Disability and neurodiversity in the academic library: Fostering new and continuing engagement

Abstract

We are now 34 years out from the initial enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) (1990), a landmark piece of federal legislation that made education at every level from preschool to graduate school and meaningful employment accessible to people with apparent and non-apparent disabilities. In higher education, and specifically in the academic library, disability accommodations are now an integral part of the life of both students and staff. During my professional internship as part of my MLIS degree at Kent State University, I developed and delivered a tour of the primary academic library, its in-person and online services, and its website for incoming first-year and transfer students with disabilities at Colorado State University, a large, public, land- and space-grant university. The considerations used to develop this programming and its broad impact are discussed here, along with ideas for ongoing support of students with disabilities, and particularly students with non-apparent and executive function disabilities and neurodiversity such as Autism spectrum conditions.

Keywords:

• Neurodiversity
• disability
• undergraduates
• mentoring program
• Autism
• academic libraries
• adaptive technology
• accessibility
• peer mentoring
• third space
• library orientation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Lynette Seelmeyer

Lynette Seelmeyer is an August 2023 graduate of the Kent State University MLIS program and currently works as an On-Call/Substitute Librarian at High Plains Library District in northern Colorado, where she lives with her family. Both she and her two university-age children are neurodiverse and require disability accommodations at school and at work.