[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: service animals and archives



Back briefly to the original thread of service animals in the archives.

Yes, you are required to allow any type of service animal into the library
or archives reading room, anywhere you normally allow researchers.  They can
be dogs, cats, monkeys, birds, horses or any creature.  They do not have to
be wearing any form of vest or identification.  The human they are
accompanying does not have to have any visible handicap and they do not need
to provide any proof that the animal with them is a service animal nor
disclose what their disability is nor what the animal does for them.

There will always be people who abuse the system, but the actions and
acceptance of service animals have made many people's lives a thousand times
better than they were before.  I know archivists are generally very well
meaning people and try to be aware of others,  I know that we use this list
to vent and have off-time.  Most of the responses have clearly come from
people trying to understand and learn about issues they may not have thought
of before, but some of the reactions to the query about service animals I
found insensitive and even offensive.  I don't mean to start things, but as
a non-disabled person (temporarily able-bodied person or "tab" to those in
the disabled community) who has been made keenly aware of the barriers that
exist in most of America, I felt I had to say something.  Walk around your
building or city for one day thinking about how you would manage if you were
in a wheel-chair, were severely vision impaired, had severe arthritis and
could not handle stairs, or have muscle weakness in your arms so you can not
carry anything or open heavy doors, or even just had to look at the ground
as you walk, because you can not tell by feel if the ground is uneven and
could sprain or break an ankle on an unseen slope.

Julia Bazar
Special Projects Librarian (Archivist)
GLBT Historical Society of Northern Ca.
973 Market Street, Suite 400
San Francisco, CA  94103
415-777-5455

julia@glbthistory.org
http://glbthistory.org

A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!

To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to listserv@listserv.muohio.edu
      In body of message:  SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname
                    *or*:  UNSUB ARCHIVES
To post a message, send e-mail to archives@listserv.muohio.edu

Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
     http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html

Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>