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Dyslexia

challenges and opportunities for public libraries

hazel.rutledge{at}btinternet.com

Since libraries have considerable experience in catering for users with a wide range of disabilities, it is only natural to expect that they can find ways of coping with users suffering from dyslexia. This would fit well with the public libraries’ mission: to facilitate access to information and resources in a variety of media and should therefore place them at the forefront of assisting people with the disability of dyslexia. A PhD research project: Public library provision of resources for dyslexic individuals’; was undertaken at the Department of Information Science, Loughborough University, from December 1992 to 2000. The main focus of the investigation was primary research to establish what libraries are doing to ensure effective resource provision for dyslexic individuals. An extensive literature review is followed by the results of a questionnaire survey of 114 library authorities in England and Wales (75 per cent response rate) to determine the extent to which public libraries are providing for dyslexic users. Although the very high response rate indicated considerable interest in the subject of dyslexia resource provision, the survey data revealed that the level of activity in support of people with dyslexia was very modest, with only 16.7 per cent of the authorities claiming to have policy statements on special needs in general and even fewer (7 per cent) claiming that their policies directly covered dyslexia. A study of the policy documents revealed that many of the policies only covered dyslexia by inference and in no case was dyslexia specifically mentioned. Reluctance to use the term was almost universal amongst library authorities and, with a few notable exceptions, little was being done to address the needs of dyslexic users. The study concluded that: public libraries are not organizing and promoting resources for dyslexic individuals in a way that helps them to overcome the obstacles limiting library use; information about dyslexia is commonly held in public libraries, but few library authorities are doing much to address specifically the wider resource needs of dyslexic individuals; some library authorities are doing more than others; and the library profession and major bodies dealing with dyslexia are not providing proactive leadership in the area of resource provision for people with dyslexia. Some of the ways in which public libraries can work to remedy this situation are presented.

Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, Vol. 34, No. 3, 135-144 (2002)
DOI: 10.1177/096100060203400302


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