Abstract
For over 10 years, the Access City Award, presented by the European Commission in conjunction with the European Disability Forum, has raised awareness of and concern for the issues of people with disabilities, while continuing to promote accessibility for all European citizens. Looking at the whole palette of good practices in providing accessible environments implemented by the prizewinners, it is striking that library accessibility is not only part of them but is being established as a priority for many cities. This article presents the library accessibility activities of 20 cities that have won the Access City Award from its first iteration in 2011 to 2022 and have focused on this type of accessibility in their portfolio. It is concluded that far from being a luxury, library accessibility is now a necessary normality, and the achievements of Access City Award winners in this field are an inspiration for all cities that adopt accessibility as their mission.
Introduction
In 2021, around 100 million Europeans were living with some form of disability – that is more than a fifth of the European Union’s population. Accessibility is more important than ever, as the population continues to age. The Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021–2030 (European Commission, 2021b) states that the accessibility of architectural and virtual environments, information and communications technologies, goods and services, including transport and infrastructure, is an indivisible part of human rights as it is a prerequisite for the full participation of people with disabilities on an equal footing with others. Over the last decade, several European Union rules have been adopted in various areas to make these and other public spaces more accessible to people with disabilities. European accessibility standards have been introduced to support their application in the architectural environment and information and communications technology.
Also, the Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021–2030 emphasizes that accessible and inclusive arts and culture, sports, recreation and amateur activities, as well as tourism, are essential for full participation in society. According to the text of the Strategy, they increase well-being and enable everyone to develop and use their potential. Accessible tourism for people with disabilities is key to supporting their participation, as well as socio-economic development (European Commission, 2021b).
In addition to the normative documents adopted in the last 10 years, among the good practices in the direction of ensuring accessibility for people with disabilities, the Strategy also takes into account the role of the Access City Award, which stimulates a coordinated cross-sectoral approach that exceeds the minimum standards set by law. The initiative, which was launched by the European Commission in conjunction with the European Disability Forum in 2010, recognizes cities that have made efforts to make their public spaces, services and infrastructure more accessible to more of their citizens. The award aims to raise awareness of and concern about the problems of people with disabilities, and promote accessibility for all European citizens.
The Access City Award is presented to cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants that exemplify some of the best practices in these areas. According to the organizers, the satisfaction of participating in and winning a prestigious European award stimulates cities to make additional efforts and improve awareness even further. Such an award allows cities to draw inspiration from each other and share examples of good practice on the ground. All winning cities are rewarded for their perseverance in achieving high standards of accessibility and their commitment to ambitious goals (European Commission, 2021a). Furthermore, the significance of the award today is complemented by the fact that, in addition to inspiring new accessibility initiatives, it is a helpful resource in academia. The best practices and examples from the Access City Award are included in the training of students in the disciplines of Access to Information for People with Special Needs and Accessible Tourism at the University of Library Studies and Information Technologies in Sofia, Bulgaria (Sachanska and Todorova, 2021; Todorova, 2020; Todorova and Eftimova, 2019).
This article traces the commitment of the cities that have won the Access City Award to the accessibility of their libraries for people with disabilities. The study presents 20 cities – from the first iteration of the award in 2011 to 2022 – that have highlighted the accessibility of local libraries as their priority. Current trends and good practices in accessibility for disabled people are also highlighted.
Literature review
All over the world, libraries are the most democratic institutions when it comes to accessibility to information resources and services. In the IFLA-UNESCO Public Library Manifesto 2022 (IFLA and UNESCO, 2022) and the
Library services should be accessible to all – for example, people with different disabilities, minority groups in their respective languages, elderly people and those living in remote areas. An accessible environment is needed in all aspects of access when serving people with disabilities. All disabilities have their particularities, and libraries must offer services in an appropriate form so that every user can benefit from the library’s resources (Todorova, 2010). While this sounds so simple and appropriate, in many countries around the world access to different types of libraries is still not ensured for people with disabilities. One reason is that many of them have been constructed in a way that makes it difficult or impossible for people with disabilities to enter them. On the other hand, there may be other barriers, such as insufficient accessibility to materials and poor signage, or other reasons that may make a visit to a library if not impossible, then at least very difficult. In addition to being built in such a way that they are accessible to people with disabilities, libraries must present services on their websites that meet the needs of these users. Communication between service users and library staff must be clear and understandable so that disabled people who enter a library feel comfortable. In this regard, the best option for ensuring this is that library staff are well trained and educated about different disabilities and the specific needs that arise from them. To ensure equal opportunities for all library users, it is necessary to look at libraries through the eyes of these user groups (Irvall and Nielsen, 2005).
Library accessibility has a long and remarkable history, and the achievements of many libraries around the world in this area have left a mark in the scholarly literature. Jaeger (2018) notes that libraries are often the first government or social institutions in many communities to confront the dehumanization of people with disabilities and provide services that promote their rights in the community, as well as equality among people. The history of libraries serving people with disabilities is traced in several publications, from an examination of the origins of this type of service in the mid 19th century, access for the blind to the reading room at the US Library of Congress in 1897 and the establishment in 1906 of the first American Library Association Committee on Services to the Handicapped to the development of collections in new formats (such as records and talking books) and modern technology and its impact on the development of library services for people with disabilities. The references in the literature review have been removed, leaving only the relevant places in the discussion. Those not mentioned in the discussion have been removed from the list of references used.
Studies focusing on smaller regions or a particular community provide an interesting insight into the current state of library services for people with disabilities. In a study of 20 different libraries in Argentina providing services for the visually impaired and physically disabled, Todaro (2005) concludes that these libraries are not able to provide the best services for these groups of people and offers guidelines for improving conditions for people with disabilities. The lack of library services for people with disabilities in Greece and possible obstacles to them are analysed by Koulikourdi (2008), who discusses recent steps for improvement and development in local libraries. Looking specifically at university libraries in Tanzania, Majinge and Stilwell (2013) find that they provide services for people with visual impairments and in wheelchairs, but these services are not inclusive or universal. Based on this and in the context of the social model of disability, Majinge and Stilwell recommend that academic libraries should strive to provide inclusive services to all users, including people with disabilities. University libraries are also the focus of a study by Todorova and Vasileva (2008), in which they present some of the best practices in Bulgaria for serving people with disabilities. They provide recommendations for future coordination and optimization of collaboration between university libraries in serving students with disabilities.
Fitzgerald et al. (2015) examine Australian public libraries and how they have developed and delivered inclusive services for people with disabilities over the past decade, highlighting some of the better examples of service practice. In their study of public library services in Singapore for young people in wheelchairs, Leong and Higgins (2010) found that problems with library use were mainly related to architectural and physical access to library facilities and services. The study concludes that there is a need and demand for library services for young people in wheelchairs. Their information needs and reading habits are no different from those of any other young person.
Examining how Kazakhstan is finding ways to increase accessibility and promote inclusion in education, Spires and CohenMiller (2018) describe the collaborative efforts of Nazarbayev University’s Library and Graduate School (Astana) to provide access for the university’s first student with a documented disability. Bae et al. (2007) present a project at the LG Sangnam Library in South Korea, which aims to provide a service so that people with print disabilities can benefit from the library system and information services by using mobile phones, without complicated connection and certification procedures.
Research methods
The research methodology was based on general scientific methods of analysis and synthesis, and relevant sources were studied. The thematic publications of the European Commission dedicated to the Access City Award and official documents, as well as information from the websites of local administrations, organizations and libraries, were reviewed and analysed to achieve this goal. Special attention has been paid to the Access City Award brochures, which present the portfolio of each of the cities applying for the award, tracking the information of those that have declared library accessibility as their priority. Scholarly literature on the topic was studied, tracing the history of library accessibility, as well as the current state of the issues and challenges faced by professionals in this field. The data collection was undertaken from February to July 2022 using the Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar databases.
The main research task was to highlight good practices in providing access to libraries for people with disabilities and summarize current library service trends for this user group. Approaches to improving understanding of accessibility were also studied – from providing not only an accessible physical environment, but also digital and sensory accessibility, as well as introducing alternative forms of services for people with disabilities. Attention was also paid to the cities – examples of good practice in the field of accessible libraries and information services in terms of their geographical location.
Findings
With the Access City Award, the European Commission recognizes the commitment of cities across the European Union to ensure that persons with disabilities have equal access to their fundamental rights and all the resources a city has to offer. Addressing the Access City Award in 2022 (which was won by Luxembourg), Helena Dalli, the European Commissioner for Equality, stated: Cities and local communities are essential partners in creating a barrier-free Europe. They implement concrete solutions that improve people’s lives and foster common values of inclusion and equality. Accessible cities benefit everyone. Accessibility improves the quality of life and contributes to inclusive and thriving cities. (European Commission, 2022: 4)
Barcelona has also been a winner of the Access City Award when it came second in 2011, losing out to Ávila, also in Spain. The libraries in the city, which was ranked third in the 2022 Award, have computers for the visually impaired and specialized software for them to work on the Internet. Also, all libraries provide handheld and desktop magnifiers. In addition, the Francesc Candel Library features a manual letter magnifier and an optical reader with a speech synthesizer that scans all types of paper documents to make it easier for people with visual impairments to read. The JAWS (Job Access With Speech) and NonVisual Desktop Access (NVDA) screen-reader programmes are also available in libraries in Barcelona (Ajuntament de Barcelona, n.d.).
Furthermore, the Municipal Institute for Persons with Disabilities is currently taking a leading role in Barcelona’s Accessibility Plan 2018–2026, which is analysing accessibility in the city. So far, it has analysed 889 playgrounds, 33 parks and beaches, 249 municipal services (markets, libraries, sports and leisure venues), 75 social services, 53 health centres, 38 university buildings, 22 cinemas, 60 websites, 106 hotels and restaurants, and 61 neighbourhoods (over 1000 kilometres of streets). The data collected has been integrated into a geographic information system so that all units involved in public work and maintenance can check and update it. A basic accessibility analysis has also been carried out in over 3668 apartment buildings, 52,161 shops and 404 schools (European Commission, 2022).
The Belgian city of Leuven, the winner of the special award for Integrating Accessibility in 2022, also deserves attention. The University Library in Leuven is accessible to people with disabilities. It has a ramp as well as an elevator providing access to the fifth floor, where the exhibition hall is located. The library also has two bathrooms that have been adapted for people with disabilities (Visit Flanders, 2020).
However, to get a broader vision of the achievements of European cities in library accessibility in the years since the establishment of the Access City Award in 2011, and the improvements in the understanding of an accessible library, we need to follow the development of good practices from the beginning of the initiative to the present day. As noted, the Access City Award was first presented in 2011, with the historic Spanish city of Ávila as its first winner. Barcelona, Cologne and Turku were named as runners-up, and the jury also selected four cities as examples of good practices. Two of them – Malmö and Dublin – share a commitment to making their local libraries accessible for people with disabilities. Malmö, the third-largest city in Sweden, noted its success in adapting to provide for the needs of people with hearing, visual or other physical disabilities when they are visiting entertainment and cultural facilities, in addition to all 10 libraries in the city. Another good practice related to access to libraries that was recognized in 2011 also came from northern Europe. The Irish capital, Dublin, showed examples of modernizing its library services by increasing the number of e-books and audiobooks on offer, as well as the ability to deliver books to the homes of people with disabilities (European Commission, 2011).
Access to libraries for people with disabilities is a priority policy in Ljubljana. The Slovenian capital, which received the special award for Accessible Transport and Related Infrastructure in 2012, has managed to make 15 city libraries accessible to people with disabilities and is also actively working to raise awareness of accessibility. The German city of Marburg – one of the finalists for the Access City Award in 2012 – has also made various adaptations to its local public library (European Commission, 2012).
A different point of view on the understanding of accessibility can be witnessed in Berlin, which won the Award in 2013. In the German capital, a database has been created called Mobidat. It contains 31,000 records providing information on accessibility to facilities in all areas of life, including libraries. The portal is designed for people with sensory, motor and cognitive disabilities, helping them with information about accessibility in their daily lives. For example, when typing ‘library’ in the search bar, the site offers navigation to the location of libraries, their working hours and general information, as well as which groups of people with disabilities they are accessible to. Questionnaires on the degree of accessibility have been created for each place or facility. The information is checked on-site by experts and volunteers, most of whom are people with disabilities (European Commission, 2013).
Sweden’s second-largest city, Gothenburg, won the 2014 Access City Award for its mission to make the city accessible to all. As part of this commitment, all institutions are required to prepare inventories of their public buildings and spaces to assess their accessibility. All the buildings and spaces in Gothenburg that are considered public are included – preschools, schools, homes for the elderly, museums, libraries, arenas, sports facilities, playgrounds and parks, among others – with special attention paid to meeting the accessibility needs of people with disabilities in the City Library. Another good example is Kortedala Library, the largest and most modern branch library in Sweden, which offers a wide range of services for people with disabilities (IFLA, 2010).
The 2015 winner was also Swedish – the city of Borås. Its city libraries have increased the number of books available in simplified forms and language designed for people with cognitive impairments, and they have quiet places to read (European Commission, 2015). The runner-up to Borås in 2015, Helsinki, is proud of its large number of libraries and museums, as well as new music centre, which have facilities for the disabled. Celia Library, for the visually impaired, also operates in the Finnish capital. This is a state-funded specialized facility with a library, which produces and offers for use (also on request through public libraries) literature in the form of audiobooks, Braille books and e-books (The Global Libraries – Bulgaria Foundation, 2016: 4).
In 2016, a good example of library accessibility was the Finnish city of Vaasa, which won the special award of Commitment to Improving the Working Environment. The city’s public library has computers and Internet access for visitors, with free access to counselling services for those in need. Courses for groups with special needs can also be organized there (European Commission, 2016).
Jūrmala in Latvia was in third place in 2017. It has redesigned the official website of the local administration to make it accessible to people with visual impairments. The information is also available through the local visitor centre and all of the libraries in the city. Almost all the public buildings in Chester in the UK, which was designated as the winner of the Access City Award in 2017, have been adapted for access by people with disabilities, and all new buildings are designed to be accessible. These include the Forum customer service centre and 12 libraries throughout the city. In addition, they are equipped with interactive video terminals for iConnect so that people can connect with a member of the customer service team if necessary. British Sign Language interpreters are available on request, and materials can be provided in large-print, Braille or audio formats. The local council is especially proud of Storyhouse, which opened in May 2017. It is a multifunctional space that serves the community as a library, theatre, cinema and community centre, and offers over 2000 activities each year for local marginalized groups, including activities suitable for people with autism and classes for groups of isolated and elderly people (European Commission, 2017).
Another good example of library accessibility can be found in the French city of Lyon, winner of the 2018 Access City Award. The network of libraries in the city stores over 3500 audiobooks and provides services to help the elderly and people with disabilities. The Public Library of Lyon offers its readers the Navette+ service. Through it, people with disabilities have the opportunity to request that their desired library items be delivered to them from the nearest branch of the network (16 in total and a mobile library) or from the library they are visiting. For this purpose, they only need to present a document certifying their disability and fill in a form with their information and the library items they wish to borrow. The librarian then notifies them by phone or email with regard to when the items can be expected to arrive. In Lyon, some of the library services for people with disabilities are provided by the BIB’ A DOM’ (Library at Home) association, which has over 100 volunteers who deliver the desired materials to the homes of those in need (Bibliothèque municipale de Lyon, n.d. b). Libraries in Lyon also have specialized equipment that helps people with disabilities become full library service users. This includes adapted computer terminals, tablets and DAISY digital readers (Bibliothèque municipale de Lyon, n.d. a).
In 2019, the prize was awarded to the Dutch city of Breda, whose library develops products for people with low levels of literacy (Bibliotheek Breda, n.d.), and among the cities recognized in 2020 was Tartu in Estonia, which won the special award for Civic Approach to Accessibility. In Tartu, free services for people with disabilities are provided through a mobile library. Once a month, on Wednesdays or Thursdays, the ‘bibliobus’ delivers books and magazines to readers who have requested this service. The subscribers to the service can order books from the ESTER electronic catalogue themselves, and their requests can be made by email or phone. Librarians can also assist readers by offering them a curated selection of books and magazines. The service is intended for those residents of Tartu for whom access to the library is temporarily or permanently difficult due to health reasons (Tartu Linnaraamatukogu, n.d.).
Accessible libraries are part of the portfolio of four other cities that won special awards in 2021. One of them was Poznan, which received a special award for Accessibility to Public Services during the Pandemic. The cinemas, theatres and libraries in the Polish city use induction loops, audio descriptions, sign language translations and alternative text to ensure accessibility to cultural offerings. The accessibility plan of the local government of Florence – winner of the special award for the Built Environment – covers a variety of areas, ranging from roads, pavements and car parks to gardens, sports facilities, libraries and museums. Florence has renovated 29 public facilities, including schools, sports centres and libraries, to make them more accessible. Another notable example comes from the Balkans with the Greek city of Komotini, which was the winner of the special award for Accessibility through providing opportunities for the whole city. Three-quarters of its municipal buildings are now accessible to people with disabilities, including the city hospital, medical centres, the police academy, theatres and the library. Among the fully accessible public buildings in Jönköping, Sweden, winner of the Access City Award in 2021, is the library, which has a collection of tactile maps. Its accessible media includes DAISY players and tactile, easy-to-read and large-print books. Jönköping also has a mobile library that delivers books to the homes of people who cannot visit the library in person (European Commission, 2021a).
Discussion
Ensuring access to libraries for people with disabilities is a clearly established commitment for most European countries. Long-term accessibility policies today go far beyond simply providing access to people with motor disabilities. The review of the good practices applied by the cities awarded in the Access City initiative reveals a wide range of tools that, in the hands of administrations and engaged local communities, make accessibility not a luxury but a necessary normality. And if we consider physical accessibility as the basis, as a first step towards achieving this normality, then upgrading through the initiation and introduction of innovative models and care for people with disabilities of different natures gives cause for optimism. In a review of library services for people with disabilities, Arndt and Schnitzer (2018) make the point that making libraries accessible does not always involve large financial investments. According to Arndt and Schnitzer, many good practices are feasible in any library, even those located in smaller cities. Among the winners of the Access City Award, we can highlight cities such as Jūrmala, Vaasa and Komotini, which do not have the budget of other winners such as Barcelona, Berlin or Lyon, and also have far fewer inhabitants. Proving the importance of a sustainable and consistent policy regarding accessibility, as well as care for people with disabilities, they can now be proud of what they have achieved and serve as a good example for other European cities.
Although reviewed over a relatively short period of 11 years, the stated good practices in the field of library accessibility clearly outline the evolution in the understanding of accessibility and what exactly people with disabilities need. There is also a remarkable advance in terms of understanding the importance of the participation of people with disabilities in decision-making. Burke (2009) recommends that more in-depth research be conducted on the perceptions of people with disabilities about access to libraries and library services. She argues that by including people with disabilities in library research and evaluation, and by improving library access and services for people with disabilities, libraries are doing their part to ensure equal treatment, equal access and equality for people with disabilities. Analysing results over 10 years, from 2000 to 2010, Hill (2013) advocates that specifically in the context of library accessibility, the participation of people with disabilities needs to be greater, and attention needs to be paid to the views of this group of people. Since the creation of the Access City Award, the active participation of vulnerable groups of people in the creation of accessible environments is not only an example of successful collaboration with local administrations, but also an indispensable element in the mission of equal access for all. A notable example is Oodi, the new central library in Helsinki, where the Helsinki Council on Disability was actively involved in its construction. People with disabilities from the Finnish city also had a say in the design of the building. Special attention has been paid to the needs of people with motor and functional disabilities. Oodi’s accessibility was among the good examples of accessibility that the Finnish capital highlighted when applying for the Access City Award in 2022. However, as Kumbier and Starkey (2016) note, the popular disability-justice slogan ‘Nothing about us without us’ also implies leadership on the part of people with disabilities – not just participation. In this sense, the leadership of local disability organizations would contribute to even more active work towards ensuring library accessibility and the implementation of successful practices in the libraries of European cities. The voice of people with disabilities should be at the forefront of creating accessible environments, and libraries are no exception. In the context of the cities that have won the Access City Award, it is worth mentioning Barcelona and the local Municipal Institute for Persons with Disabilities, which has played a leading role in the development of Barcelona’s Accessibility Plan 2018–2026.
Modern technologies – that today are part of every sphere of life – also find their place. The lack of access to modern technologies, and therefore to information, is today often tantamount to isolation, and the commitment of many of the represented cities and their libraries demonstrates the will to integrate vulnerable groups fully into society. While facing different challenges, libraries have been, and continue to be, access champions, as noted by Bertot and Jaeger (2015) in their study, highlighting as an example a meta-analysis of web accessibility studies which showed that the highest average levels of website accessibility were found in libraries. Since 2000, many libraries have been developing online services and resources specifically for people with disabilities, with inclusive technologies becoming increasingly popular. New online resources are being created, and the number of digital libraries is also growing (Wentz et al., 2015). In this sense, it should be noted that the winners of the Access City Award can be defined as a representative sample of some of the most advanced library services for people with disabilities. From computers for the visually impaired and specialized software for working on the Internet to the JAWS and NVDA screen-reader programmes or DAISY players and e-books, the best practices represented include a wide palette of contemporary library accessibility options.
As for the geographical location of the cities and implementing good practices to make their libraries accessible to all their inhabitants, it is impressive – and probably not surprising to many – that most are located in northern Europe, and the Nordic countries are among the most active in emphasizing library accessibility. The consistent and long-standing policy of these countries in the field of librarianship, combined with care for local communities in terms of accessibility, has long yielded excellent results, which can be used as useful examples by all for whom an accessible environment is a pursuit and mission.
Conclusion
The winning cities and special award winners in the Access City initiative present a wide range of cultural, topographical and climatic conditions that affect accessibility. These cities are different in size and from different countries, and have different cultures. Some of them face additional challenges related to their history and topography, while others are more modern. However, two clear features characterize them all: (1) a strong and sustainable commitment at the political level to ensure accessibility and (2) the ongoing commitment of the city administrations and organizations for people with disabilities and the elderly to set priorities and monitor their implementation (European Commission, 2020).
Considered in the context of these two common characteristics, library accessibility undoubtedly emerges as one of the important and consistently demonstrated priorities of the winners of the Access City Award. Understanding the meaning of providing access to libraries unites the policies of European cities in a common vision, and the prominent good practices ignite the spark for new initiatives in different parts of the old continent. The outlined trends lead to important conclusions that could be a valuable part of the tool kit not only of library professionals but also of administrations involved in library accessibility. First, it should be stressed that library accessibility is not necessarily a costly endeavour that is only possible in wealthy cities with large libraries, but depends on the initiative of local communities and the desire for equal access for all. Second, the information society requires the pursuit and application of modern technologies in terms of library accessibility and, as is evident from the good practices presented, different resources are successfully finding their place in various parts of Europe. And last but not least, the participation of people with disabilities in the development of accessible environments is becoming not just an unavoidable factor, but also a prerequisite for sustainability and equal opportunities for all.
Footnotes
Declaration of conflicting interests
The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author received no financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.
