Celebrating 20 Years of ADA.

Press Release

For Immediate Release

The New York Public Library Celebrates the 20th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act with ADA Day on July 7th

New York, NY – In commemoration of the signing of the twentieth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, The New York Public Library with host ADA Day on Wednesday, July 7 in the South Court Auditorium of the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building located at Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street. Throughout the afternoon there will be a series of free programs, screenings, and performances related to and about the disabled. All programs will have Real-time (CART) captioning, and assistive listening devices will be available. ASL interpreters will also be provided.

The schedule for the day will be as follows:
3:00-5:00 p.m. The ADA: On the Personal Level
Matthew Sapolin, Commissioner of the Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities, will kick off the celebration by reflecting on the changes that the ADA has brought about.
Ruth O'Brien, Professor, author and editor, will moderate a panel on the topic of the ADA and the difference it has made in the panelist's lives. Panelists: Leonard Kriegel, author of Flying Solo: Reimagining Manhood, Courage, and Loss; Stephen Kuusisto, author of Planet of the Blind; and Achim Nowak, author of Power Speaking: The Art of the Exceptional Public Speaker.
Panelists are all contributors to the book Voices from the Edge: Narratives about the Americans with Disabilities Act , edited By Ruth O’Brien.

6:00-8:00 p.m.: Evening Arts Panel: Film, Poetry, Dance, and Discussion.
Roger Ross Williams, director of Academy Award-winning film Music by Prudence , about a Zimbabwean band composed of people with disabilities. Film will be screened.
Gary Glazner, founder of the Alzheimer's Poetry Project will perform some short pieces.
Heidi Latsky, founder and choreographer of The GIMP Project. There will be a short performance, Two Men Walking (performed by Lawrence Carter-Long and Jeffrey Freeze, music by Sxip Shirey.)

After the screening/performances, Roger Ross Williams, Gary Glazner, Heidi Latsky, Lawrence Carter-Long and Jeffrey Freeze will assemble on stage for audience questions.

There will also be a series of free programs regarding disabilities throughout July held at the Mid-Manhattan Library located at 455 Fifth Avenue. The programs currently scheduled include:

Wednesday, July 14, 2010, 6:30 p.m.
Disability, Access, and the Law. Joel D. Ziev, Ed.D., Director, Partners for Access and Ted Finkelstein, Director of Project Equal Access, NYC Commission on Human Rights

Wednesday, July 21, 2010, 6:30 p.m.
Hearing Loss and the ADA. Lise Hamlin, Director of Public Policy, Hearing Loss Association of America and Amy Boyle, Director of Public Education, Center for Hearing and Communication

Wednesday, July 28, 2010, 6:30 p.m.
Twenty Years of the ADA: A Look Back, A Look Forward, and Where We Are Now. Paul J. Tobin, President and CEO, United Spinal Association and Lawrence Carter-Long, Disability Rights Activist

For more information about these programs you can visit The Library’s website at www.nypl.org.

About The New York Public Library
The New York Public Library was created in 1895 with the consolidation of the private libraries of John Jacob Astor and James Lenoxwith the Samuel Jones Tilden Trust. The Library provides free and open access to its physical and electronic collections and information, as well as to its services. Its renowned research collections are located in the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street; The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center; the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem; and the Science, Industry and Business Library at 34th Street and Madison Avenue. Eighty-eight branch libraries provide access to circulating collections and a wide range of other services in neighborhoods throughout the Bronx,Manhattan, and Staten Island. Research and circulating collections combined total more than 50 million items. In addition, each year the Library presents thousands of exhibitions and public programs, which include classes in technology, literacy, and English for speakers of other languages. All in all The New York Public Library serves more than 17 million patrons who come through its doors annually and millions more around the globe who use its resources at www.nypl.org.

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Contact: Jonathan Pace| 212.592.7710 | Jonathan_Pace@nypl.org