Readiness in academic libraries to serve the differently-abled patrons

Abstract

Purpose of this paper is to present the findings of a survey that was conducted among the libraries of the national universities of Sri Lanka. The aim of the study is to measure the readiness in libraries to serve the people with special needs in terms of provision for physical access; availability of appropriate facilities, resources and services; and provision for web access. In other words, this paper reveals the strengths and weaknesses of the Sri Lankan university library system in serving the people with various disabilities namely blindness, low vision, hearing difficulties, mobility problems etc.