An Evaluation of the American Models of Public Library Service for Disabled Users for Poland

• Main Author: Malgorzata Fedorowicz
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Türk Kütüphaneciler Derneği (Turkish Librarians' Association) 2013-11-01
• Series: Türk Kütüphaneciliği
• Subjects: Engellilere yönelik kütüphane hizmetleri; Halk kütüphaneleri; Halk kütüphanesi hizmeti; Polonya halk kütüphaneleri; Polonya’da engelli kütüphane kullanıcıları
• Online Access: http://tk.org.tr/index.php/TK/article/view/17

The service of disabled people is an extremely important segment of public libraries activity. In the United States, Canada and Scandinavian countries a great importance is attached to expanding library offer by adding services aimed to this category of users. In this work three American models of library service in public libraries are discussed. The models are: delivering library services out- side a library, in other words, an outreach program, rendering services in spe- cial needs centers and integrated service, which is provided in the same place and in the same way as for the remaining members of the community (it is also called mainstreaming). Next, the models are compared with actions taken in this field in Polish libraries, which after many years of isolation from the latest trends currently are trying to overtake backlogs.