University of Alabama (University of Alabama, School of Library and Information Studies)

The library schools at the University of Alabama and the University of South Florida will partner to recruit and prepare 30 students to provide universal information access. Particularly benefitting from this master's degree program initiative are users who have physical impairments but do not meet the legal definition of “disabled,” a population referred to as “extra-legally ably challenged” (ELAC). The library schools will employ a service learning model and will partner with the Alabama Public Library Service and the Division of Blind Services within the Florida Department of Education to provide internships that serve the legally disabled and ELAC populations.