Crash Course: Inclusive and Accessible Library Experiences for People with Disabilities

This series includes attendee participation on mic and camera.

Description

One of the core ethical principles of any library must be to create a welcoming and accommodating space for all community members. An accessible library is not optional—library staff have both a service and legal obligation to create a space that is friendly for all patrons regardless of ability or neurotypicality. 

This can be an intimidating prospect, and it can be tough to know how to begin. In this intensive training series, Renee Grassi, Librarian and Accessibility Consultant, will help you move rapidly from beginning principles to a functional ability to implement accessibility practices in your library services, policies, and practices. 

This series will offer hands-on training and active group work with classmates and the instructor. In these three-hour sessions, attendees will participate in breakout groups, exercises, and scenario-based training that will provide them with a functional knowledge of the concepts and skills covered.

Attendees will walk away with new perspectives, approaches, and appreciation for fostering a culture of inclusion and accessibility in their workplace and in their communities. At the end of this course, attendees will create an Accessibility Plan to take back to their workplace and help lead positive change at their library.

This series is comprised of the following three-hour sessions, which can also be purchased individually:

  1. Disability and Neurodiversity 101: Thursday, January 8, 2026, 2:00pm Eastern/1:00pm Central/12:00pm Mountain/11:00am Pacific
  2. Inclusive Communication and Customer Service: Thursday, January 15, 2026, 2:00pm Eastern/1:00pm Central/12:00pm Mountain/11:00am Pacific
  3. Welcoming Neurodivergent and Disabled Patrons in the Library: Thursday, January 22, 2026, 2:00pm Eastern/1:00pm Central/12:00pm Mountain/11:00am Pacific
  4. Inclusive Workplaces for Neurodivergent and Disabled Employees: Thursday, January 29, 2026, 2:00pm Eastern/1:00pm Central/12:00pm Mountain/11:00am Pacific

Learning Objectives

By participating in all four sessions, attendees will:

  • Learn the most up-to-date, socially accepted, and respectful language to discuss disabilities, neurodiversity, and accessibility.
  • Learn how to make their programs, collections, services, and spaces compliant and more accessible to people with different disabilities. 
  • Gather strategies and ideas on how to develop a more positive and stigma-free disability workplace culture that supports library staff with disabilities.
  • Apply strategies for community assessment, co-creation, and community engagement to draft an Accessibility Plan for their library.

About the Instructor

Librarian, author, trainer, administrator, teacher, and consultant Renee Grassi is an advocate for equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility in libraries, schools, and communities. As a neurodivergent librarian herself, Renee has worked in public libraries for nearly twenty years, developing award-winning library initiatives that welcome and support disabled residents and their families and caregivers. Learn more at reneegrassi.com.

This event will be hosted in Zoom. Automatic captions will be enabled for this event. This event will feature breakout rooms throughout. While the main room will be recorded, and registrants will receive access to the recording within a day after each session, breakout rooms will not be recorded.

If you have questions or requests regarding accessibility, contact us at ce@ala.org or at 312-280-5100.