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The BWH Michele and Howard Kessler Health Education Library has been awarded a two-year Serving People with Disabilities grant from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners. The grant was awarded with funds provided under the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA).The Kessler Library will use the $20,000 grant to help increase awareness of the library’s resources to the hospital’s staff, patients and the community overall, providing technologies and resources in many alternative formats to address a variety of disabilities. In addition, library staff and volunteers will undergo training on disabilities issues to improve service levels and provide end-user training to patients and families.“The LSTA grant will remove barriers to the library’s resources for individuals with disabilities and enable us to improve access to health information for the hospital’s patients, family members and the BWH community,” said Cara Helfner, MSLIS, program manager, Kessler Library.The grant will enable the Kessler Library to equip an adaptive workstation so that individuals with disabilities can utilize the library’s online health education resources. The workstation will include a screen reader and specialized mouse and keyboard units. The library’s Intranet and Internet sites will also be enhanced for Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compatibility. In addition, library users will have access to TTY telephone service, a Books-by-Mail program for those who find it difficult to physically visit the library, and consumer health materials in alternative formats, such as books-on-tape and Braille.