ASL Vocabulary:
ASL Manual Alphabet (printable .pdf)
ASL.ms: Fingerspelling practice tool.
ASL Speed Spell: This app, which is available for both Android and Apple devices, will help you practice your receptive fingerspelling.
Getting to Know You Signs Handout (printable .pdf)
Manners Signs Handout (printable .pdf)
Manners Signs 0:55 (video)
Library Signs handout (printable .pdf)
More Library Signs Handout (printable .pdf)
Numbers 0-10 Signs Handout (printable .pdf)
Numbers 1 through 10 in ASL (Lifeprint) 7:22 (video)
Recommended 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)
Library Signs Resources from Kathy MacMillan: A collection of “bite-sized” videos and printable handouts suitable for sharing in staff meetings or for individual learning, all featuring basic ASL vocabulary useful for library staff.
Communication Resources:
Communication Tips from Deaf Cultural Resource Center (Library for Deaf Action)
Smartphone Transcription:
- 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.
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.
Recommended clear masks:
Deaf Culture Resources:
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.
Maryland Deaf Culture Digital Library: https://www.marylanddcdl.org
Audism Unveiled (DVD). (DawnSignPress, 2008)
Accommodations and Advocacy:
ADA Requirements: Effective Communication: https://www.ada.gov/effective-comm.pdf
A Note From Your Colleagues With Hearing Loss: Just Use a Microphone Already byJessie B. Ramey
Hear This!: Use That Microphone, Already by Kathy MacMillan: Includes recommendations of cost-effective amplification options for schools, camps, and libraries.
Accommodations Resources from CSUN
Resources for Finding and Working with Interpreters
On-Demand Video Interpreting:
Sample Accommodations Pages:
Sample wording for brief statement to be included on program pages:
To request accommodations for this program, contact [specific person] at [specific email address that is checked often] at least 7 days before the program.
Advocacy Letter for Museums and Libraries from the National Association of the Deaf: This document lays out the legal requirements for accommodations in libraries and museums in great detail. Share with your administration!
Technologies and Tools for Serving Deaf and Hard of Hearing Patrons by Kathy MacMillan
Disability Rights Watch with author Sara Nović
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.
Collection Development:
“Hands-On Collection Building: A librarian offers tips for sign language materials selection” by Kathy MacMillan. School Library Journal, March 2003.
More Recommended Resources from Kathy MacMillan:
- Resources for Learning American Sign Language
- Resources about Deaf Culture and History
- Resources for Educators and Librarians
Learn More:
Stories by Hand with Kathy MacMillan 