DEMOS Project - Module: Dyslexia

Dyslexia and the library

Libraries are places that can present considerable barriers to students with dyslexia. Dyslexic students have difficulties with a number of areas that are required for successful use of the library and these can be exacerbated by design of the library environment that doesn't consider the needs of dyslexic students. Below are some potential areas of difficulty and suggested strategies for reducing these barriers.

Potential difficulties

Problems with a catalogue that relies on sequences of numbers and letters that bare no obvious link to the whereabouts or the content of the book itself.
May avoid the library in general because of problems with literacy.
General anxiety about books.
Problems locating books.
Difficulties following complex directional instructions.
Problems with reading.
Embarrassment about approaching staff and disclosing dyslexia.

I'm having trouble with these assignments now and this is what is worrying me about not being able to get these books. If I get them too late I'm not going to get the full benefit of what's in them. I'll be trying to extract information at such a rate that I'm bound to miss something. Plus you are at a level now where you have got to think about it. But if you can't read it properly, how can you analyse it properly - it's just a vicious circle.

Ruth, 1st year, Diploma in Social Work

Suggested strategies

• Information leaflets etc. should use pictorial information where possible (but remember that you may need to replicate diagrams etc. in text alternatives for visually impaired people). Also consider using a font that is more easily readable such as Arial and using coloured paper (pastel shades are helpful), which may match the colours used to delineate subject areas etc. (see below).

• Building design needs to be considered carefully and will require negotiation with planners and architects from the Estates department of your institution. Use colour to delineate, floors, subject area, different media types. You should consider use of floor diagrams to help with location.

• Extended loan periods are often useful because a student with dyslexia will require longer to extract information from text. They may also make use of extensive photocopying and this is usually paid for by their local education authority (LEA) through the Disabled Students Allowances (DSAs). You should consider setting up a system in collaboration with the specialist support service of your university so that receipts or photocopying cards are more easily obtainable.

• Consider developing a fetching service or maybe an allocated member of staff who will at least go with the student to locate books on their reading lists. Any such services should be clearly advertised but remember not to inadvertently break confidentiality.

• Provide copies of books on dyslexia aimed at the dyslexic student. Try to provide them on all sites as dyslexic students will be dispersed across the university:

Buzan, T (2000) Use your head.
Miles and Gilroy (2000) Dyslexia at college.

It would be a good idea to liaise with the service within your university that provides support to dyslexic students for a list of similar books.

• Consider obtaining books on tape where possible. This not only helps dyslexic students but blind students as well. Some universities actually have an alternative media production unit based within library services. A team of readers can be employed.

• Many libraries now offer assistive technology solutions. For example a package called Inspiration, which is software that dyslexic students use to mind map. (Perhaps - subject librarians could provide mind maps of their subject area with location information for each subgroup).

| Previous || Table of Contents || Next |