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ASCLA webinar on Serving Library Patrons with Autism Spectrum Disorder

On Tuesday, August 9, 11AM CT, the Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASCLA) will be hosting a webinar on serving library patrons with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) as a companion to the Project PALS (Panhandle Autism Library Services) online trainings.

The webinar will be taught by Dr. Amelia Anderson, an expert of educating library professionals on serving patrons with ASD, online communication of people with ASD and students with ASD in academia.

Concluding the webinar, participants will better understand the characteristics and behaviors of a person with ASD in the library; make adjustments and recommendations to their own institution on how to be more inclusive and welcoming; and to provide ASD patrons opportunities for engagement in the library.

Librarians and library staff in public, school, academic and/or special libraries will benefit from this course, which supports ASCLA’s mission for libraries serving special populations, including users with disabilities. More information on this course can be found here.

Registration costs are: ASCLA members: $40; ALA members: $50; ALA student & retired members: $25; Non-members: $65; Group rate: $99 single login, $38/person multiple logins. (min. 2 people). Register here.

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Call for Proposals: ASCLA programs, preconferences and institutes for 2014

ASCLA is now accepting proposals for:

  • Institutes for the 2014 ALA Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia
  • Preconferences for the 2014 Annual Conference in Las Vegas
  • Programs for the 2014 Annual Conference in Las Vegas

Institutes and preconferences are ticketed events held on the Friday of the conference. Programs are held throughout the Annual Conference and are included as a part of conference registration.

You can access the online program proposal form here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ascla2014progpreconproposal

You can also download a PDF of the form in preparation for submitting the online form. Only online submissions will be accepted!

The deadline for submissions is Wednesday, May 15 Saturday, June 1!

We have a limited number of slots available for each type of event, so put your best foot forward when submitting a proposal.

Who can propose a program, institute or preconference? Any current ASCLA member can propose one of these events, however we strongly encourage support and sponsorship from one of our interest groups! If you’re not an interest group member, consider joining one and using the group as a springboard for your conference event ideas. Check out the list of our interest groups, contact information for interest group leaders and instructions on how to join.

What sorts of topics are of interest? The best topics represent ASCLA’s core member areas–state library agencies, special populations librarians, independent librarians and library consultants, and resource-sharing librarians at networks and cooperatives–but are also of interest to librarians throughout the profession from all types of libraries. Keep in mind that topics should still be relevant in January and June 2014 when they are finally presented! You can browse our interest group list here for inspiration.

If my event is accepted and approved by ASCLA, what will I be responsible for? You will be responsible for recruiting and serving as a liaison to the event speakers, as well as being on-site the day of the event to help coordinate event details. You will work with the ASCLA office to set up the event details with ALA Conference Services. The ASCLA office will promote your event, and will give you the tools to help spread the word.

I’m not an ASCLA member, but I’d like to get involved with program planning. The best way to do this is to join ASCLA, and then join one of our many interest groups.

Anything else I should know? If you’re going to go through the trouble of planning an in-person event, we want to maximize the reach of that information! Consider offering a webinar or other online learning opportunity in conjunction with the in-person event that will enhance the learning experience! So for example, you might offer a webinar in early May as a teaser for the content that will be covered at your conference program in June. In late July, you might host a follow-up discussion using a tool like ALA Connect, Google Hangout or Blackboard Collaborate that brings program attendees together to continue the conversation about what you’ve discussed at the previous two events.

Questions about the program planning process? Please contact Liz Markel, ASCLA marketing & programs manager at lmarkel@ala.org.

We look forward to receiving your proposals!

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CEUs now available for ASCLA online course “Improving Library Services for People with Disabilities”

The Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASCLA) is now offering continuing education units (CEUs) for its online course “Improving Library Services for People with Disabilities.” The next session of this course begins Monday, Feb. 18; registration will end at close-of-business on Thursday, Feb. 14 Friday, Feb. 15.

Providing library services to people with disabilities is a role filled by all levels of library staff. From the part-time aide checking out library materials to the library director determining policies, staff skills and attitudes are crucial for a satisfactory library experience. During this course, participants will identify library users with disabilities at their library and the resources and assistive technologies available to assist them; examine changes in attitudes, laws and technologies that have impacted people with disabilities; and will be able to recommend changes in personal and organizational behaviors to improve services for people with disabilities at their library.

Register now!

This course is truly designed for all library staff, including support staff, general professional staff, age-level or subject specialists, managers and administrators. Here’s what some of our previous course participants had to say:

Several of our staff enrolled as a group, and used the course as a launching pad to have further discussion across the library. We all agree that there is much for us to do. It created momentum for us around the library about many issues of accessibility.  

We implemented a team to begin looking at all aspects of how our library assists people with disabilities. We have already begun making recommendations for improvement to our department heads.

We have already begun to look at programs and services in light of what we’ve learned and will be setting up a process that will prioritize new work to implement enhancements and improvements. Several recommendations have already been made in the areas of staff development and training, modifications to web pages and program statements and adoption of new technologies.

I feel I have a much more open mind about my programming and I definitely keep accessibility issues in mind when I plan now. The most valuable thing I learned in this course is to not be afraid to offer help and services to someone different to me.

The most valuable thing I learned was how to use “Person First Language.” Sharing ideas and having an open forum really helped my understanding of the public library’s goal of making things functional for everyone through technology, words and programming. I shared the information I learned from the course with the children’s staff at our annual meeting; as a library system we plan on doing more Sensory Storytime programs.

The course will begin Monday, Feb. 18 and finish on Sunday, Mar. 17. Two live online sessions using the FlashChat feature of Moodle, the online course management system, will take place on Thursday, Feb. 28 and Thursday, Mar. 14, from 3-4 pm CENTRAL/Chicago Time. Students complete the remainder of the weekly coursework at their own pace.

Interested participants can register online now, register via fax or mail, or learn more about the course at the ASCLA website. Registration fees start at $150 for ASCLA members. Discounted group registration rates for two or more registrants from the same library, library system or network are available. Contact ALA’s Membership and Customer Service Team with any questions about registration for this course at registration@ala.org or (800) 545-2433, option 5.

“Improving Library Services for People with Disabilities” is taught by Kate Todd, who has worked as a children’s librarian for The New York Public Library and as emerging technologies librarian for Manhattanville College. At Manhattanville College, she taught “Technology for Special Education” in the graduate school of education. She has also taught several online courses for the Association of Library Services to Children (ALSC), including “Children with Disabilities in the Library”—this new ASCLA course is the general staff counterpart to that course.