Accessibility Advisory Board Minutes / 14 January, 2026
Present: Linda White, Mary Jo Stanley, Johanna Ruth, Dorothy Baker, Ben Kalish, Molly Moss, Robin Williams, Mary Biddle
Announcements (Ben)
Stipend for meeting attendees
A $40 stipend is available to those who attend meetings; please pass this information to anyone who you think might like to participate in these meetings. Please fill out a W-9 with the library to receive this stipend.
Upcoming Work
The library is working on getting the front walk and the front doors repaired this spring. The front walk has to wait until spring because the concrete needs to be able to set. The library is waiting for a quote on the front doors, which aren’t closing properly.
Disability Commission and Disability Pride Month
The disability commission is planning to collaborate with libraries for Disability Pride month this July, and has expressed particular interest in accessible storytimes as a way of reaching younger audiences (compared to the film screenings they have done in the past).
Discussion
What is the Disability Commission?
Massachusetts law allows for disability commissions to advise municipal governments on the disability community’s needs in their city or town. The meetings are public and Ben generally attends most meetings on behalf of the library. For more information visit https://www.northamptonma.gov/1047/Disability-Commission or contact the city’s ADA coordinator: adacoordinator@northamptonma.gov
Publicity
There are already PSAs on WXOJ-LP about Forbes’ accessibility items, though this may be a good time to revisit them. 30 seconds is a good length for a PSA, though other lengths can be accommodated.
It would be good to include a summary of the accessibility services available at Forbes (including delivery services) in the Northampton Neighbors publication/newsletter.
Other Business
Ben introduced Robin Williams, our newest Adult Services Librarian. Robin indicated her background in corporate accessibility.
We will be asking for feedback from the advisory board relating to the Coolidge Museum renovation soon. Expect an email!
The new library catalog (“Aspen”) can be difficult to use. Some at the meeting have been unable to log in, and others have been frustrated by usability issues. Recent slowness has been attributed to bot traffic, and is being addressed. If you need to use the old catalog it is still available: go into the menu and select “Classic Catalog” if that works better for you.
The audio quality of this meeting on Zoom was suboptimal. Robin suggested changing the background noise suppression setting in Zoom, since the default setting of “Auto” wasn’t doing a great job. It seemed this helped some. Attendees discussed the importance of speaking clearly, not too fast, and facing the microphone, so that the audio is as accessible as possible.