Creating Inclusive Library Environments: A Planning Guide for Serving Patrons with Disabilities. By Michelle Kowalsky and John Woodruff. Chicago: ALA, 2017. 232 p. Paper $62 (ISBN: 978-0-8389-1485-4).

This concise but complete guide to accessibility will be beneficial to libraries of all types. Kowalsky and Woodruff seek “to provide a roadmap for libraries so that they may be proactive in creating inclusive library environments” (vii). In laying out this roadmap, the authors cover everything from ADA legislation updates to universal design for both the library building and its online presence. The book focuses not merely on accessibility, but also on building relationships by interacting in a positive manner with people with disabilities. An important part of this is the emphasis on including people with disabilities in accessibility planning. The authors also incorporate examples for disability awareness programming in academic, public, school, and special libraries.

Each chapter features “for your information” and “checklist” boxes that offer a systematic approach to planning for and implementing an accessible library. Resources listed at the end of each chapter point the reader to further academic research or informational websites. Depending on the project or goal of their libraries, readers may find that individual chapters, rather than the entire book, are sufficient to meet their information needs.

Some information is presented in more than one chapter. For example, the authors discuss website accessibility issues in chapter 8, “Accessible Resources and Technologies,” and again in chapter 9, “Developing a User-Centered Culture.” Although the authors seek to emphasize different aspects of web design in each of these chapters, some repetition is inevitable. This title has two major strengths: its emphasis on invisible disabilities in addition to visible ones, and its recognition of the needs of library employees with disabilities, along with the needs of patrons. The suggestions provided throughout this book will help make libraries more ergonomic and person-friendly, benefiting everyone, not just those with disabilities.—Rebecca Weber, Education and Teaching Librarian, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma