Effective Bibliographic Instruction for Deaf and Hearing-Impaired College Students

COLLEGE ENROLLMENT OF DEAF AND HEARING-IMPAIRED students is increasing steadily, and librarians must be prepared to meet the needs of these special students. Furthermore, with the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (P.L. 101-336 sec. 302), all private and public entities must make allowance for the equal enjoyment of goods, services, facilities, and accommodations by all disabled individuals. The greatest barrier to providing equal access to libraries for deaf or hearing-impaired students is communication, but staff training, specialized bibliographic instruction, written library materials, and special equipment can provide the deaf and hearingimpaired student with the same accessibility to academic library materials as that enjoyed by their hearing peers.