Library Policies
IDEA Statement

• Pursue ADA compliance in our building, surrounding spaces, and on our website
• Provide services for patrons who have difficulty entering our building
• Offer technology, guidance, and training to help bridge the “digital divide”
• Dismantle policies that create financial barriers to using the library
• Maintain a collection that includes accessible or adaptable media formats and help patrons access formats not available at our library
• Take steps to increase patrons’ comfort in using the library and approaching library staff for help or information

• Create policies that protect the privacy of both patrons and staff
• Take steps to protect the privacy of patrons using our public computers or other public technology

• Empower our communities to identify, find, critically evaluate, apply, and acknowledge information
• Offer programming that facilitates respectful discussions and increases understanding of diversity in our community and around the world

• Curate a diverse and inclusive collection featuring a wide array of characters, authors, voices, and perspectives
• Use cataloging language that reflects accurate and respectful language
• Offer diverse and inclusive programming
• Foster partnerships with diverse communities in Berlin, embracing the goal of “nothing about us without us”

• Identify and dismantle staff policies that create barriers to access, are discriminatory, or otherwise do not support our IDEA values
• Hold ourselves accountable by routinely seeking feedback from staff
• Identify and address hiring, retention, and management practices that have disadvantaged individuals from marginalized groups
• Commit to our own ongoing learning about the ways in which IDEA can be applied to our work
• Encourage an atmosphere of dignity, empathy, and respect through staff training and development
• Create annual objectives with measurable goals in support of this diversity statement
• Ensure that all levels of staff have a voice and are encouraged to speak up about concerns and share ideas
• Welcome all library board and staff to provide feedback on the library director’s plans and progress

Accessibility is “an umbrella term for all aspects which influence a person’s ability to function within an environment”.^[1] Put another way, accessibility is a measure of how easily a person can participate in an activity.

Accessibility takes many forms in many places. Physical environments, such as dwellings, offices and other buildings, elevators, ramps and sidewalks are an obvious category. Transportation is another category – an example of improved accessibility here is wheelchair-friendly buses. Web and digital environments fall into another grouping, in which enlarged fonts and speak-to-text features can be used to improve accessibility.^[2]

Barriers to Access are obstacles that make it difficult or impossible to use the library.

Barriers come in many forms, not just physical. They can include the layout of the building and outdoor areas; media formats that are not readable for all people; technologies that cannot be adapted for assistive devices; financial needs; and procedures or policies that make it difficult to use the library.^[1]

Digital Divide is a term that refers to the barriers that some individuals face in fully participating in the information society. These barriers may include a lack of internet connectivity at home; lack of necessary hardware or software; and lack of skills, knowledge, or means necessary to access digital resources.[1]

Disability is a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. This includes people who have a record of such an impairment, even if they do not currently have a disability. It also includes individuals who…are regarded as having a disability.[1] [2] A condition does not have to be visible or “readily apparent” to be considered a disability. Many conditions that are not readily apparent to the general population still affect major life activities.[3]

Diversity can be defined as the sum of the ways that people are both alike and different. Visible diversity is generally those attributes or characteristics that are external. However, diversity goes beyond the external to internal characteristics that we choose to define as ‘invisible’ diversity. Invisible diversity includes those characteristics and attributes that are not readily seen. When we recognize, value, and embrace diversity, we are recognizing, valuing, and embracing the uniqueness of each individual.[1]

Further Reading

Definition of a Disability, Great Plains ADA Center

Defining Diversity, ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom

Equity is not the same as formal equality. Formal equality implies sameness. Equity, on the other hand, assumes difference and takes difference into account to ensure a fair process and, ultimately, a fair (or equitable) outcome. Equity recognizes that some groups were (and are) disadvantaged in accessing educational and employment opportunities and are, therefore, underrepresented or marginalized in many organizations and institutions. The effects of that exclusion often linger systemically within organizational policies, practices, and procedures. Equity, therefore, means increasing diversity by ameliorating conditions of disadvantaged groups.[1]

Inclusion means an environment in which all individuals are treated fairly and respectfully; are valued for their distinctive skills, experiences, and perspectives; have equal access to resources and opportunities; and can contribute fully to the organization’s success.[1]

“Nothing About Us Without Us” is a motto that refers to the active involvement of persons with disabilities in the planning of strategies and policies that affect their lives. It has been used by Disabled Peoples Organizations throughout the years as part of the global movement to achieve the full participation and equalization of opportunities for, by and with persons with disabilities.[1]