When Evan 多尔曼 enrolled in 最靠谱的网赌软件’s master’s program in library and information studies in the fall of 2022, he didn’t know he’d grow passionate about accessibility for people with disabilities – so passionate that he co-wrote two papers on the subject and presented the results at conferences in Milwaukee, 威斯康辛州, 去年十月和伦敦.
“可访问性 means making things more usable across the board, even if there are certain features that someone who does not have a disability will ever use,多曼说。, who will receive his degree this month. “When a website is more usable, that’s good for everybody.”
多尔曼, 32, grew up outside Lynchburg and graduated from the University of 维吉尼亚州 in 2013 with a history degree. He worked first at Poplar Forest, Thomas Jefferson’s plantation in Forest, 维吉尼亚州, and later as a tour guide at the U.S. 国会大厦.
“It was a really good gig for a long time,他说 of his job in Washington. “I got to work with some incredibly funny, passionate, intelligent and creative people there.” But 多尔曼 decided to leave after the Jan. 6 . 2021年的骚乱.
He wasn’t at the 国会大厦 that day. 在COVID, he was assigned to the archives department in the office of the Architect of the 国会大厦, helping check database entries against the original documents. “这是相当基本的东西,多尔曼说, “but it was my first real opportunity to work in a library setting, and it motivated me to start looking for ways to take my career in that direction.”
多尔曼, 谁住在北弗吉尼亚, chose Old Dominion’s program because of its accreditation, in-state tuition and remote option. “I was a little apprehensive about being entirely remote,多尔曼说, “but I made some real connections with my instructors. 整体, the ODU全球 program has been a fantastic fit.”
Kevin Mallary’s 研究 Methods course strengthened 多尔曼’s interest in accessibility issues, which had been awakened by his previous work. “以我的历史背景, I feel special collections is part of the field that’s lagged behind,他说. “如果你有日记的话, there’s probably no way to get a Braille copy, but a lot more can be done in terms of digitization and audio descriptions.”
The two papers – cowritten with Mallary and Rea Simons, both assistant professors of STEM education and professional studies; Jackie Nikiema, a graduate student at ODU; Clayton Copeland, an instructor at the University of South Carolina; and Brandy Fox, a graduate assistant at South Carolina – focus on how curricula in library studies programs cover issues of accessibility. 先前的研究, 多尔曼说, showed that graduates report low confidence in serving patrons with disabilities.
太频繁, 多曼和其他人发现, accessibility was covered in electives, 而不是必修课. They also examined whether course objectives were backed up by assignments.
整体, of the 39 syllabi they examined, only two met their standards for sufficient coverage of disability issues.
多尔曼 presented with his co-authors in Milwaukee at the conference of the Association for Library Information and Science Education and at the Association for Information Science and 技术 conference in London.
At both sessions, “the reaction was ‘What’s next?’”多尔曼说. “A lot of people saw the need for improvement and the need to advance that conversation.”
He thinks faculty members and students should be interviewed for their impressions.
“I don’t know if I will be personally involved in that next step,多尔曼说. “It would certainly be wonderful to have that opportunity.”
“We try to impress on our students the importance of lifelong learning,” Mallary said. “He is truly an exemplar of that mission. He’s always challenging himself and asking questions. Master’s students don’t normally get to engage in the extent of research that Evan has been involved in.
“Every time I meet with him, I’m learning as much as if not more than what he can learn from me.”
多尔曼 is finishing an internship at George Mason University’s Special Collections 研究 Center. He’s hoping to find a full-time job at an archive or another special collections library.
“如果可能的话, I want to look at digital offerings and accessibility and finding ways to improve the reach of those resources,他说.