III. Accessible Libraries Workshop was held at Bartın University on November 29-30, 2023 in order to make libraries, one of the most important sources of information, "accessible for everyone".
The Accessible Libraries Workshop has been organized since 2021 in order to bring together institutions, universities and CSOs working in the field to share experiences, identify the problems experienced and put forward solution proposals so that libraries, which are an important source of information, are accessible to everyone and every individual can benefit from libraries on equal terms. The 2nd Accessible Libraries Workshop was hosted by the Presidential National Library on May 16-17 last year.
This year's "III. Accessible Libraries Workshop", hosted by Bartın University in Bartın on November 29-30, 2023, was organized in cooperation with the General Directorate of Services for Persons with Disabilities and the Elderly, the General Directorate of Libraries and Publications of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Manisa Celal Bayar University and the Accessible Informatics Platform of Türkiye.
Attending the Opening Program at 10.30 on November 29, Director General of Services for Persons with Disabilities and the Elderly Ms. Elmas Esra CECELİ stated in her speech that the Workshop would provide important contributions in order to make libraries, one of the most important tools in access to information, "accessible for all" by sharing experiences, offering solutions to identify problems, sharing good practice examples and implementing accessible libraries. Director General thanked those who contributed to the organization of the Workshop and all institutions supporting the work of the Congress.
Emphasizing that accessibility was for everyone, CECELİ said, "As the Ministry, we continue working intensively and comprehensively to make accessibility widespread in the country. Within the framework of these studies, we have made the first and fundamental arrangements in the legislation and became one of the first countries to sign the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2007 under the auspices of the President of the Republic of Türkiye, H.E. Recep Tayyip ERDOĞAN. We have secured the constitutional guarantee of positive discrimination against citizens with disabilities in 2010. We have ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2015. In 2005, we introduced the Law on Persons with Disabilities and made it compulsory for buildings open to public use, commune spaces such as sidewalks, pedestrian crossings, parks, public transportation vehicles and information and communication systems to be accessible."
Stating that the national standards determining how accessibility practices would be carried out were prepared in cooperation with the Turkish Standards Institute (TSE), CECELİ said, "Today, we have completed accessibility standards on all relevant issues such as buildings, commune spaces, public transportation systems, tactile surfaces, elevators, measuring floor slipperiness. We have established Monitoring and Evaluation Commissions for Accessibility under the coordination of governorships in every province by issuing sanctions for the realization of legal obligations. We have ensured that public institutions and private service providers accelerate their accessible practices thanks to the audits that have been continuing regularly since 2013. We have given an “Accessibility Certificate” to 3.375 buildings, commune spaces and public transport vehicles that were found to be accessible during the inspections.” .
In her speech, CECELİ stated that with the declaration of 2020 as the Year of Accessibility by the President of the Republic of Türkiye, H.E. Recep Tayyip ERDOĞAN, implementation, training and awareness activities were taken to the next level and said, "We have organized the "Accessibility Awards" in 2020 Accessibility Year. This year, we have also prepared the ”Accessibility Guide“ and ”Accessibility Animation" and presented them to the service of all the designers. Introduction to Turkish Sign Language, educational videos are now published by the Ministry of National Education on EBAtv and eba.gov.tr within the distance education program, and then sign language courses have started to be taught as a continuous course by the Ministry of National Education. We have implemented the Accessibility Assessment Module–ERDEM, which provides the opportunity to self-assesst to make buildings accessible.”
Referring to the Marrakesh Agreement on Facilitating Access to Published Works for Persons with Disabilities in 2021 within the scope of considering accessibility practices, CECELİ noted that the "Accessibility Logo", which had been used in the country since October 2021, was made available for "accessible information", and the application area of the logo was expanded to be used in printed and digital publications and visual materials.
CECELİ stated that within the scope of the work in accessibility, efforts to raise awareness and increase the level of knowledge and consciousness were intensively carried out and that 71 workshops were completed by continuing the Accessibility Workshops organized by the General Directorate with different themes since 2021 under the titles of "Sidewalks", "Pedestrian Crossings," "Stops", "City Parks" and "Public Toilets". She stated that regulatory and supervisory institutions, ministries, universities, universities, governorships and municipalities participated in the "Web Accessibility Trainings", the second work of the "Accessibility Workshops". In addition, she noted that 26.000 managers and technical personnel, including 2.500 in 2023, were provided with accessibility training through the training activities carried out alongside the workshops.
CECELİ continued her speech “We are also continuing the work on the accessibility of websites and mobile applications without slowing down. We are preparing legislation on the subject. The Web Accessibility Checklist prepared in this context has been a guiding work for the public and all service providers. Another work I would like to emphasize is the "AİLEM Barrier-Free Communication Call Center" established by the Ministry. In this call center, the Ministry provides remote video interpretation services to anyone who requests sign language interpreters.”
Stating that the work will continue with the motto "Accessibility is for Everyone", CECELİ said "It is the duty of all stakeholders to implement the accessibility legislation determined by the Ministry and the accessibility standards guiding the implementation of this legislation. In this process, the Ministry is ready to provide technical information support."
Following the opening, four sessions were held on the first day of the workshop. In the first session where ”Good Practice Examples“ were discussed, ”Activities of the Presidential National Library for the Persons with Disabilities”, Stakeholder Views on Autism-Friendly Library Services“ and ”Digital Thematic Library Examples for the Persons with Visual Impairment" were explained. In the session titled ”Accessible Library Services for Everyone and Inclusive Publishing", the activities of the General Directorate of Libraries and Publications were included. Presentations on “Accessible Public Libraries”, “Video Book Application for the Persons with Hearing Impairments”, “My E-book”, “Talking Library” and “National Library e-Applications” were held.
Another session on ”Good Practice Examples" included libraries that received an Accessibility Certificate. Presentations titled "Example of Accessibility in Space-Bartın University Library", "Example of Accessibility in Libraries-Erzurum İsmail Saib Sencer Provincial Public Library" and "Good Practice Example within the Scope of Accessibility Arrangements: Niğde Provincial Public Library Mobile Library Vehicle" were delivered. The last session on the opening day was organized with the title “An International Look at Accessible Libraries”.
On the second day of the workshop, 4 face-to-face and 2 online Group Studies is to be held. The topics of ”Spatial Accessibility“, ”Material Accessibility“, ”Digital Accessibility“ and ”General Accessibility" are to be discussed at the tables. The Workshop Result Statement prepared based on the contributions made by the participants is to be presented at the closing of the workshop. Following the workshop, the Workshop Book is to be prepared and published.