DISABILITY-FRIENDLY SERVICES: AN ASSESSMENT OF FACILITIES AND SERVICES FOR USERS WITH DISABILITIES IN KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA ARCHIVES AND LIBRARIES

Abstract

This exploratory study focused on the availability of facilities and services for users with disabilities in public libraries of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. A survey has been made using a structured interview guide as data collection tool. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has a total of 37 districts and 17 public libraries. For this research only 7 Districts public libraries were selected deliberately out of 17 as these were the well sustained and old public libraries in the Districts of Charsadda, Mardan, Nowshera, Swabi, Swat, Kohat and Peshawar. The interviews were personally conducted with the head librarians of these seven public libraries. The data was analyzed and the inferences were drawn. Findings revealed that public libraries in KP lack the adequate services and facilities for disabled community, hindering their access to information and resources. The study recommends that libraries should seek government assistance for funding and resources to upgrade infrastructure and provide accessible services. Furthermore, it also suggests to make regular assessments to identify gaps and improve accessibility, technology, and services for users with disabilities.

Keywords: Public Libraries, Disabled users, facilities and services, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.