Newly established Apple Shelf, a library space for children with special needs
Junko Niiyama
Takashina Branch Library in Kawagoe City
1. How I Learned about Apple Shelf
I believe that anywhere in the country, public libraries provide services for children as a routine, however, there still seem to be very few libraries working on services for "children with disabilities."
I came to know about Apple Shelf when I received an inquiry from a senior librarian at Ogawa Public Library in Saitama Prefecture, from whom I had learned a lot as a librarian in charge of services for children. "There was an offer from a person in our town to donate money and part of which will be allocated to our library under the condition that it be used for purchasing materials and related tools available for children with visual disabilities. Therefore, we are now planning to make a special area with such materials. Do you have any suggestions as to how we name this area?"
The senior librarian asked for my advice expecting that I knew something because I had been a Committee Member of Library Services for Persons with Disabilities at Japan Library Association. However, since I didn’t have any information on library services for children with disabilities at that time, I searched on the Internet and found an article at the website of DINF, entitled "The Apple-shelf : A Method to Include Children with Special Needs in the Public Library Service".
I introduced this article to Ogawa Public Library, which directly contacted the Swedish Library of Talking Books and Braille, or TPB [now MTM], through Embassy of Sweden. Later, I was informed, "We have got a permission to use the name of Apple Shelf as well as its logo." I heard that the person in charge at TPB had replied, “We are very happy (as it is the first time we have received such an inquiry). Certainly you are more than welcome to use them.”
Ogawa Public Library established their Apple Shelf with DAISY multimedia books, children's books in large print, tactile books, picture books in Braille, big picture books, cloth picture books, magnifiers and so on. It appeared in a newspaper as the first such attempt in the country.
While I was very relieved and glad to have been of some help, I felt guilty because at our own library I was not doing anything for "children who have difficulties in using library." Since then, I have made it one of my goals to establish our own Apple Shelf in our library someday.
2. Establishment of our Apple Shelf
Thus it was quite natural that I thought of making our Apple Shelf when one of our OPAC machines was removed as a result of system replacement and we got a space in the best place in our library. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to spend any money to purchase new bookshelves, so we use two book trolleys instead, one wooden and one steel, which had been used in other areas. The space was decorated by a children's librarian with popular displays and stuffed toys. Clear plastic racks were also placed so that we could show the front of library materials as much as possible.
As we had to gather library materials first, little by little we collected what could be considered as "materials for children with disabilities": cloth picture books made by a voluntary group using special kits prepared by "Fukinotou Bunko," easy to read books, picture books in Braille, picture books about various disabilities, materials in large print. Some materials were purchased from "Inclusion Japan (Japanese Association of/for People with Intellectual Disabilities)," which was not the ordinary purchasing route. We also obtained various children’s books on "disability." Using my poor knowledge, I collected books which I thought would be appropriate for our Apple Shelf. This process of making a collection for our Apple Shelf was surprisingly hard. At first, I had been planning to collect only the books that children with disabilities themselves could read, but such books were still very few. In addition, since in case of children with disabilities, it is inevitable to seek understanding from adults and friends around them, we decided to expand our lineup to include books that could help understanding of disabilities in some way or other, no matter whether they were children’s books or general books.
As for the library materials for children, we made it a principle not to move books from children’s room to Apple Shelf, but to newly purchase extra copies. This was because we wanted to increase as much as possible the place where children could meet library materials. On the other hand, we have some books that are not in children’s room but are especially collected for Apple Shelf. In one case when a conference to choose children’s books rejected a request to purchase a certain book, we asked them to reconsider whether the book could be put on Apple Shelf, which was accepted and we bought it.
The question of who should take charge of "library services for children with disabilities," whether those who are responsible for library services for children or those who are responsible for persons with disabilities, has raised a controversy. It seems that there is no consensus on this issue in the library field. Seiichi Sato, a Committee Member of Library Services for Persons with Disabilities at Japan Library Association, once said in a training session, "Services for children should be offered by those who are in charge of library services for children, because they are specialist of children's books, while the ways to address their difficulties in using library should be offered by those who are in charge of library services for persons with disabilities." I agree that this is the best way. If I were to add one thing, since library services for children are offered at almost all libraries, while those for persons with disabilities are still not satisfactory nationwide, I would like persons responsible for library services for children to realize that "children with disabilities are also the target group of their services." The worst situation is where nobody takes charge of those who are left out in between the two services.
"Difficulties in using library" are so diverse that some patrons may not even know that they do have special needs. Thus we have a great concern whether we can connect such patrons with appropriate books even if we have established our Apple Shelf. The target group of Apple Shelf is set as "children with special needs" but actually it may be unnecessary to set a frame and confine it to "children."
We make it a point to show the front of books with attractive titles such as "Classroom is Where We Make Mistakes," "A Rule Book for Everyone," "A Book to Make School and Studying More Enjoyable," because if we put forward only what can be categorized as books on persons with disabilities, patrons may think "I am not disabled so these books have nothing to do with me" and may not pick them up to read. As for biographies of "Louis Braille" and "Helen Keller," we collected their comic version on purpose. In addition, we put DAISY multimedia books (copyrighted) that any patrons can borrow so that they can have a try without registering for services for persons with disabilities. In this relation, we also put a rack with brochures on textbooks in DAISY multimedia as well as those on general books about special needs education and child rearing. Leaflets of our library guide to "services for persons with disabilities" are also in this rack, introducing services available for patrons who have registered for these services.
Our Apple Shelf
"Louis Braille" (comic version) and cloth picture books
Wai-Wai Library of DAISY multimedia books
Recently I learned about a reading support tool called "reading tracker," which is introduced in a leaflet on our Apple Shelf. We exhibit some that are available in the market with a message encouraging patrons to try one. I used one myself and found that it could improve concentration, so I made a lot of original reading trackers by cutting out black paper so that patrons could take them back home freely.
Reading trackers and brochures on DAISY multimedia books
Honestly, we are not sure what will work out about Apple Shelf, because everything is in the process of trial and error. If "the library is a growing organism," our Apple Shelf is just a newborn baby, which means we have to think how we are going to raise this baby from now on.
At our library, we have firsthand impression that for the past several years, there has been an increase in the number of publications on "developmental disabilities" and of their loans. Nevertheless, the terms like "dyslexia" are still not common. There is no need to talk about the Act on the Elimination of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities. If we could highlight the fact that "libraries are for everyone" to the people who have always been thinking that libraries have little to do with them, I believe that would be the first step.
