Universal Access and the ADA: a Disability Access Design Specification for the New UCLA Library On-Line Information System (Americans with Disabilities Act ‪)‬

INTRODUCTION The time-honored, fundamental mission of American libraries is to provide universal access to information, collections, materials and services. In passing the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (the "ADA"), Congress estimated that over 43 million Americans have one or more disabilities. Congress further noted that, historically, society has tended to isolate and segregate individuals with disabilities, and, despite some improvements, such forms of discrimination against individuals with disabilities continue to be a serious and pervasive social problem. 42 USC Section 12101 (a) (5) provides that "individuals with disabilities continually encounter various forms of discrimination, including outright intentional exclusion, the discriminatory effects of architectural, transportation, and communication barriers, overprotective rules and policies, failure to make modifications to existing facilities and practices, exclusionary qualification standards and criteria, segregation, and relegation to lesser services, programs, activities, benefits, jobs, or other opportunities."