| The purpose of this study was to describe the development of library media center (LMC) service for handicapped students from 1950 to 1980, to identify the factors which caused change in service, and to determine the service, equipment, and material that was provided. To gain an indepth perspective, results of an historical analysis of LMC service for handicapped students were combined with results of a nationwide survey which measured LMC service in 1979-80.;The equal rights movement, which started in the 1950s, stimulated parents to use the judicial and legislative processes to secure education for their handicapped children. By 1975, P.L. 94-142, the Education of All Handicapped Children Act, combined sections of all previous laws to guarantee equal education. At the same time, the library profession became more specific in its definition of meeting the needs of the individual. By the late 1970s, librarians used the library literature to describe service that could be provided for handicapped students. The nationwide survey of service in 1979-80 showed that 91 percent of the 350 respondents indeed provided LMC service in an integrated environment.;Several sources of material and equipment were available to extend the service that could be provided for handicapped students. These included the public library, the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Recordings for the Blind, the National Association for the Visually Handicapped, and the special education centers.;Because of the advocacy role taken by parents, educators, and legislators throughout the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, LMC service for handicapped students reached the critical mass stage by 1980. The potential for the LMC to plan and provide exemplary service to handicapped students through cooperation with the special teacher, regular classroom teacher, parents, and administrators was obvious.;Library media center service for handicapped students involved two areas--special education and library service. These areas developed quite separately from 1950 until the late 1970s with little communication, coordination, or planning of service occurring between the two. However, several factors interacted to cause advancements in both areas; and therefore, increased the development of LMC service for handicapped students. |
