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Hello (sorry for any cross posting, but please share!),

It’s time to start thinking about this summer’s ALA Annual Conference in
San Francisco! This year, there is an exciting preconference for anyone who
wishes to learn more about the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and
how it affects them in their library.

Celebrating its 25th anniversary at the same time as ALA Annual, the ADA is
a monumental civil rights law that helps ensure equal access to everyone,
including people with disabilities.

Understanding the ADA is important for all types of libraries.  The
preconference session presented by the Pacific ADA Center will answer many
of the questions you have about serving people with disabilities, and even
questions you didn’t know you had!

This preconference is ideal for library staff assigned as ADA coordinator
for their library, or anyone else with an interest in the ADA.
Preconference session topics will include:

 • An overview of the ADA – who and what does it cover?
 • Excellent customer service skills and appropriate terminology to use
with library     patrons with disabilities
 • Effective communication with patrons who have vision and hearing
disabilities
 • Accessible technology and how libraries can use it
 • Hiring and accommodation of library staff with disabilities
 • The basics about service animals
 • The ADA quiz - how much do you know?
While registration may be a long time from now, this email is an invitation
for anyone interested in attending the preconference to sign up for email
updates and alerts as we get closer to the registration period.

The cutoff period between opening of registration and the decision to
cancel a preconference is short, so we want to ensure that all who are
interested in attending this preconference, or sending a member of their
staff to attend, are able to know when the registration period opens.
Once registration begins, we’ll send out an email to all who complete the
one-question online form from the link below. Please note, using the link
and entering your email will not commit you to attending the preconference.
Its sole purpose is to inform you as to when registration opens. That
said, here’s
the link to sign up. <http://bit.ly/1vPafUQ>

We hope you can make it to the preconference.  It will be informative and
helpful – and you’ll even have some fun!



This preconference is a partnership between the Pacific ADA Center and the
Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASCLA).

The Pacific ADA Center is designed to promote full and unrestricted
participation in society for persons with disabilities through
implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  Founded in
1992, the Center is a recognized leader in the areas of disability
awareness, and ADA training and technical assistance.  Center Staff, many
of whom have disabilities, have conducted thousands of training sessions
with businesses and governmental agencies across the Center’s geographic
region of Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada and the Pacific Basin.  Learn
more at www.adapacific.org.
ASCLA is the premiere destination for ALA members to find information and
build capacity to serve populations that are served by state library
agencies, specialized libraries, library cooperatives and library
consultants.
ASCLA's more than 800 members are:
•    Librarians, library agencies and staff serving populations with
special needs, such as those with sensory, physical, health or behavioral
conditions or those who are incarcerated or detained.
•    Librarians and staff of state library agencies, and state library
consultants – organizations created or authorized by the state government
to promote library services in the state    through the organization and
coordination of a variety of library services.
•    Library networks and cooperatives – organizations of one or more types
of libraries: academic, public, special, or school. They collaborate to
maximize the funds available for provision of library services to all
citizens. They may serve a community, a metropolitan area, a region, or a
state-wide or multi-state area.
•    Consultants, independent or contract librarians, as well as those who
work outside of traditional library settings.
To learn more about ASCLA, visit www.ala.org/ascla

Let me know if you have any questions.
Best,

Christopher Corrigan
ASCLA Designated Director, Special Populations