IFLA 2001 Presentation/Poster as of Saturday, November 3, 2001, 10 pm
Post Conference - With Photos and Participants'
Contributions
Welcome to
Celebrating a New Century that Celebrates Diversity:
Positive Language as the Key to Making a Positive
Difference in the Knowledge Age
Poster #47 by Ellen Perlow
Manager of Information Services
Texas Woman's University School of Library and Information Studies, Denton,
TX for
The International
Federation of Library Associations and Institutions [IFLA] 2001 Conference
Monday, August 20-Friday, August 24, 2001 - Boston, MA Convention Center
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Language: Multilingual, distributed materials primarily in English
Description of Above Photo: IFLA-Boston August 20-24,
2001 Poster Session #47 by Ellen Perlow. Poster entitled: "Celebrating a New
Century that Celebrates Diversity: Positive Language as the Key to Making a
Positive Difference in the Knowledge Age."
Due to the arrangement of the poster boards in the Hynes Convention
Center hallway, the poster was arranged underneath the banner from left to
right: On the right, "Negative" words to describe the diversity of
differability, and to the left, positive words. On the far left was poster
paper with a banner: "Please Add Your Positive Language" on which
participants from around the world contributed their positive vocabulary in
many languages. Contributions were written with marker pens on "Post-It" brand
notes and then posted to the board for everyone to read. Contributions
received are presented on the Ellen's IFLA 2001
Poster Presentation Photos Page in scanned graphic image format (jpg files)
with full text-based descriptions provided for each image. Thank You,
Everyone, especially to our multi-lingual international IFLA attendees, for
your contributions!
To Ellen's IFLA 2001
Poster Presentation Photos Page ...
Program Abstract:
Positive language and the promotion of
accessibility empower all of us to celebrate our
world's diversity and, in particular, the universal diversity of differability
or doing things differently.
Diversity is one of the fundamental values of the
American Library Association, the
Association for Library and Information Science Education (Goal I,
Objective 3), as well as the International Federation of
Library Associations and Institutions [IFLA] (IFLA Core Values). This
positive value is reflected in these organizations' expressed commitments to
recruit people of diverse backgrounds to the profession and to provide services
that reflect the diverse needs, cultures, and beliefs of the communities that
our profession serves.
See, for instance: ALA Diversity Brochure at
http://www.ala.org/work/diversitybrochure.html;
ALISE Strategic Plan, Objective 3 under Goals and Objectives, at
http://www.alise.org/nondiscuss/assoc_strategic_plan_2000-02.html; IFLA Core
Values statements regarding freedom to access information and participation in
IFLA activities:
http://www.ifla.org/III/intro00.htm#3.
As members of the human race, we all share many needs, desires,
aspirations, as well as the need for accessibility and freedom to access
information: an IFLA core value (http://www.ifla.org/III/intro00.htm#3)
Yet as human beings, we are diverse in innumerable ways: in who we are, our
cultural and religious heritage, gender identities, interests, careers,
political views, recreational activities, and how we access information. Our
individual daily life experiences are unique. We all are people who do things
differently, people with differabilities, for whom accessibility, assistive
technology, and universal design are personally relevant and of utmost
importance.
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In support of the profession's commitment to diversity, since 1999,
ALA's Association of Specialized and
Cooperative Library Agencies [ASCLA] Division has sponsored a new diversity
initiative,
The Century Scholarship. The purpose of
The Century Scholarship is
to assist students who do things differently, students with differabilities, to
attend ALA-accredited master's programs of library and information science and
to become leaders in the profession. The theme of
The Century Scholarship is
the title of this proposed poster presentation: "Celebrating a New Century that
Celebrates Diversity." Our
very first Century Scholar,
Rebecca Van Scyoc, who
received her scholarship in July 2000, now is attending the Graduate School of
Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign, USA. By the time of the IFLA 2001 Conference in Boston, our
second Century Scholar will have received his or her Century Scholarship
[annual scholarship application deadline is March 1].
Congratulations to Simon Healey, a graduate student
at the University of Pittsburgh School of Information Sciences, who
is
our second Century Scholar. Mr. Healey was awarded his Century Scholarship at
the ASCLA Division's President's Program at the American Library Association Annual
Conference in San Francisco on Sunday, June 17, 2001. A great advocate for
people who do things differently, at the conference, Simon participated in many
ALA ASCLA Division meetings, and demonstrated high tech assistive technology at
the new American Library Association Accessibility Pavilion. See ALA Press Release:
http://www.ala.org/news/v7n7/accessibility_pavilion.html.
Simon Healey, 2001 Century Scholar, left, is
congratulated by Ellen Perlow (far right) Century Scholarship Ctte. Chair, at the Century
Scholarship Award Ceremony, Sunday, June 17, 2001 at the ALA Annual Conference
in San Francisco. To Ellen's left is Elizabeth Ridler, Century Scholarship Jury
Chair.
Century Scholarship Jury Chair
Elizabeth Ridler, at podium, presents Simon Healey, 2001 Century Scholar, at
left, with his scholarship check at the Century
Scholarship Award Ceremony, Sunday, June 17, 2001 at the ALA Annual Conference
in San Francisco.
Unfortunately, negative descriptors imbedded in our numerous languages
have perpetuated negative and depersonalizing attitudes that have prevented
people who do things differently from being full participants and partners in
our global communities and having full and equal access to information
resources.
For instance, in the English language, people with differabilities are
termed "the disabled, limited, impaired, handicapped, invalids, deficient,
defective," etc.. By dictionary definition, the term "disabled" means
"inoperable, non-functioning, incapacitated." Similar negative descriptors and
stereotypes appear in other languages and cultures. For example, the name of
the IFLA Section concerned with
the diversity of differability and people with differabilities is termed
"Libraries Serving DISadvantaged PERSONS" [emphasis added]. The expressed
purpose of this IFLA Section is stated as being "concerned with library and
information services to all those groups within the community who for whatever
reason are unable to make use of conventional library services. These groups
include people in hospitals and prisons, the elderly in nursing homes and care
facilities, the house-bound, the deaf and the physically and developmentally
disabled."
http://www.ifla.org/VII/s9/slsdp.htm. [The title of the section incorrectly
implies that people who do things differently can only be "served" by the
profession rather than also being members of the profession.]
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Change the Language, Change the Perception. Madison
Avenue marketing successfully does it every day. Via positive language, Madison
Avenue promotes and sells us products that we buy. We "buy" the language, we
buy the product. Positive Sells. Positive Wins. Every Time.
For instance, the descriptors
"Access" and "Accessibility" not only accurately describe our shared primary
concern as people with differabilities, the terms - at least in the English
language - place our concern alphabetically at the top of every index.
Let us rename the relevant IFLA Section: IFLA's Accessibility Concerns
Section.
This poster presentation offers a multilingual and multicultural
interactive examination of the power of positive and people-first terminology.
Positive language is not only the key to creating positive and winning
perceptions of differability and celebrating all diversity, but also the key to
making a positive difference in the knowledge age.
copyright Ellen Perlow November 2001
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Another version of this poster was presented at the American
Library Association 4th Annual Diversity Fair at the American Library
Association Annual Conference in San Francisco, Saturday, June 16, 2001. Please
visit
Ellen's A for Accessibility: Positive Wins Every Time webpage to learn
about this presentation.
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This page last updated Saturday, November 3, 2001, 10 pm
