How Deaf Friendly Is Your Library?

Presented By Marie Nicholl-Lynam and Christopher Carnell

Illustrations by Oscar SanchezLas Vegas Clark County Library District

OUTLINE

• Terms • Deaf Culture/Experience• Communication• Visual Environment• Collection Development• Interpreters

TERMS

• The physical condition of lacking in the sense of hearing

deaf:

Hard of hearing:• The loss of hearing over time due to age or as the

result of an injury in which a lessened capacity for hearing remains.

• Tend not to identify themselves as Deaf

• Being deaf does not make one culturally Deaf.

Deaf: (culturally)• Membership to a group whose identity revolves

around deafness, it’s customs, history, values, experiences and the use of sign language.

• Deafness not looked upon as a disability but as a different human experience

Oralism:

Manualism:

The education of the deaf through the use of speech, mimicking mouth movements, and the use of residual hearing and speech reading instead of sign language.

The education of deaf persons through the use of sign language

Total Communication:The concept of utilizing manual, aural and oral modes to ensure effective communication.

STAGES OF DEAFNESS

Congenitally deaf: Born deafAdventitiously deaf: Deaf after birth

Pre lingual: During the first three years of life

Post lingual: After the age of three

Child hood deafness:Pre vocational: While a teenager Post vocational: While an adult

CAUSES OF DEAFNESS/HEARING LOSS

Genetics: Several recessive and dominant forms

Illness: Measles, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, Pre-mature BirthTrauma: Head injuries, resulting in tinnitus or

damage to the ear itself or aural processing centers of the brain.

Noise: Accounts for half of all cases of hearing loss

Age: Passage of time

ASL AND OTHER SIGN LANGUAGES

American Sign Language (ASL)

Laurent Clerc (1785-1869)• 1st deaf teacher of the deaf in the United States • Co-founder of the American School for the Deaf At

Hartford Connecticut.

• A hybrid of Old French Sign Language and Old Kent Sign Language

Vineyarders:• Dialect used in the Chilmark and West Tisbury

communities of Martha’s Vineyard, Maryland.• Communities with an high incidence of hereditary

deafness. • Old Kentish Sign Language

Pidgin Sign

Signed English

• A blend of ASL and Signed English used to facilitate communication between native ASL signers and Native English speakers

• English rendered into sign.• Utilizes English word order and suffixes such

as, –ing,-ment,and –ness.

International Sign / Gestuno

• Published in 1973 by a World Federation of the Deaf Committee. A collection of approximately 1500 signs.

• Used at times at World Federation for the Deaf congress and events such as the Deaflympics.

• ASL is not universal• There are over 200 distinct , naturally-

occurring sign languages

DEAF CULTURE

• Residential schools• Values and beliefs• Clubs• Pride• Seek out connections with other deaf• Etiquette • Lip reading (Speech Reading)

THINGS TO AVOID

The term “Deaf-mute”: Not an accurate term asmost deaf have the capacity to speak• Simply choose not to speak because: 1. It is not their primary means of

communication• Deaf and dumb: Obvious reasons

• Do not refer to a Hard of Hearing person as deaf or a deaf person as Hearing Impaired.

ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL

• Founder of the American Association to Promote the Teaching of Speech to the Deaf.

• Leading advocate for the oralists.

1847- 1922

• Both his mother and wife were deaf.

• Felt the deaf should learn to speak to so they could integrate into the society

“Bell believed that deafness was a terrible curse... A pathological aberration [that] perpetuated negative genetic traits… that deaf persons weakened the society in which they lived.”

A Place of their Own: Creating the Deaf Community in America John Van Cleve and Barry Couch

• Memoir Upon the Formation of a Deaf Variety of the Human Race (1883)

• The elimination of residential schools• Forbidding the use of sign language in education of

deaf students• Prohibiting deaf adults from teaching deaf children

• Proposed legislation against the marriage of congenital deaf mutes

• 90% of deaf persons have hearing parents• 90% of deaf persons have hearing children

• By 1919 80% of residential day schools had become “oral.”

• Deaf teachers became unemployed, forced out of their profession.

• Signing and Oral students were segregated• Oral students caught signing were punished• Some children left without any language at all,

denied access to sign while being forced to learn to speak

SIGN IN NEVADA

• There are approximately 550 deaf or hard of hearing students in CCSD that are receiving services.

• Self Contained class sizes are approximately 10-11 students each.

• There are no schools for the deaf in Nevada.

• Las Vegas Charter School for the Deaf closed in March of 2012 due to lack of funding.

• Offer both Total Communication and Aural/Oral programs for speech development.

NEVADA

• Nevada 2008: 77,377 out of 2,568,111 or 3.01%• Nevada 2011: 81,972 out of 2,723,322 • West Virginia 2008: 109,193 out of 1,787,710 or 6.05%

COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES

COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES

• Face and lips must be visible• Choose a location that is well-lit• Avoid standing with your back to any light source• Look directly at the person with whom you are talking• Avoid distracting background noise• Speak naturally - don't exaggerate, shout, or speak too slowly• Use natural facial expressions• Use gestures

http://libguides.gallaudet.edu/content.php?pid=352844

DEAF EXPERIENCES IN THE LIBRARY

• Staff has no ASL knowledge/skills• Lack of services for the deaf• DVDs with captioning are not clearly marked• Programs in many languages, but not ASL• Treated differently/Overlooked

DEAF EXPERIENCES IN THE LIBRARY

SEEING THE LIBRARY

• Is the building’s layout intuitive?• Are signs direct & easy to understand?• Are services/departments clearly marked?• Is the building well lit?• Is visual clutter a problem?

SIGNS AND VISUALS

• Clear• Concise• Thoughtfully placed• Free of specialized

language or jargon• Pictures or images

COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT

Thoughtful collection development entails more than buying some sign language books, dvds, & dictionaries…

CONSIDERATIONS BEFORE PURCHASE

• Currency of information• Outdated or pejorative terms• Legal, medical, technological

• Visual quality • Author/producer credentials• Who is the intended audience?• Is it in ASL or Signed Exact English?

CONSIDERATIONS FOR A/V MATERIAL

• Is it captioned? • Does the packaging indicate captioning?• Know the difference between subtitles & captioning.

Subtitles Captioning• Word for word• Denotes speaker(s)• Includes relevant sound

effects, noises, music

• Word for word• Concept

PROFESSIONAL INTERPRETERS

• Requires formal education & training.• Is not merely someone who can sign.• Has national or state certification.• Adheres to a professional code of conduct.• Subject to censure• Continuing education.

HIRING INTERPRETERS

• Determine client’s needs• Budget for interpreters• Where to find an interpreter

• Professional Services• NV Dept. of Health & Human Services

• Build relationships

WORKING WITH AN INTERPRETER

• Provide list of client needs• Logistics

• Lighting• Space• Cues

• Interpreter is there to facilitate• Everything will be interpreted• Interpreting is physically taxing

GETTING STARTED

• Educate staff• Conquer visual environment• Research & Plan• Collections• Webpage• Events

• Look long range• Evaluate

REMEMBER

Creating a positive library experience for deaf patrons

starts with you.

QUESTIONS

nicholla@lvccld.orgcarnellc@lvccld.org

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