Introduction
Meeting the additional needs of our customers is a huge topic which is covered in more detail in Welcome Host's sister course Welcome All (also available as an online course). As Welcome All focuses on the needs of students with a disability in particular, here we will explore the additional needs of customer groups and individuals more generally.
Learning outcomes
By the end of this section you will be able to:
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Identify customers who may have additional needs
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Assess the requirements of customers who are Distance Learning students
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Identify key facilities and services provided by the Library and University to meet additional needs
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Reflect on personal awareness of equality issues
Use the Whiteboard on MS Teams to share your ideas about what it means when we talk about meeting customers' additional needs.
Customers with additional needs
Our customers are all individuals and there are many reasons why they may experience challenges when using our service. These may be long or short term. Customer groups we have identified as having additional needs include:
- Anyone with a disability, such as mobility problems, hearing or visual impairment etc.
- Customers with a learning difficulty such as dyslexia or dyspraxia.
- International students.
- Customers from a different cultural background.
- Customers with experience of a different library culture e.g. from countries where libraries are Closed Access and nothing can be borrowed, or where staff get books for you.
- Students experiencing culture shock, homesickness or loneliness.
- Customers who do not have English as their first language.
- Distance learners.
- Mature students.
- Part-time students.
Let's take a look at some of these groups in more detail...
Distance Learning Students
Distance Learning students are a customer group who will have no or limited contact with the library service face-to-face. This means we need to ensure that we provide valuable information about the services we offer and how to make the most of our resources off campus.
Distance learning students may
- Study elsewhere in the world and at different times of day.
- Not work during 9-5 hours.
- Have limited time to engage with their programme.
- Lack local library or academic facilities.
- Have struggles with IT.
- Have conflicting family commitments.
Often distance learning students will be engaging with our service at non-core hours of the day and as a result, we must be clear about what additional support we can offer.
Read through the Distance Learning FAQs on Library Help to gain an overview of the additional services and advice we offer those studying at a distance.
Users with a Disability
There are estimated to be approximately 10 million people in the UK with a disability.
The Equality Act (2010) aims to ensure that people with a disability have an equal opportunity to benefit from services available in HE institutions. For example, institutions are expected to make “anticipatory” adjustments and not wait for a person with a disability to need a particular adaptation, e.g., doors with electronic access, ramps, lifts etc.
We have legal responsibilities as a service provider under the Equality Act, meaning that by law we must recognise customers with disabilities and make reasonable provision for them.
Use the Whiteboard on MS Teams to share examples of ways the Library supports our users with disabilities.
Watch the video below, how does it make you feel? Reflect on your own experiences, how might you change your approach to providing a service for customers with a disability?
If you would like to find out more about the services we offer to customers with a disability have a look at our Disability Support webpage.
Meeting additional needs - tools and best practice
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