Computer Science, Mathematics, & Social Sciences Librarian University of Colorado Boulder
Student populations in higher education are increasingly diverse: in addition to more non-traditional students and students from underrepresented backgrounds, approximately 20% of undergraduate students report having a disability. Due to their extensive interaction with campus communities, instruction librarians benefit from learning about different forms of disability and disability justice; this knowledge enables them to better support disabled students, colleagues, and scholars.
Based on the social model of disability, this session will give a brief overview of invisible disabilities, neurodivergence, disability justice, and ableism, then discuss ways that librarians can proactively support invisibly disabled students in library instruction sessions, such as by implementing elements of inclusive pedagogy, such as Universal Design for Learning (UDL). It will also address various challenges identified by invisibly disabled students in the classroom setting and encourage participants to explore building support in their library communities to improve the experiences of these students in library instruction sessions as well as in other venues.
Additionally, participants will have the opportunity to examine their attitudes towards disability and consider ways they can individually begin to bring inclusive pedagogy and strategies into their daily work. Although geared towards academic librarians, this session is full of valuable information for all librarians who support public programming. By embracing the principles of disability justice and being open to disabled perspectives, librarians can make library sessions more accessible, welcoming, and inclusive for people with a wide range of disabilities.
Learning Objectives:
Upon completion, participants will be able to describe ableism and the challenges invisibly disabled students and patrons experience in library classrooms and in other educational settings and the impact that such barriers have on disabled people.
Upon completion, participants will be able to critically assess the support--or lack of support--provided for invisibly disabled students in their own library sessions.
Upon completion, participants will be able to generate ideas about how they can begin to implement inclusive pedagogy and bring an awareness of disabilities to their work that will allow them to better support invisibly disabled students and patrons in their library communities.