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People in every community come from all walks of life, as the saying goes. It is true but when the public library tries to reach out to unserved and underserved populations of the diversity, like the Deaf, the administration and the library trustees know about the values of library friends and local membership "advocacy" organizations.
Long history short, if it were not for the support of D.C. library friends; the D.C. Association of Deaf Citizens (DCAD), and FOLDA in the 1980s, I would not have succeeded with my job as the first-ever Librarian for the Deaf at D.C. Public Library for 15 years (1976-1991). And I also wanted to give back, so I retired early to become a full-time library advocate in 1992 for supporting the FOLDA mission to promote library access and quality deaf cultural resources for all and internationally. The result. Members of organizations serving the deaf community (OSD) in most states have seen library values for the Deaf in their needs of communication access to the world of knowledge and quality deaf cultural resources. More public libraries offer free ASL classes for the staff and the public, hire interpreting services and welcome OSD to use the room for their meeting and program. Ultimately, today I want to relive the memories of the many for giving back in the late 20th century and early 21st and to share them with the new generation the history of the National Deaf History Month since 1974 and the Red Notebook Concept a.k.a Deaf Culture Digital Library (DCDL) since 1976. Thus, I have begun recording what you could find in the FOLDA collection, from the reports of the White House Conference on Library and Information Services of 1979 and 1991 to the countless activities that help bridge deaf culture at the library. And when ready to update the FOLDA website, I would like to invite volunteers from the deaf community to help post them on the FOLDA website from their homes. If interested to help FOLDA, please inform the NAD Deaf Culture and History Section https://www.nad.org/members/sections/deaf-culture-history-section/ or your state deaf association https://www.nad.org/members/state-association-affiliates/. Thank you! Alice L. Hagemeyer, founding president of the FOLDA https://www.gallaudet.edu/about/history-and-traditions/alice-hagemeyer
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Older Americans Month (OAM) is proclaimed annually in May by the U.S. President.
A meeting in April 1963 between US President John F. Kennedy and members of the National Council of Senior Citizens led to designating May as “Senior Citizens Month,” the prelude to “Older Americans Month.” Over the years, the Administration for Community Living (ACL) leads the observance of Older Americans Month. ACL has resources to help lead our nation’s observance of OAM. https://acl.gov/oam/2020/older-americans-month-2020 The first OAM theme was “Older Americans and the Family” in 1978. This year 2020 theme is “Make Your Mark” in which the goal is to encourage and celebrate countless contributions that older adults make to our communities. It would highlight the difference everyone can make in the lives of older adults, in support of caregivers, and to strengthen communities. https://acl.gov/oam/history Older Americans Month is celebrated across the country through ceremonies, events, fairs, and other such activities. Membership Organizations Serving the Deaf Community (OSD) When Older Americans Month was established in 1963, only 17 million Americans had reached their 65th birthday; a third of them lived in poverty. There were a few national programs to meet their needs https://cdelaw.wordpress.com In 1979, Hearing Loss Association of America (HLLA) with the leadership of the late Howard E. “Rocky” Stone was founded. https://www.hearingloss.org/about-hlaa In 1992, Deaf Seniors of America, Inc. (DSA) with the leadership of the late Ralph White was founded. https://deafseniors.us/about-dsa HLAA has developed the programs and events for older Americans with hearing loss, in which tools they strive to work with HLAA Chapters and State Organization for observing the month. https://www.hearingloss.org/chapters-state-orgs/find-a-chapter DSA is an affiliate of the NAD. One of its seven sections is Senior Citizens. In 2007, they developed the first-ever joint project called “Senior Resources” in which it lists social gathering sites, senior housing, hospice, and other deaf-friendly facilities. https://www.nad.org/seniors/senior-resources The three following older Americans – Amanda Boxer, Mary Sue Boxer, both of Maryland and Joanne Williams of Nevada – indeed “made the mark” for the difference they made in the lives of older adults and to strengthen both deaf communities and library communities today. Senior Resources is one of the most important deaf cultural resources for the library of the future! Deaf Culture Digital Library (DCDL) The American Library Association. One of its divisions, Reference and User Services Association has resources on the aging population and older adults. E.g. Guidelines for Library Services with 60+ Audience: Best Practices, created by its Reference Services Section. http://www.ala.org/tools/atoz/older-adults Celebrating Deaf History Month
March 13 - April 15, 2020 As many people know, March 13th to April 15th marks Deaf History Month. These dates represent some key moments in Deaf history. These dates also continue to inspire and impact the Deaf community today. First, March 13th was the date of the first-ever Deaf civil rights victory that drew global attention. This happened in 1988 and it was called Deaf President Now (DPN). In many ways, DPN led to the eventual passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act two years later on July 26th, 1990. DPN showcased the activism of the Deaf community as we fought for recognition. A second date that falls into Deaf History Month is April 8th. On April 8th, 1864, the charter for the first-ever higher education institution for the deaf in the world, Gallaudet University, was signed by President Abraham Lincoln. As a result of this, many Gallaudet alumni and supporters made a difference in the United States and globally. The third date for the month, and the conclusion date of Deaf History Month, April 15th brought about the opening of the first-ever state school for the Deaf in the United States. On April 15th, 1817, the American School for the Deaf opened in Hartford, CT. It introduced American Sign Language (ASL) in the classroom and made Deaf pupils bilingual in ASL and written English. We hope you enjoy Deaf History Month, and we hope you enjoyed learning these bits of information! If you would like to know more about Deaf History Month and other deaf cultural annual events, please contact us! This week is extremely important to the deaf community.
Preservation is how we can continue to access our history even decades later. Preservation is how we have access to the past years after an event has happened. This year, the 2020 theme for Preservation Week is "Preserving Oral History." During this week many libraries will be participating in the national campaign to help raise awareness to the public about the importance of preservation and strive to enhance knowledge of preservation issues. The week, which began ten years ago, is an initiative of Association for Library Collections and Technical Services (ALCTS), a division of the American Library Association (ALA); Library of Congress (LOC) and Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS). In the years since its inception, the week has garnered the support of twelve corporate sponsors and partners to help bring about recognition and progress. The week will continue to bring awareness and action towards preserving deaf history as we move forward to the future. Without libraries what have we? We have no past and no future – Ray Bradbury, award-winning author of more than three dozen books (1920-2012). In terms of preservation, here in Maryland we already have the FOLDA collection. It provides a rich history of the deaf community in addition to library resources. The world could learn a lot about deaf people from browsing it today. One interesting fact that could be learned from FOLDA is that the DC public library was the first public library in the world to purchase the TTY. The TTY was basically the phone of deaf people before text messaging and instant messaging was used in computers. Before the purchase of the TTY, the deaf had no access to the library in the same way that hearing people did. Hearing people could use the library to make phone calls, well now deaf people could too. In 1974, some staff at DC public library learned sign language, and that was followed by a full week of deaf cultural activities which included a song in sign language, "I Hear Your Hands," presented by Rita Corey. The late Mary Jane Rhodes, a hearing mother of a deaf adult, a volunteer at the NAD, and Dr. Robert Davila from Gallaudet campus made a speech during this program. During the program, the late Frederick C. Schreiber was the first deaf person to call the library from his office at the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) in Silver Spring, MD. Preserving deaf cultural history is as important now as it has ever been. Events like the one with DC public library would be lost without proper preservation of history. Even major events like the founding of the deaf university, Gallaudet University, must be preserved alongside the smaller events to provide a comprehensive picture of deaf history. Deaf Culture Preservation Week provides us with an opportunity to look back on the past and work together to preserve it for the future. Without dedication to preserving the past, there will be no future for the deaf community. |
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