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Reports on findings of a study of libraries in the north‐west of England and their service provision to deaf and hard of hearing people. A first article reported on current thoughts within the library profession and developments in staff training, the improvement and promotion of stock, and user education. This article reports on material and technological developments such as minicom, building adaptations and computer and videophone service initiatives. Examines their potential in revolutionizing the approach of deaf people in acquiring information. Considers two apparent contradictory fears: will the introduction of enhanced services stimulate a demand that libraries could not cope with under their current staffing levels, and will the technology ‐ as with experiences in services to visually impaired people ‐ be underused?

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to investigate how effectively the library meets the research needs of deaf and hard of hearing students. Design/methodology/approach – The study was conducted by an anonymous survey investigating students' use, awareness and comfort level with the library and its resources. The survey was followed up with a small focus group comprised of volunteer deaf and hard of hearing students in the Deaf Studies and Deaf Education program at Lamar University. Findings – A variety of communication options should be available for deaf and hard of hearing patrons to contact librarians for assistance. Librarians need to establish clear and effective lines of communication to ensure these patrons are aware of library services relevant to their needs. Making the effort to establish communication with deaf and hard of hearing patrons encourages their use of the library by demonstrating that the library is interested in serving their needs. Research limitations/implications – This is a review of the literature concerning collaboration and cannot contain every example of library and writing center collaboration. Practical implications – Librarians can use the findings in this article to create a more welcoming environment for their deaf and hard of hearing patrons. Originality/value – There is a scarcity in the library literature of studies examining the research needs of deaf and hard of hearing patrons. This article is of value to librarians looking for ways to better meet these patrons' research needs.

The world revolves around sound. Children who are deaf/hard of hearing (D/HH) lack access to sound, thus need careful monitoring and planning to ensure they have access to adequate language models and supports to develop a strong language foundation. It is this foundation that is needed to ensure D/HH children are able to achieve developmental and academic milestones. Research is emerging to suggest specific intervention strategies that can be used to support D/HH children from birth throughout their educational career. In this chapter, we highlight several strategies that can be used to support communication, language, academic, and social/emotional growth. We freely admit that this is in no way a comprehensive and exhaustive list, but rather only scratches the surface. The field of deaf education and related research and technology is constantly changing. To ensure adequate educational access, it is highly recommended that a professional specialized in hearing loss be a part of the educational team any time a child is identified as having any degree or type of hearing loss.

This study investigated the relationship between the public library and the Deaf community in the United States and how this can be addressed from a library management perspective. A review of literature showed that while resources on this subject exist, no evidence could be found of any prior studies directly involving, or based on input from the Deaf themselves. Literature was also examined for resources identifying elements of deafness and Deaf culture which may relate to use of the public library, as well as ethical practices and procedures which are desirable when conducting research on Deaf participants. A nationwide survey of adult members of the American Deaf community was undertaken. The survey investigated the extent to which the Deaf utilize the public library and its associated services. It also identified factors which serve as impediments to their use. Survey results indicated that while the majority of respondents rarely visit a public library, interest in books and Deaf literature collections is high. Interestingly the public library is not seen as a good place to meet other Deaf people but is seen as a friendly environment. Identified barriers to use include difficulties in communicating with library staff, absence of interpreted events, and building design. Areas of potential further study were identified.

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the level of hearing loss in the population and describe the joint health and social care response in Hartlepool to the needs of this group of people.

The approach included a review of the literature, the application of national prevalence tables to local population estimates, and a review of the adequacy of current service provision available to people with a hearing loss.

More than 14,700 people out of a total population of 91,000 living in Hartlepool are estimated to have some degree of hearing loss. This compares with only 1,046 people registered with the adult social care team although 13,800 people were found to be registered with the local audiology department. The review found that a broad range of services was already in place across health and social care although some areas were identified for service improvement which are currently being addressed.

Drawing attention to the needs of a section of the community that is virtually invisible, this review served to highlight the scale of hearing loss prevalence in the population, to estimate the number of people with hearing loss in a local population using data that has been available for almost two decades (although not widely adopted), and demonstrates a unique cross‐sectoral approach to assessing and responding to the needs of people who have a loss of hearing.

Discusses the potential of computer‐mediated communication to reduce the social isolation experienced by many deaf and hard‐of‐hearing individuals. Communication presents significant problems for this group of people, some of which can be bridged by communicating via the Internet or e‐mail. deaf Internet users were surveyed by use of a questionnaire. Their opinions, summarised in this paper, emphasise the significance of computer‐mediated communication for the deaf; namely that interaction can be both less stressful and faster, thereby reducing the isolation many feel due to the physical constraints imposed by their deafness.

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the application and usefulness of quality function deployment (QFD) in large‐scale system redesign, such as the system of social services serving a large urban municipality. Over the past ten years, the author has experimented in applying QFD to the problem of large‐scale social system redesign. With each application, lessons have been learned that have increased the usefulness of the technique. The paper concludes with a case study detailing the most recent application of QFD in the redesign of services to the deaf and hard of hearing to highlight the how the technique is currently being applied. Traditional tools and approaches used to support large‐scale system redesign, such as program evaluation, become stretched beyond their capacity when applied to complex systems. QFD has proved itself capable of handling this complexity, effectively supporting the redesign of these complex systems. It has further demonstrated its usefulness as a framework within which traditional tools may regain their relevance. Governments, social agencies, not for profit agencies, like other organizations, are all seeking to do more with less. Recently, these efforts have emphasized taking a systemic approach – moving away from the evaluation of a single agency or program to evaluating how the combination of agencies and programs (the system) work together to achieve social outcomes. The ability of QFD to handle the complexity of such a task makes it the ideal approach to addressing these types of problems. The application of QFD to the redesign of complex social systems indicates it may prove equally useful to applications in related fields including organizational design and community planning.

Inclusion of deaf/hard of hearing (D/HH) students is more common than ever before. General education teachers need to be aware of strengths and needs of this particular group of students as well as have a few simple strategies to implement in the classroom. This chapter will present strengths and needs relative to language, social/emotional skills, and literacy. Language modalities, educational philosophies, as well as assistive listening technologies are discussed. We will further present important information on changes in technology and support personnel that may be used to improve the education of D/HH students.

The education of deaf and hard of hearing (d/DHH) students is largely dependent on the preferred mode of communication. Historically, the mode of communication for d/DHH students was determined by society rather than by students and families. This resulted in divisiveness between the Deaf culture and proponents of oral communication. The adoption of IDEA allowed family participation in the decision-making process. Advances in technology increased student access to sound, resulting in more educational placement options. Despite the positive changes, the complex nature of hearing loss and the wide variety in cultural considerations have made it difficult to determine the best approach to deaf education. Thus, educators and providers are left in a conundrum of which version of “traditional” deaf education is best for students.