Princess Sparklefists

The college where I work is a Gallaudet University Regional Center, so we regularly have deaf patrons at the library. (Gallaudet is a US university for the deaf.) In past positions, I've often encountered English language learners, but working with deaf patrons is a new experience for me. The most difficult part, as you might imagine, is communication. I don't know American Sign Language, and only some of the patrons can lip read. All of the deaf patrons I've helped so far have written down their requests. For something simple, like a book renewal, I write down the new due date. Easy enough.

Today I had a trickier situation. A patron came in looking for a specific book, which I looked up for her. Normally we try to explain the call numbers to patrons--most of whom are unfamiliar with the Library of Congress classification system--rather than personally tracking down each book ourselves, but I was unsure how to give that my usual explanation--or even ask if she needed it--without writing an essay. Writing out the call number and pointing to the appropriate shelf range seems inadequate, though she did find the book she wanted.

I did quick searches on Amazon.com and the public library catalog, and discovered that there really isn't much in the library literature about services for patrons with disabilities. (There's a ton about reader's advisory and teen services.) I don't recall any real mention of disability in libraries in any of my classes last semester, which makes me think it's still a neglected area. The lack of information seems to imply that it's a bit of a niche area, but I'd think, especially in public libraries, where I eventually hope to work, it'd be essential that librarians have some understanding their disabled patrons.

It's definitely an area I'd like to look into further. In particular, since I know I can expect to meet more deaf patrons in the upcoming months, I'd like to learn at least some basic phrases in ASL. Written transactions work, but feel somewhat impersonal to me, and it would be nice to at the very least be able to greet the patron in ASL. I guess it'd be an attempt to meet them halfway, communication wise, rather than expecting everyone to understand my language. In general, I think English-speakers in the US have an overly unilingual perspective. (The "this is America, so speak English" philosophy. We could be a lot more linguistically flexible. And learning languages is fun!) Maybe I can even figure out how to explain the call numbers...
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A sidenote: My boss is strange. He doesn't like "clutter" on the circulation desk. There's about five feet of desk in between the two circulation computers, and I learned today that putting an issue of MacLean's in that space constitutes clutter. Okay, a little anal, but sure. What was really strange was the way he conveyed this information to me: by picking up the magazine and kind waving it around a little. I wondered if maybe he was going to comment about the article I was reading (about digital music downloads at public libraries) until he gestured with it toward the other side of the desk and mumbled something about keeping it on the other side of the computer because he likes the desk clutter-free. Oy. It's like Office Space, but in a library. Library Space? Why is it that so many library workers have little to no people skills?