Synopsis
Provides library-specific guidance regarding ADA compliance.
Reviews
Technology and politics are important factors contributing to the amorphous information policies of our federal government. Unlike many industrialized nations, the United States rarely develops rigorous means for efficient and equitable management of its expansive information resources. Such is the picture painted in the chapters comprising this balanced but generally critical collection. Sixteen contributors representing academe, government, and the library profession address various facets of the current state of information policy, including historical and legal backgrounds. Many chapters add recommendations for strengthening policy. Not surprisingly, the incorporation of new technologies is a common theme. Not only does the Internet pose opportunities and challenges, but enduring issues such as privacy and access to government records alter as technologies evolve. These latter issues also tend to generate degrees of political posturing and deception. The contributors deal frankly but not impetuously with such matters. For an up-to-date, instructive discussion of a topic?information?that has come to characterize the times in which we live, this work may be easily recommended to government documents librarians, library administrators, scholars, and all interested parties. The final chapter, in particular, "Moving to the Networked Information Environment," includes practical considerations that will find application among many organizations outside of government.?Dean C. Rowan, Whittier P.L., Cal. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is complicated, but your building has to be in compliance and you dread the bureaucratic regulations that compromise the law. Whether you are considering building new, remodeling, or making modifications, this book, which contains the proceedings of the 1993 Library Administration & Management Association (LAMA) Buildings and Equipment Section Preconference, provides a solid starting place. It includes ideas from library design architects, a Justice Department trial attorney's explanation of government enforcement of the ADA, architects' ideas for accessibility in historic buildings, and more. Accessible seating cannot be stressed enough, and the ideas contained in this book are accompanied by drawings to give the reader solid recommendations. A bibliography and resource list for adaptive technology is provided along with a list of vendors. A selection on signage and requirements under the ADA, an area often neglected in the literature, is also included. Not to be missed is blind library patron Barbara Pierce's keynote address, "What Do You Think You Are Doing?" which relates a library experience that happened to her more than 30 years ago. The incident remains in her mind as vividly as if it just happened a few hours ago and should remind all of us to carefully consider our words before speaking. This piece should be required reading for every employee in every library and would be useful in sensitivity training for disabled users. Highly recommended for purchase.?Marie Bruni, Huntington Memorial Lib., Oneonta, N.Y.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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