Art by Gary Murrel. Image credit: National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities.
March is National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, and the Association of Specialized Government and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASGCLA), a division of the American Library Association, has created a free toolkit designed to help you create a more welcoming and accessible library environment for visitors who experience developmental, cognitive, and intellectual disabilities.
National Developmental Disabilities Awareness month is a project of the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities in partnership with the Association of University Centers on Disabilities and the National Disability Rights Network. The campaign seeks to raise awareness about the inclusion of people with developmental disabilities in all areas of community life, as well as awareness to the barriers that people with disabilities still sometimes face in connecting to the communities in which they live.
According to the National Association of Councils on Development Disabilities, over five million Americans are estimated to have a developmental disability. To learn what steps you can take to build a more inclusive library community, visit the websites of the advocacy and educational organizations provided at the end of the toolkit and also the ASGCLA website.
The Wyoming State Library partners with the Wyoming Institute for Disabilities (WIND) at the University of Wyoming and directs libraries an patrons to the many great assistive technology resources they make available to Wyoming residents, including those that may benefit people with developmental disabilities. Learn more on the WSL website, or contact Tekla Slider, WSL Federal Documents Librarian, at tekla.slider@wyo.gov or (307) 777-6955 for more information.