Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
Normal Public Library
Purpose
In accordance with the requirements of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the library will not discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities on the basis of disability in the library’s services, programs, or activities.
Employment
The library does not discriminate on the basis of disability in its hiring or employment practices and complies with all regulations promulgated by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990.
Effective Communication
The library will generally, upon request, provide appropriate aids and services leading to effective communication for qualified persons with disabilities so they can participate equally in the library’s programs, services, and activities, including qualified sign language interpreters, documents in Braille, and other ways of making information and communications accessible to people who have speech, hearing, or vision impairments.
Modifications to Policies and Procedures
Normal Public Library is committed to act in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) by providing policies, practices and procedures for nondiscrimination and accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities. The library offers various accommodations for programming and services including: home delivery of library items, high-visibility and large print keyboards, screen-reading or screen magnification tools, sensory kits, closed captioning for movies, wheelchair and walker accessible seating, sign language services, curbside pickup. Qualified individuals with disabilities may make requests for reasonable accommodation from Normal Public Library. The library will make all reasonable modifications to policies, practices and programs to ensure that people with disabilities have an equal opportunity to enjoy all library programs, services, and activities. However, the ADA does not require the library to take any action that would fundamentally alter the nature of its programs or services, or impose an undue financial or administrative burden. Any persons who require reasonable accommodation should contact the library as soon as possible but no later than 72 hours before the scheduled event. The library will not place a surcharge on a particular individual with a disability or any group of individuals with disabilities to cover the cost of providing any services or reasonable accommodations and modifications.
Service Animals
In addition, the library acts as facilitator between the patron and services to the blind and physically handicapped and welcomes all service animals in the library. According to the ADA, a service animal can be either a dog or a miniature horse. Service animals are not required to be certified or equipped with any identifying markers to be used within the library. There will be no charges or restrictions on the use of service animals within any public area of the library. No staff or board member or volunteer will discriminate against patrons or visitors with service animals or require information on any disability. Patrons or visitors with service animals may be asked what tasks the animal has been trained to provide and can be responsible for any behavior or clean up issue caused by the service animal. Any service animal if not behaved (including aggressive barking, unprovoked, any waste elimination, etc.) can be prohibited from admission or sent out from the library.
ADA Grievance Procedure
This Grievance Procedure is established to meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. It may be used by anyone who wishes to file a complaint alleging discrimination on the basis of disability in the provision of services, activities, programs, or benefits by the library. The Library’s Personnel Policy governs employment-related complaints of disability discrimination.
The complaint should be in writing and contain information about the alleged discrimination such as name, address, phone number of the complainant and location, date, and description of the problem. Alternative means of filing complaints, such as personal interviews or a recording of the complaint, will be made available for persons with disabilities upon request. The complaint should be submitted by the grievant and/or their designee as soon as possible but no later than 60 calendar days after the alleged violation to:
Facilities Manager, Normal Public Library
206 W College Avenue
Normal, IL 61761
Within 15 calendar days after receipt of the complaint, the Facilities Manager or their designee will arrange to meet with the complainant to discuss the complaint and the possible resolutions. Within 15 calendar days of the meeting, the Facilities Manager or their designee will respond in writing, and where appropriate, in format accessible to the complainant, such as large print, Braille, or audio tape. The response will explain the position of the library and offer options for substantive resolution of the complaint. If the response by the Facilities Manager or their designee does not satisfactorily resolve the issue, the complainant and/or their designee may appeal the decision within 15 calendar days after receipt of the response to the Director or their designee. Within 15 calendar days after receipt of the appeal, the Director or their designee will meet with the complainant to discuss the complaint and possible resolutions. Within 15 calendar days after the meeting, the Director or their designee will respond in writing, and, where appropriate, in a format accessible to the complainant, with a final resolution of the complaint. All written complaints received by the Director or their designee, appeals to the Director or their designee, and responses from these two offices will be retained by the library for at least three years.
Approved by the Board of Trustees of Normal Public Library on October 16, 2024.