The Access Services branch of the Fairfax County Public Library is dedicated to removing barriers to services, programs, and resources for people with disabilities. This includes providing programs and services for individuals who are deaf or have hearing loss. These services may include hearing tests, hearing aids, and counseling. In 1977, Yates, executive director of the Virginia Council for the Deaf (now the Virginia Department of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing), spoke with the Fairfax County Commission for the Disabled about the needs of deaf and hard of hearing people in Northern Virginia.
An article published on October 27, 1977 in The Washington Post reported that at a hearing of the 11-member Fairfax County Task Force on Disability, testimony had been given about the need for an information and counseling center for the deaf. In Fairfax County public schools, a number of services are available to all eligible students with hearing loss. The National Library Service (NLS) for people who are blind and have difficulty accessing printed text from the Library of Congress provides audio and braille books and reproduction equipment to the Library and Resource Center. The DBVI works with affiliated subregional libraries in public libraries in Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax, Fredericksburg, Roanoke, Staunton and Virginia Beach. Find It Virginia is supported by federal funding provided by the Institute for Museum and Library Services, and ensures that all Commonwealth residents have equal access to essential resources for lifelong learning. In the state of Virginia, a variety of resource center services are offered to students who are blind, deafblind, and visually impaired in preschool and high school age. These services may include certification granted by professional librarians or by anyone whose competence under specific circumstances is acceptable to the Library of Congress. In addition to these services, there are also digital libraries on deaf culture, libraries suitable for people with dyslexia, inclusive resources, resources for Virginia military families, and a Virginia legal information resource guide.
The Access Services branch of the Fairfax County Public Library is committed to providing resources to individuals with hearing impairments. Through its programs and services such as hearing tests, hearing aids, counseling, certification grants from professional librarians or anyone whose competence is accepted by the Library of Congress, digital libraries on deaf culture, libraries suitable for people with dyslexia, inclusive resources, resources for Virginia military families, and a Virginia legal information resource guide. The Access Services branch of the Fairfax County Public Library is dedicated to removing barriers to services and providing equal access to essential resources for lifelong learning. With its wide range of programs and services available to individuals with hearing impairments in Fairfax County public schools and public libraries throughout Virginia, it is clear that this branch is committed to providing quality resources to those who need them.
