How Deaf Friendly Is Your Library?

1. How Deaf Friendly Is Your Library? Presented By Marie Nicholl-Lynam and Christopher Carnell Illustrations by Oscar Sanchez Las Vegas Clark County Library District

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

3. deaf: • Being deaf does not make one culturally Deaf. The physical condition of lacking in the sense of hearing 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. Terms • Tend not to identify themselves as Deaf

4. 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

5. Oralism: 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. Manualism: 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.

6. Adventitiously deaf: Deaf after birth Pre lingual: During the first three years of life Congenitally deaf: Born deaf Post lingual: After the age of three Child hood deafness: Stages of Deafness Pre vocational: While a teenager Post vocational: While an adult

7. Age: Passage of time Genetics: Several recessive and dominant forms Illness: Measles, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, Pre-mature Birth Trauma: Head injuries, resulting in tinnitus or damage to the ear itself or aural processing centers of the brain. Causes of deafness/hearing loss Noise: Accounts for half of all cases of hearing loss

8. A hybrid of Old French Sign Language and Old Kent Sign Language 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. ASL and other sign languages

9. 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

10. A blend of ASL and Signed English used to facilitate communication between native ASL signers and Native English speakers Pidgin Sign Signed English • English rendered into sign. • Utilizes English word order and suffixes such as, –ing,-ment,and –ness.

11. ASL is not universal • There are over 200 distinct , naturally-occurring sign languages 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.

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

13. The term “Deaf-mute”: Not an accurate term as most 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 Things to Avoid • Do not refer to a Hard of Hearing person as deaf or a deaf person as Hearing Impaired.

14. 1847- 1922 • Both his mother and wife were deaf. • Leading advocate for the oralists. Founder of the American Association to Promote the Teaching of Speech to the Deaf. Alexander graham bell • Felt the deaf should learn to speak to so they could integrate into the society

15. “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)

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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. • There are approximately 550 deaf or hard of hearing students in CCSD that are receiving services. Sign in Nevada • Self Contained class sizes are approximately 10-11 students each. • Offer both Total Communication and Aural/Oral programs for speech development.

19. 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%

20. Communication strategies

21. 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 Communication strategies

22. 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

23. Deaf Experiences in the Library

24. 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? Seeing the Library

25. Clear Concise Thoughtfully placed Free of specialized language or jargon Pictures or images Signs and Visuals

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

27. 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 before purchase

28. Is it captioned? Does the packaging indicate captioning? Know the difference between subtitles & captioning. Subtitles Captioning Considerations for A/v material • Word for word • Concept • Word for word • Denotes speaker(s) • Includes relevant sound effects, noises, music

29. 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. Professional Interpreters

30. Determine client’s needs Budget for interpreters Where to find an interpreter Professional Services NV Dept. of Health & Human Services Build relationships Hiring interpreters

31. Provide list of client needs Logistics Lighting Space Cues Interpreter is there to facilitate Everything will be interpreted Interpreting is physically taxing Working with an interpreter

32. Educate staff Conquer visual environment Research & Plan Collections Webpage Events Getting Started • Look long range • Evaluate

33. Creating a positive library experience for deaf patrons starts with you. Remember

34. QUESTIONS ??? nicholla@lvccld.org carnellc@lvccld.org