Part 1 Followup

Library-specific Resources

• Library Signs Videos, Handouts, and Quiz
• Maryland Deaf Culture Digital Library
• Gallaudet University Libguide: Working with Deaf Patrons 
• National Deaf Center: free online courses and webinars relating to access
• Special Needs Communication Guide: A handy printable resource you can keep at service desks to assist in communicating with patrons who are Deaf or hard-of-hearing, speak Spanish, or have limited communication skills. This 21-page communication guide was put together by The Library of Fanwood and Scotch Plains (New Jersey, USA), and contains English, Spanish, and fingerspelled words, as well as pictures for common concepts and items in the library setting.

ASL Manual Alphabet and Dictionaries 

• ASL Manual Alphabet (printable .pdf)
• Fingerspelling charts, practice, and fonts
• ASL Speed Spell: This app, which is available for both Android and Apple devices, will help you practice your receptive fingerspelling.

Online ASL Dictionaries:

• HandSpeak.com
• SigningSavvy.com (Browsing access free; searching from the site available for subscribers only. To search this site without an account, go to google.com and search “Signing Savvy” followed by the word you are looking for)

Communication Tips

• How to Communicate with Someone who is Deaf
• Communication Tips from Deaf Cultural Resource Center (Library for Deaf Action)
• Guidelines for Effective Communication with Deaf, Late-Deafened, and Hard of Hearing People (Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing)
• Live Captions for iPhones: Follow these instructions to set up real-time captioned communication on your smartphone.
• Live Transcribe for Android Phones: Follow these instructions to set up real-time captioned communication on your smartphone.
• Boogie Boards: These simple writing tablets allow you to write with anything and clear the screen with a button press.

Masks

• Best Practices for Wearing Masks When Communicating with Deaf and Hard of Hearing People

Recommended Clear Masks:

• ClearMask: https://www.theclearmask.com/
• Jelli Mask: https://jellim.com/

Deaf Culture

• Deaf Culture PEPNet Tipsheet by Professor Linda Siple, Assistant Professor Leslie Greer, and Associate Professor Barbra Ray Holcomb, all of the Department of American Sign Language and Interpreting Education, National Technical Institute for the Deaf, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY.
• Through Deaf Eyes (DVD).  (PBS Home Video, 2007)
• Audism Unveiled (DVD). (DawnSignPress, 2008)
• The Deaf Community in America: History in the Making by Melvia and Ronald Nomeland.  (McFarland, 2011)

Recommended Books:

• Show Me a Sign by Ann Clare LeZotte. Scholastic, 2020;  Set Me Free by Ann Clare LeZotte. Scholastic, 2021; Sail Me Away Home by Ann Clare Lezotte. Scholastic, 2023: Set in the early 1800s, these engrossing historical novels – written by a Deaf author – explores prejudice and racism through the eyes of 11-year-old Mary Lambert, who is deaf. Following her younger brother’s death, Mary lives with her parents in a close-knit Martha’s Vineyard town made up of both English and Wampanoag members. So many of the residents are deaf that the island has its own sign language, used by hearing and deaf people alike; this attracts a young scientist named Andrew Noble, who wants to discover the source of the town’s widespread “infirmity.” Set Me Free follows Mary as she tries to reach another deaf child who has been hidden away by her wealthy family, cut off from communication to hide a family secret. Sail Me Away Home sees Mary setting out on a journey to Europe to connect with the global deaf community. For discussion questions and classroom/programming activities related to the books, see “Reading Guide: The Show Me a Sign Trilogy by Ann Clare LeZotte” by Kathy MacMillan. Scholastic, 2023.
• Everyone Here Spoke Sign Language: Hereditary Deafness on Martha’s Vineyard by Nora Ellen Groce. Harvard University Press, 1985: The remarkable story of Martha’s Vineyard, which once boasted a deaf population so large that deaf people were completely integrated into the life of the island and everyone used sign language.
• True Biz by Sara Nović. Random House, 2022: This extraordinary novel tells the story of the CODA (hearing child of Deaf adults) headmistress and two Deaf students at a school for the deaf. Nović intertwines their stories, skillfully interjecting background information for readers about ASL, Deaf culture, and linguistics.

More Resources from Kathy MacMillan

• “Hands-On Collection Building: A librarian offers tips for sign language materials selection” by Kathy MacMillan. School Library Journal, March 2003.
• Try Your Hand at This!: Easy Ways to Incorporate Sign Language Into Your Programs by Kathy MacMillan. (Scarecrow Press, 2006)
• Little Hands and Big Hands: Children and Adults Signing Together by Kathy MacMillan.  (1st edition, Huron Street Press, 2014; 2nd edition, Hands Up Press, 2022)

Part 2 Follow-up

Varieties of Signing

• How ASL and English Differ: A Brief Example (Kathy MacMillan)
• ASL is Not English on the Hands (LifePrint)
• Signing Black in America (Black ASL)
• Pro-tactile ASL: A new language for the DeafBlind (Quartz)

Connecting with Deaf Authors

• Signed Ink: A nonprofit organization whose mission is to foster public appreciation of deaf representation in literature and to support the community of deaf people who create and promote them.

Laws

• Americans with Disabilities Act
• Disability Rights Watch with author Sara Nović
• NAD Advocacy Letter for Museums, Libraries, and Galleries: A detailed legal overview of why your library does, in fact, have an obligation to provide access.
• Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
• Accessible Canada Act

Interpreters

• Tips for Finding and Working with Interpreters
• Sign Language Interpreters in Your Library: What You Need to Know
• Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf Interpreter Locator Tool (US)
• State Regulations Concerning Interpreters (US)
• Canadian Association of Sign Language Interpreters Directory (Canada)

On-Demand Video Remote Interpreting Services (subscription-based):

• Jeenie
• Boost Lingo
• Aira

Video Relay Service (VRS)

• FCC Video Relay Service Factsheet and Consumer Guide (US)
• Canada Video Relay Service

Technology

• Technologies and Tools for Serving Deaf and Hard of Hearing Patrons (Kathy MacMillan)
• Hear This!: Use That Microphone, Already by Kathy MacMillan: Includes recommendations of cost-effective amplification options for schools, camps, and libraries.
• Described and Captioned Media Program
• Access: Post-Production/Offline Captioning Module (free online course from DCMP)
• Technology Resources from the National Association of the Deaf:
  • 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act
  • Assistive Listening
  • Caption Access in Movie Theaters
  • Captioning for Access
  • Internet Access and Broadband
  • Lifeline
  • Telephone and Relay Services
  • Television and Closed Captioning
  • Video Remote Interpreting

More suggested resources by category:

• Resources for Learning American Sign Language
• Resources about Deaf Culture and History
• Resources for Educators and Librarians
• Resources for Signing in Storytime or the Classroom
• Resources for Finding and Working with Interpreters
• Resources for Creating Access