Lisa Peet, Library Journal; Hunters Point Library Confronts Accessibility Issues
"QPL is assessing the situation with the Department of Design and
Construction and Steven Holl Architects, de Bourbon said. (As of press
time, Steven Holl Architects had not responded to LJ’s request
for comment.) “As we move forward with new projects,” she said, “we will
be even more proactive in addressing the needs and circumstances of
every single customer.”
“I hope that libraries who are working on inclusiveness can see this
as a cautionary tale,” said Machones. “There clearly needs to be more
oversight in all stages of planning to ensure nothing like this happens
again. There needs to be opportunities for staff and the community to
analyze and respond to plans at every stage. If there are members of
your community that are not able to participate in input sessions, then
go to them and ask them for their input. Your library will better serve
the community if your plans reflect everyone in it.”
Such inclusive input might be positioned as a mandate in all aspects
of service for the library, Machones suggested. “I would have regular
community conversations to learn about what ways the library could
improve. I also would recommend the library undergo an inclusive
services assessment,” such as the Inclusive Services Assessment and Guide developed for Wisconsin Public Libraries."
Issues and developments related to ethics, information, and technologies, examined in the ethics and intellectual property graduate courses I teach at the University of Pittsburgh School of Computing and Information. My Bloomsbury book "Ethics, Information, and Technology" will be published in Summer 2025. Kip Currier, PhD, JD
Showing posts with label equal access. Show all posts
Showing posts with label equal access. Show all posts
Thursday, November 7, 2019
Hunters Point Library Confronts Accessibility Issues; Library Journal, November 4, 2019
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
Trump housing plan would make bias by algorithm 'nearly impossible to fight'; The Guardian, October 23, 2019
Kari Paul, The Guardian; Trump housing plan would make bias by algorithm 'nearly impossible to fight'
"Under the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) new rules, businesses would be shielded from liability when their algorithms are accused of bias through three different loopholes:
"Under the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) new rules, businesses would be shielded from liability when their algorithms are accused of bias through three different loopholes:
- When the algorithm in question is vetted by a “neutral third party”.
- When the algorithm itself was created by a third party.
- If an algorithm used did not use race or a proxy for it in the computer model.
Wednesday, August 19, 2015
How libraries became the front line of America’s homelessness crisis; Washington Post, 8/19/15
Richard Gunderman and David C. Stevens, Washington Post; How libraries became the front line of America’s homelessness crisis:
"The transition from inpatient to outpatient psychiatric treatment that began in the 1960s, including the closure of state-run psychiatric hospitals, may contribute to the prevalence of mental illness among the homeless. Today, adjusting for changes in population size, U.S. state mental hospitals house only about 10 percent the number of patients they once did. So it is no surprise that libraries are coping with a large number of patrons who are homeless or have mental illnesses. Public libraries are, after all, designed to be welcoming spaces for all. This can leave libraries struggling with how to serve a population with very diverse needs... Helping homeless and mentally ill clients is a challenge that libraries all over the country are grappling with, but library science curricula don’t seem to have caught up. According to one newly minted librarian who received her master’s degree in library science a few years ago, contemporary library education typically includes no coursework in mental illness. It focuses on the techniques and technology of library services, especially meeting the needs of patrons for access to information. Learning strategies to assist mentally ill and homeless patrons might not be on library curricula, but the American Library Association has long had policies in place emphasizing equal access to library services for the poor, and in 1996 formed the Hunger, Homelessness, and Poverty Task Force."
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