February 19, 1 p.m., presented by Susan Metallo
In 2023 on behalf of Publishers Weekly, author and public librarian Susan Metallo interviewed librarians about their challenges and successes in serving disabled patrons. In this webinar, Susan shares best practices and lessons-learned from these proactive programs. She also recommends a framework for developing library services that empower the disabled community to engage with the public library, crafted both from her research and from her lived experience as a disabled library-lover.
Attendees will learn:
- Who belongs to the broad and diverse disabled community, how to reach them, and what language and behavior will signal welcome and respect
- Different marketing strategies for disabled patrons and for non-disabled caregivers of disabled people (e.g., parents of disabled children, family members of patrons with Alzheimer’s)
- How to make your collection more accessible and relevant to disabled patrons
- Strategies for giving disabled patrons agency and input in decisions about services and policies that will affect them
Susan Metallo – Biography
Susan Metallo is a neurodivergent author, librarian, and Publishers Weekly contributor. Her debut novel, Reasons to Hate Me—winner of the 2022 SCBWI Young Adult Work-in-Progress Award and the 2022 Seven Hills Literary Contest for Young Adult Literature—will be released Fall 2025 from Candlewick Press and features themes of honesty, agency, and disability justice against the backdrop of hilarious high school misadventures. Find her online at www.susanmetallo.com.
The views expressed in webinars provided by PCI do not necessarily reflect the views or official policies of the State of Arkansas, the Arkansas Department of Education, or the Arkansas State Library.
