The document discusses guidelines for public libraries to better serve patrons with cognitive disabilities or mental illnesses. It recommends that staff receive training, materials be made accessible, and the environment be inclusive and respectful. Libraries should collaborate with other organizations and get input from patrons and their advocates to understand needs and break down barriers. Being in the library can help such patrons feel more normalized in their community.

1. “ Normalizing” Experience Serving Mentally Ill & Cognitively Disabled Patrons at the Library

2. Staff should be trained to treat all patrons with respect, to enforce all rules fairly, and to be tolerant of behavior that may be unusual … or may be involuntary. The public library has a role in making a family member and the individual feel accepted and a part of the larger community. Being at a public library is a very “normalizing” experience. -Trustee Essential # 21 Wisconsin Trustee Manual Wisconsin Division for Libraries, Technology, and Community Learning (2002)

3. “ As long as I have choice in the matter, I will live only in a country where civil liberty, tolerance, and equality for all citizens before the law are the rule.” - Albert Einstein, upon coming to the USA, 1933