Innovation, Inclusivity at the National Library of Jamaica

Taking small steps can lead to giant leaps as is evident in the Cultural Heritage for the Deaf Project being initiated by the National Library of Jamaica (NLJ). The NLJ is leading the cultural conversation of Jamaica and proving itself as a pioneer in the Library and Information world in the region. This year the NLJ proudly celebrates 40 years under the theme ‘The Dynamic Legacy: Celebrating 40 years with 40 projects and so it is appropriate to engage the Deaf community with this initiative.

In April 2018, the NLJ began a Sign Language Training Initiative for staff. This pilot project engaged 14 staff members from various branches who participated in weekly Sign Language Training Sessions for a period of 12 weeks. What began as an effort to improve internal communication with a single member of staff who is Deaf, blossomed into a multi-pronged approach involving partnerships with external organisations (Jamaica Association for the Deaf and the Jamaica Tourism Enhancement Fund); the development of a Cultural Heritage For the Deaf Project; as well as ongoing documentation and promotion locally and internationally.

The second phase of Sign Language training will take place in 2020 and will seek to engage stakeholders of the deaf community; public/private sector organisations in strengthening the advocacy of inclusion of persons with disabilities (PWDs) in Jamaica. This second round will allow for an increased number of participants from a wider range of departments, and encourage other ministries, agencies and departments to adopt similar ideas for their organisations.

The Cultural Heritage for the Deaf Project is concerned with the translation and recording works of indigenous Jamaican poetry into Jamaican Sign Language. Video-recordings will be produced, catalogued, and uploaded with closed captioning for public viewing on the NLJ site. A pilot of the project was debuted at the NLJ event ‘Unlocking the Miss Lou Archives’ held on September 12, 2019 at the NLJ.

The journey of the NLJ team has been published in the October 2019 issue of the peer reviewed journal International Journal of Information, Diversity, and Inclusion (IJIDI). https://jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/ijidi/article/view/32997/25419

Additionally, representatives from the NLJ introduced the model and concept of the Cultural Heritage for the Deaf Project at the 2019 Human Resource Association of Barbados Annual Conference held in Christ Church, Barbados.

Check out our introductory video for the awards ceremony

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xY2pYl1qYkU[/embedyt]

For our efforts the NLJ has been recognised as a Leader in HR Innovation by the 2019 Human Resource Management Association of Jamaica (HRMAJ). The NLJ received the 1st Place Golden Star Award at the HRMAJ 39th Annual Conference held in Kingston, Jamaica on Friday, November 15, 2019. This award crowns an ongoing initiative to increase engagement of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) and improve accessibility for both staff and users of the library.

The National Library of Jamaica is an Agency of the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport