What's in the name? Why the Iowa Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped is becoming the Iowa Library for Accessible Statewide Services

Why is a name change necessary?

A few weeks ago, the National Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped announced that it would be changing its name to The National Library for the Blind and Print Disabled. The reason for this is that the word “handicapped”, having been created to describe those who held a cap in their hands to beg for charity – is pretty offensive to many people. Replacing “Physically Handicapped” with “Print Disabled” removes the outdated terminology. As a regional library under the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, the official name of our library has been The Iowa Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. We need to remove the outdated terminology from our name as well.

Why this name?

We have been working on this issue for the past six months while waiting to see what the National Library would choose for its new name. We looked at other regional libraries who have already made name changes. “ We looked at other options and wrote and re-wrote lists of potential names. We realized that we had to make a choice. Our name could either describe who we serve or it could describe what we do. Every attempt to do both made for unwieldy and impossible to remember strings of words. Both options had their advantages and disadvantages. If we went with ”The Iowa Library for the Blind and Print Disabled“, we were putting people who can’t access standard print for reasons other than blindness in a box and assigning them a label they may or may not find inclusive and positive. In addition, going with a description of who we serve doesn’t let other entities know how we can work with them to support those they serve. This is particularly important in trying to build relationships with schools, AEAs, and other education related groups. We came to the conclusion that choosing a name that lets people know what we do is the better option. We tried out and let go of dozens of names like ”Iowa Library for Braille and Audio Books“, ”Iowa Library for Audio, Electronic and Braille Materials“, and ”Iowa accessible Library." We settled on Iowa Library for Accessible Statewide Services because we believe it does the best job describing what we are currently doing and what we will be doing in the years to come. Each word carries a particular concept that we want to emphasize.

Iowa: This is our state. This is who we serve and the tax payers who fund us.

Library: “The library” is what our patrons call us and what we call ourselves. While our official name will change, it is very unlikely that we will stop being called “the library.” Also this highlights our collection of braille, audio, and large print materials. It reminds folks that we circulate reading material such as books, magazines, and newsletters in alternative formats and loan out equipment like audio players, braille writers, and soon braille displays.

Accessible: So many people still are unaware of what accessibility is and why it is so important. We are in the information age and the ability to get at and use information is key to nearly every job and vital to being engaged in the world. We need to share our expertise on how to make materials accessible. We need to encourage and empower content creators to build accessibility in to the content from the very beginning. We need to help those choosing learning management systems, applications, and other such resources to make sure they choose an accessible option and that accessibility is a key factor in their decision making process.

Statewide: We serve the whole state and we need everyone to know this. Having “statewide” in our name reminds us that we need to think about the needs of those living in small towns and cities that are outside the Des Moines metro and find more ways to connect with those patrons.

Services: First of all, this reminds us that we are here to serve and we are public servants. Secondly, this highlights the fact that we provide many different services to people of all ages. We make educational materials accessible. We have family events, book clubs, braille training, and we are going to continue to add more and more services as needs arise and we build our capacity.

We know that there will be folks that are sad, hurt, or worried about the fact that our new library name does not contain the word “blind” or the word “braille”. We have no intention of trying to hide from, push aside, or otherwise try to disassociate ourselves from the word “blind”. We will remain relentless and tenacious in our promotion of braille and braille literacy. The Iowa Library for Accessible Statewide Services is and will always be an integral part of the Iowa Department for the Blind. This is in no way an attempt to disassociate the library from IDB. On the contrary, the library is becoming less siloed and working more with other teams within the department. Our college and career commons will support the work of our vocational rehabilitation counselors, teachers, and technology specialists. Our youth library will work closely with our education and training team to provide more and better pre-employment transition services. These are natural partnerships since we know that building a love of reading leads to lifelong learning and promotes educational and career success.

Later this summer, we will be hosting three community forums in different parts of the state to talk with folks about our name change, the new college and career commons, the youth library, and other ideas and initiatives. We want to have conversation, gather ideas, and share more about what we have planned. We hope you can attend one of these events. You can also learn more and share ideas by attending the July Director’s Forum. It will be held from 5:15 to 6:15 on Monday, July 15th. The Call in number is 1-866-685-1580 and the conference code is 5152811299. You can also attend via the Zoom app on your computer or smart phone.
To join the Zoom Meeting go to: https://zoom.us/j/677665668