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Introduction
By surveying the librarians serving the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS/BPH), this study attempts to determine the state of library and information services to legally disabled people in the USA. Considering advancements in information access due to the advent of new technologies, suggestions are offered to modernize the service for twenty-first century information access. The application of social capital theory provides a common perspective to reconceptualize equal access in a global context. A survey was conducted to determine the client base, preparation and professional status of librarians currently providing service, perceived status of schools of library and information science (LIS) to prepare the next generation of librarians to serve the legally disabled, as well as provide a perspective on the quality and future of services to the legally disabled. Based on analysis of the survey outcomes, suggestions for practitioner and library educator response are offered.
Background
All nations are home to citizens who have congenital or acquired physical or mental disabilities that impede information access. In 1948, The United Nations (UN) recognized the global rights of humans through the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 19 of the declaration states:
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers ([24] United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 1997).
The profession of librarianship has promoted human rights through its commitment to protecting intellectual freedom. In March 1999, the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions adopted the Statement on Libraries and Intellectual Freedom, which declares that freedom of thought and conscience are rooted in the right to know. These freedoms comprise the necessary conditions for freedom of access to information ([13] International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, 2004). Library associations worldwide, including the American Library Association (ALA), have adapted this statement to fit their national cultures and incorporated it into their missions.
People with physical disabilities have the same needs and desires for information to conduct their daily lives as those who are without disability. Librarians in the USA proactively ensured the right of access to information for citizens with...