On behalf of the National Association of the Deaf (NAD), I am pleased to have this opportunity to provide comments for consideration by the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS) regarding its proposed Comprehensive Assessment of Public Information Dissemination Policies and Practices.

The NAD applauds NCLIS efforts to develop recommendations that will make it possible for the public – including deaf and hard of hearing individuals - to have greater access to the full range of information made available through libraries, government agencies, private and public organizations, and other entities having a vested interest in the dissemination of information to the public.

Established in 1880, the mission of the NAD is to promote, protect and preserve the quality of life and rights of deaf and hard of hearing individuals in the United States of America.

The NAD has a section, called Friends of Libraries for Deaf Action-USA (FOLDA-USA), which promotes membership involvement in local public library activities and their Friends groups for expanded public awareness about the deaf community, hearing loss, and American Sign Language (ASL). This section also works closely with its partner, ASL Access (www.aslaccess.org), a non-profit organization that works to place ASL video materials in interested public libraries.

The NAD also manages the Captioned Media Program under cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Education, which involves the evaluation, procurement, captioning and free-loan dissemination of open-captioned educational and special interest video materials to deaf and hard of hearing consumers, K-12 and postsecondary educational programs, and related entities (www.cfv.org). This program exists because, even today, less than ten percent (10%) of such videos on the U.S. market are captioned.

Accessibility remains of great importance and concern to deaf and hard of hearing constituents – that is, access to print, auditory, and visual information that is put into the public domain. Video materials, again, for the most part are not captioned. Print information is frequently provided without regard to the multi-lingual needs of our constituents or those for whom English is a second language.

What, then, do deaf and hard of hearing individuals seek in terms of access to libraries and public information? For example, they want to be able to do the following:

• Make calls from outside, including after hours (i.e., via TTY as well as through other interactive means);
• Access materials and resources through the Internet;
• Use accessible materials, i.e., books, audiotapes, videos, CDs, software, and the like;
• Attend regularly scheduled or special programs, training sessions, and presentations (including those provided by deaf and hard of hearing persons); and
• Obtain assistance from trained staff who are either deaf or hard of hearing, or understand our specific needs,

Individuals with disabilities face attitudinal barriers on a daily basis, which often presents greater difficulties than physical barriers. Attitude especially plays an important role in awareness and sensitivity training for administrative and front-line personnel on the accessibility needs of 54 million individuals with disabilities, of which 28 million are deaf or hard of hearing – this second figure translates to one out of every ten Americans.

The far-reaching legislative and infrastructure changes being recommended by NCLIS in their final report would be far more effective with concerted attention to this very large and growing group within the nation’s population. Policy and programmatic leadership is needed to require training for library and public information providers on strategies for effective interaction with and provision of accessible services to persons with disabilities, including preparation of disabled people for information service careers.

In addition to the above remarks, we have three recommendations.

First, the Commission’s final report should include a recommendation reaffirming the importance of compliance with all applicable federal laws protecting the rights of disabled individuals to access education, information, and learning opportunities be applied to the broad definition of public information as defined by NCLIS. This includes expansion of the citation regarding Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998, which requires that when Federal agencies develop, procure, maintain, or use electronic and information technology, they must ensure that it is accessible to people with disabilities, including their employees. Specific mention of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act needs also to be included.

Second, we wish to encourage consideration of the public information access needs of deaf and hard of hearing individuals, in line with two documents of relevance – “Guidelines for Library Services to the American Deaf Community,” published in 1996 by the Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies, a division of the American Library Association (ALA), as well as the “Guidelines for Library Services to Deaf People,” published in 1991 by the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA).

Third, we wish to encourage the Commission to also include consideration for and mention in their final report regarding the work being done by the Web-based Education Commission (www.hpcnet.org/webcommission). The NAD has been working to ensure that technological innovations, including those provided through our continually evolving and expanding Internet, do not exclude the nation’s deaf and hard of hearing population. While recognizing the vast educational and informative potential of the Internet, we must give equal attention to ensuring barrier-free accessibility.

In closing, the NAD wishes to applaud NCLIS for their diligence in developing comprehensive and far-reaching strategic recommendations for the 21st century, which we believe will truly make a difference in the lives of all Americans, especially deaf and hard of hearing individuals.

Thank you for allowing me this opportunity to share the recommendations of the NAD, and please do not hesitate to call upon us should you have questions or seek additional information.