Inclusive Libraries for All: Designing Accessible Spaces in the Smart City(1 Digital and Accessibility Solutions)

All people have the right to access library materials whenever needed. Guaranteeing rights guarantees the freedom to know as a social system. Libraries are organizations that are responsible for ensuring this freedom. Libraries are at the heart of our communities. Every day, people of all ages visit their local library to read, learn, conduct research, communicate, or socialize. However, for various reasons, some patrons or would-be patrons cannot use their library's offerings. Some potential users have disabilities or other limitations and cannot access the resources. Persons with disabilities comprise roughly 15 percent of the global population, according to the World Health Organization. This is a significantly sized population that is understudied and poorly understood within the library profession. Hence, the purpose of this book is to identify current problems faced by mainstream libraries for the provision of library services for persons with disabilities and also to present practical solutions that are appropriate to all. The book covers serving users with diverse needs and various abilities and disabilities. It is organized to gather knowledge about international best practices for implementing accessible library facilities within various relevant institutions, such as schools, universities, and national and public libraries. The emphasis is to create awareness among library professionals about the need for library services for persons with disabilities in mainstream libraries. As a knowledge system, libraries have much to do with information dissemination to support sustainable development. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are transformative changes needed to cater to the immediate needs of the present generation without causing harm to the future generation in terms of meeting their own needs. The items that formed the sustainable development goals were carefully selected and included after a wide consultation by the UN. There are seventeen of them. However, this book is based on the fourth goal: "Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all" (United Nations, 2015). As an institution responsible for acquiring, processing, and disseminating information, the library should provide its services to patrons without discrimination. Information is vital to everyone regardless of religion, race, nationality, tribe, and age. Access to information is a fundamental human right, and the freedom of expression is incorporated into the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UNDHR). It cannot be overemphasized that library services are accessible to students and users with disabilities. Providing library services for students and other users with disabilities is an ever-increasing phenomenon, speeded up by innovative communities and the daily advances of new technologies. Information professionals are supposed to have a moral responsibility to ensure that all patrons have access to library information resources. Libraries should not offer discriminatory services against patrons on grounds of disability and should ensure that every patron has equal access to library information materials. However, nondiscriminatory services remain an ideal rather than the norm for some libraries, as some patrons with disabilities are still underserved in terms of access to library information resources. Environmental, physical, legal, and institutional barriers are some of the factors that limit people with disabilities from social inclusion, and these, together with negative attitudes, are the hardest to overcome.