media coverage. This article develops a systematic discourse analysis of media coverage around libraries’ community engagement efforts to better understand the ways in which these key institutions are perceived and made meaningful for public audiences. In the corpus of news articles that we analyze, we identify two distinct discourses: the changing role of libraries and libraries as “safe spaces.” We discuss the significance of these discourses for the field of library studies as well as their implications for library practitioners.