2002 ASCLA/National Organization on Disability Award recipient chosen
Contact: Eileen Hardy
312-280-4398
For Immediate Release
April 17, 2002
2002 ASCLA/National Organization on Disability Award recipient chosen
The Dunellen (N.J.) Public Library is the 2002 recipient of the Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASCLA)/National Organization on Disability Award for Library Service for Persons with Disabilities, presented by the Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASCLA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA).
Donated by the Aetna U.S. Healthcare through the National Organization on Disability, the $1,000 award and certificate is given to a library organization that has provided services for people with disabilities.
"At the Dunellen Public Library, 'Our Doors Are Open: Making the Disabled Welcome,' project accomplished exactly what it said," stated Chair Jim Kirks. "Not only did the library recognize the needs of individuals for assistance, the library involved the community and its expertise to develop resources to meet special needs utilizing the latest technology as well as print and media resources, and public programming."
The library formed an assistive technology committee, including library staff, public school personnel, R.O.A.R. (a community organization) and the Cerebral Palsy Association of Middlesex County. Through the project, the library sponsored public programs on learning disabilities; provided access to American Sign Language videos; created a print-based disabilities resource collection for families and caregivers of the disabled; and developed a recreation program to make disabled patrons feel welcome at the library.
The award will be presented June 16, 2002, from 8:30 to 11 a.m., at the ASCLA President's Program and Award Ceremony during the ALA Annual Conference in Atlanta.
ASCLA is a division of the ALA.
