Reflection

I found creating this blog to be very informative throughout the semester. I had very minimal experience with how to handle disabilities and still am not an expert but by posting weekly with these activities, I have gained more experience than I otherwise would. I found constantly researching and training myself on this subject, has helped a lot with gaining a better understanding of the struggles people with disabilities deal with. Also, I learned how libraries are getting better about gaining more knowledge of disabilities and how to make the library a safe place for them. I gained understand from experienced librarians stories about how they handle these situations and patrons to better serve them and has given me great insight into how I can use their experience for when I am in that situation. Also, these articles and videos can be good for staff training in the library so that they will be more prepared for these situations if they arise. We should always be learning and training ourselves with new situations and problems that may come up in the library. It doesn't just entail learning new technology and books but also how to handle the many types of people that come into the doors.

The problem I have ran into many times throughout writing this blog is that it can be difficult is understanding all the disabilities that are out there. There are physical, mental, emotional, and other types of disabilities and we aren't doctors or psychiatrists that have immense understanding of these issues. We can just try to educate ourselves the best we can to make better decisions when dealing with patrons.

I hope this blog is helpful to others as well, even people that aren't in the library field. There are many disabilities people are struggling with out in the world and having an understanding of what they could be will help us treat all people well. Even though I still am learning, I think I have gained more insight just by researching and learning from others.