Public Information Access for Children and Young Adults with Special Needs: A Case of Meru County KNLS Library, Kenya

Abstract

The cardinal mandate of a library is to meet, effectively, the information needs of users. The Kenya National Library Service (KNLS) was established by the Government of Kenya in 1965 and is at the forefront of promoting the right to access of information as stipulated in Chapter 4 of the Constitution and Access to Information Act, 2016. KNLS libraries are funded by taxpayers to facilitate efficient access to information for all citizens, irrespective of age, learning abilities and social or economic class. It is within this background that the needs of children and young people with special needs come into focus. Public libraries are not adequately equipped to ease information access for children with various forms of disability and financial incapacitation. The proliferation of Information Communication Technology (ICT), though, heralds a new dawn for disadvantaged young people. KNLS, Meru Library, has been as the forefront of integrating ICT in promoting information access for autistic and dyslexic children, young girls in rehabilitation centres and secondary school children. Through ICT tools such as Wi-Fi internet, a cybercafé, e-readers and a website called ‘Tunachop’, children and young people with special needs can now access the latest information and learning materials, just like their abled counterparts and other members of the public. Data for the study was collected from 50 individuals; ten each from children with autism, children with dyslexia, girls at Tumaini Rescue Centre and secondary...