Abstract
This dissertation examines the unique challenges academic librarians in Ireland face in
providing their services and supports to students with invisible disabilities. It is a qualitative
study, undertaken over the months of June, July and August 2016 which involved a number
of one to one interviews of academic librarians based in Dublin, Kildare and Belfast. The
research outlines the current awareness of invisible disabilities within the academic library
sector and the resources and best practices currently in use in the provision of library
facilities to third level students with invisible disabilities. The research also shows that there
is an increasing number of students with disabilities attending third level education and that
most of these students have an invisible disability. The study finds that academic librarians
tend to have a proactive approach in their provision of services to this cohort of students and
shows them to be actively involved in the sharing of their knowledge and experience and
engage in close collaboration with their respective disability support services and access
offices. The diverse nature of conditions that constitute an invisible disability adds greatly to
the challenges faced by academic librarians and their desire for further training in this area is
very much apparent. This research also draws attention to the existence of any unintentional
barriers within each library which may be causing issues for students with invisible
disabilities. Overall, this study shows academic librarians have a keen interest in invisible
disabilities and how they impact on their students. It shows the librarians to be actively
involved in providing effective services and supports to these students and are constantly
looking at ways in which they can improve these supports. Author keywords: Invisible disability, academic librarian, resources, awareness, supports, students, barriers, third level education,assistive technologies, best practices
