Universal Design, the Library, and Assistive Adaptive Technologies

The effort to find ways to make everything from doorways to websites more accessible to people with physical and learning disabilities is synonymous with the term “Universal Design”. In this presentation we will explore how Universal Design principles, guidelines, and performance indicators can be applied to library instruction, information technology, physical spaces, and student services. Attendees will walk away with tips and tricks, resources and best practices that will help make instruction, educational products, and environments accessible to all students, including those with disabilities.To access the session handout, click on the Download button on the right

A Community of Practice: Librarians in a Biomedical Research Network

Providing library and reference services within a biomedical research community presents special challenges for librarians, especially those in historically lower-funded states. These challenges can include understanding needs, defining and communicating the library’s role, building relationships, and developing and maintaining general and subject specific knowledge. This article describes a biomedical research network and the work of health sciences librarians at the lead intensive research institution with librarians from primarily undergraduate institutions and tribal colleges and universities. Applying the concept of a “community of practice” to a collaborative effort suggests how librarians can work together to provide effective reference services to researchers in biomedicine

Media-N: Journal of the New Media Caucus

Launched in 2005, this open-access, online journal provides a forum for scholars, artists, and practitioners to share their work and promote critical dialogue on new media art. The initial edition was created from papers of the New Media Caucus at the College Art Association (CAA) conference

And One Device Will Rule Them All: Make Way for Mobile Technologies

We are well aware that most members of our campus communities are highly dependent on mobile technologies. What are the implications for libraries? What are the implications for teaching these technologies and via these technologies? How can we keep our colleagues up to speed in this maelstrom of technology? We can now use WorldCat.org on our mobile phones, and EBSCOhost just released its customized application for mobile device users. How can we integrate these new services into an already full menu of services? How do we get started, and which services should we be providing? How can we best integrate these devices into formal and ubiquitous learning? As with most technological developments, the move towards mobile is rapid. This is not a time to sit on the sidelines and wait while other campus units develop services for mobile users, and license content for mobile devices. However, smaller libraries with limited budgets and staff cannot simply jump on the mobile bandwagon without due deliberation and planning. Libraries must make informed, deliberate choices. This group panel will lay out issues that should be discussed within individual campuses that might wish to examine their own role in the move to mobile services. What types of mobile devices are being used on your campus? Are there disciplines already implementing mobile devices in their curriculum? Which user groups might you target specific library services towards? Should the library serve as a training center for mobile devices and the use of mobile content? What are a few ways libraries might provide instruction and information literacy for mobile device users? How can libraries most effectively integrate mobile devices into formal and informal instruction? What are usability and functionality issues that libraries must address as they provide website access to mobile users? A demonstration will be provided on how libraries can use Smartphone Browser Emulators to test applications. What are the implications for the physical spaces in libraries given the use of mobile devices