Navigating Disability in the Academic Library Workplace

Approximately 26% of American adults are classified as disabled, meaning many academic librarians live with at least one disability. Much of the literature surrounding disability in libraries, however, focuses on the user rather than the library worker. Navigating Disability in the Academic Library Workplace collects ways that the library can support its workers with disabilities and encourage them to succeed. It’s a guide for librarians with disabilities on supporting and advocating for themselves in the workplace, but also a resource for able-bodied and neurotypical managers and workers to learn how to be allies. Chapters examine identities, intersections, The Americans with Disabilities Act, accommodations, advocacy, and collective care practices. Authors generously share their own stories and experiences and offer their own definitions of ableism, disability, intersectionality, and other relevant terms to help capture the diversity and magnitude of identities held by people with disabilities. Navigating Disability in the Academic Library Workplace offers a chorus of voices with different perspectives and provides ideas and resources for individuals with disabilities, supervisors, coworkers, and the profession.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Samantha Peter and Paula Martin Chapter 1. Disability Identity Jessica Schomberg Chapter 2. On Being the Wrong Kind of Different: Where Queer and Disabled Intersect Shanna Hollich Chapter 3. The Americans with Disabilities Act and Academic Library Workers Katelyn Quirin Manwiller Chapter 4. Accommodating Pregnancy in Academic Libraries: Tips for Librarians and Supervisors Samantha Peter and Katelyn Quirin Manwiller Chapter 5. It’s not Just ADA: A Collaborative Approach to Disability Management in the Library Profession Kathryn Tallman and Allan Van Hoye Chapter 6. Hiring and Disability: Recommendations for Librarians, Hiring Managers, and Committees Paula Martin and Samantha Peter Chapter 7. Accommodations, the Academic Library, and Delayed Diagnoses Alice Bennett Chapter 8. Neurodiversifying Academic Libraries: Inclusive Foundations Payton D. Cook and Elizabeth A. Pineo Chapter 9. The Odd One Out: Encouraging Autistic Employee Acceptance and Accommodation in the Academic Library Michelle Green Chapter 10. Self Ad-bro-cacy and Institutional Support: Helping Each Other to Help Ourselves D. Wharton and Sam Nesbitt Zelick Chapter 11. Exploring Crip Time, Self-Care, and Collective Care Practices in the Academic Library Brea McQueen, Natalia Kapacinskas, and Anna Boutin-Cooper Chapter 12. Leading While Disabled Elizabeth Anne Teaff and K.T. Vaughan About the Editors and Authors

About the Author :
Paula Martin is senior associate dean at the University of Wyoming Libraries. She received a Master of Library and Information Science from the University of Missouri-Columbia, and a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from Truman State University. She is neurodivergent and her research interests include equitable hiring practices, academic library administration, and library management systems. Samantha Peter is the chair of Research and Outreach Services and assessment librarian at the University of Wyoming Libraries. She received her Master of Science in Information Studies from the University of Texas at Austin and Bachelor of Science in History from the University of Wyoming. Her research focuses on accessibility in libraries, Open Educational Resources, and Universal Design for Learning.