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Re: service animals and archives



Julia,

Even temporary disabilities (such as a sprained ankle or a broken leg or
lost contact lens) can make one much more sensitive to the problems of
those who do not have the full working complement of motive and sensory
parts.  The several times I've been temporarily disabled (as well as the
plight of friends) have brought home to me how very much this is a world
that belongs to those who have full use of arms, legs, senses and
communications facilities.  People usually take this for granted and don't
understand the sustained and aggravated difficulties that almost every
ordinary act presents to someone who can't perform it in whole or in
part.  If someone thinks a wheelchair ramp around back without a sign is
enough, think again!

Thanks for pointing this out.  It's hard to do *without* "politically
correct" language, because words and phrases to even express ideas that
equalize the playing field among differently abled human beings were not
even invented until a few years ago.

Arel
Arel Lucas
Tobacco Control Archives
Library and Center for Knowledge Management
University of California San Francisco
http://www.library.ucsf.edu/tobacco/
-----------------------------
At 07:15 AM 10/30/2001 -0500, you wrote:
Thanks, Julia, it's always good to know what the law is.....but "humans they
are accompanying"?, "insensitive"?, "temporarily able-bodied"?  Sounds like
you had your "Politically Correct Handbook and Dictionary" handy! :>

Art

-----Original Message-----
From: Julia Bazar [mailto:julia@GLBTHISTORY.ORG]
Sent: Monday, October 29, 2001 2:09 PM
To: Archives & Archivists
Cc: Dostie, Arthur
Subject: 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

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