Justice, Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, & Access
Here at the David and Joyce Milne Public Library, we are committed to social justice, inclusion, diversity, equity, and access. We recognize the systemic oppression and cultural barriers that are present in our institution and work to remove the obstacles that hinder our patrons from using our materials, feeling safe, and trusting us as a municipal entity.
As a civic anchor committed to access for all, we uphold the rights of our patrons to acquire information and resources equally. We acknowledge the ongoing efforts to dismantle the work that has been done to combat systems of subjection and injustice. With this, we recognize the need to consistently re-evaluate our collection to ensure that it reflects the diversity and cultural values that constitute our society.
However, our library is no longer an institution whose sole purpose is to provide books and media for consumption. We choose to expand our resources outside of diversifying our collections by implementing programs and initiatives that advocate for justice, inclusion, diversity, equity, and access (J-IDEA). We do this by committing ourselves to create a library whose culture is centered on belonging. This will be done through internal and external initiatives outlined in our J-IDEA logic model. We hope to become a catalyst of social justice to transform our community.
Endorsed by the Board of Trustees May 14, 2025
Resources
Progress Reports
J-IDEA Committee Members
Brianna Christie, Chair / Marketing and Communication Strategist
Deborah Baker, Children's Librarian
Katy Evans, Board Liaison / Board of Trustees Member
Val Freitas, Community Empowerment Intern
Madysen Hawley, Library Services and Engagement Intern
Micah Manary, Board of Trustees Chair
Sam White, Library Services Specialist
Angela Zimmermann, Library Director
Initiatives & Resources
-
Handicap accessible parking
-
Building entrance (no steps and automatic doors)
-
Wheelchair accessible catalog (those near the front circulation desk)
-
Wheelchair accessible computers
-
Digital library resources (and link to our digital resources page)
-
Specialized materials
-
Large print books
-
Audiobooks
-
Captioned DVDs
-
Captioned Movie Screenings
-
Digital resources
-
Assistance in retrieving library items and photocopying
-
ASL interpreter (with one week's notice)
-
For patrons who may need mobility assistance during their visit, a walker is available upon request. Please speak with a staff member at the front desk or call ahead if you'd like to reserve it in advance.
The David and Joyce Milne Public Library strives to make our resources accessible to all users through a variety of collections and services.
However, we acknowledge the continued work needed to be done in hopes of becoming accessible to all patrons, staff, and community members. We are working to improve our accessibility efforts in and outside of the library. Learn more about our web accessibility below!
Accessibility Services
.png)
-
Coming Soon
Remedy Hall is a a community supported mutual aid center in Williamstown, MA providing those experiencing hardship with non-food, basic life necessities free of charge.
They are located at 620 Main Street in Williamstown, MA. They ask that patrons continue to make appointments.
Hours are Monday through Friday 1 to 4pm.
About Remedy Hall
The David and Joyce Milne Public Library is happy to be a satellite location for Remedy Hall.
There are two locations within our library that you can find items free of charge; upfront by our water fountain and in our Teen Room.
Patrons and community members can now donate items for Remedy Hall at the library! Bring your items to the back vestibule of the library and place them on the cart that says "Remedy Hall."
Using the Recite Me Toolbar
The David and Joyce Milne Public Library believes in accessibility for all, allowing everyone the opportunity to use the internet in the way that it is intended.
We pride ourselves on being an organization that goes the extra mile to improve communication and quality of service for our patrons and staff. To fulfill this mission, we now provide Recite Me assistive technology on our website, which enables our website visitors to customize their experience in a way that best suits their individual needs.
Recite Me is innovative cloud-based software that lets visitors view and use our website in a way that works best for them.
We’ve added the Recite Me web accessibility and language toolbar to our website to make it accessible and inclusive for as many people as possible. It helps one in four people in the US who have a disability, including those with common conditions like sight loss and dyslexia, access our website in the way that suits them best. It also meets the needs of one in five people in the US who speak a language other than English at home, by translating our web content into over 100 different languages.
About Recite Me
You can open the Recite Me language and accessibility toolbar by clicking on the navy blue button in the bottom right corner of the page. This button is the universal symbol of accessible services which is also featured on the top of this page.
This button now appears in the bottom right on every page of our website.
After you click on the navy blue button, the Recite Me toolbar opens and displays a range of different options for customizing the way the website looks and ways you can interact with the content.
How Do I Access the Recite Me Toolbar?
Recite Me helps people access our website and customize the content in a way that works best for them.
The Recite Me toolbar has a unique range of functions. You can use it to:
-
Read website text aloud (including PDFs)
-
Download the text as an MP3 file to play it where and when it suits you
-
Change font sizes and colors
-
Customize background-color
-
Translate text into more than 100 different languages
-
Access a fully integrated dictionary and thesaurus
How Does Recite Me Help Me Access this Website?
-
Toolbar User Guide
Back: Rewind to the previous paragraph of text.
Play: Click the Play button to read the text aloud.
Forward: Skip forward to the next paragraph of text.
Download: Highlight a section of text and download it as an audio file to consume offline.
Play Audio
Decrease: This will decrease the text size.
Font: You can change the font that is displayed on the page.
Focus Text: Emphasize the most critical parts of words, to guide the eyes smoothly through the text.
Increase: This will increase the text size.
Color: Customize the color palette of a website, including the background, text, and link colors.
Text Styling and Customization
Language Translation: Translate text into a different language.
Play: Click the play button to read translated text aloud.
Translation
Ruler: Use the reading ruler to stay focused on lines of content.
Cursor Options: Customize the cursor size and color to help focus on page location.
Screen Mask: Filter out unnecessary distractions to focus on the content you want to read.
Text-Only Mode: Remove all images, video, and design leaving text and links to consume.
Margins: While in text-only mode, reposition text on the screen to aid ease of reading.
Focus Tools
Dictionary: Easily highlight a word and find the definition on the page.
Page Summarizer: Eliminate unnecessary content, to surface core information to easily understand at different reading ages.
Magnifier: Like the offline world, zoom x2 onto a section of the website page to aid reading.
Reading Aids
Settings: Adjust your Recite Me toolbar settings
Reset: This will restore the default settings
User Guide: This will give you an overview of the Recite Me Toolbar Features
Settings