I attended the two-part webinar Serving Deaf Patrons in the Library online. This webinar was a total of three hours. Not only did I learn a great deal, but the speaker was quite engaging. Her name is Kathy MacMillan, and she was able to share so many valuable resources with the participants. She explained terminology and aspects of Deaf culture, as well as tips on hiring and interacting with interpreters. Much of this is not information I would have thought to look into, but Kathy’s presentation (and list of additional resources) opened a door. My favorite part of the webinar was learning some ASL. Kathy taught us some common phrases, such as “The library is closing” and “May I help you?” She had downloadable charts for us to keep, but it was so helpful to see her do it and be able to practice.
