Special Collections

Your Child's Hearing Loss

From a mother whose daughter has hearing loss, and an audiologist with more than twenty-five years of experience with deaf and hard-of-hearing children and their families, this comprehensive volume offers parents what they need to know from day-to-day practical solutions to technical information to emotional support.

Date Added: 03/08/2018

Mary Mehan Awake

In a compelling sequel to the highly praised "The Dreams of Mairhe Mehan", Mairhe, who has now taken the name Mary, leaves Washington, D.C., to take a position as a domestic servant in upstate New York. The Civil War has ended. Mary's brother, Mike, has been killed at Gettysburg, her father has returned home to Ireland, and, after two years of nursing wounded and dying soldiers in the capital's hospitals, Mary is emotionally exhausted and physically defeated. But in her new life on the shores of Lake Ontario, Mary finds renewal and her senses gradually re-awaken. Each of the novel's five sections focuses on a different sense -- as Mary learns to assist explorer and naturalist Jasper Dorsett in photographing birds, she begins to see things with a photographer's eye; as she falls in love with Dorsett's stable hand, a veteran left deaf by the war, she learns to describe the sounds she hears for him; and so forth, through the renewal of smell, taste, and touch. This challenging and poetic young adult novel concludes Mary's story with a mixture of sparkling language, thematic richness, and emotional depth.

Date Added: 03/08/2018

Triumph of the Spirit

In 1988 the world's only deaf liberal arts university, Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. was ready for its next president. The Board of Trustees chose a hearing president who knew nothing about deafness. Unrest had been building on campus over this possibility, especially as there were highly qualified Deaf applicants. When the hearing person was selected and announced, the students exploded in protest. The next 7 days were covered by the national and international news media. What happened at Gallaudet had enormous worldwide impact. Since that protest, Deaf people have proudly advanced in all occupations. The DPN Movement has been likened to a civil rights movement for Deaf people. The author, Angel Ramos, PhD., was directly involved in the protest. Note: all spelling errors were in the print text.

Date Added: 03/08/2018

Seeing Voices

Sign language is, in the hands of its masters, a most beautiful and expressive language.

Date Added: 03/08/2018

Deaf Culture A to Z

"A is for American Sign Language. American Sign Language (ASL) is the language of signs used among many Deaf people. Each sign represents a word or words. In the picture on the right, the boy is signing, "What should I do?" The librarian answers, "You can read a book on Deaf Culture." ASL is a beautiful language and it is fun to learn."

Date Added: 03/08/2018

Eyes of Desire 2

This book is an anthology of articles about Deaf gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) persons in the United States and elsewhere in the world.

Date Added: 03/08/2018

I Have A Sister -- My Sister Is Deaf

A young deaf child who loves to run and jump and play is affectionately described by her older sister.

Date Added: 03/08/2018

Let's Hear It for the Deaf Man

What with one thing and another, such as a highly successful cat burglar and what seemed to be a hippie crucifixion, the 87th Precinct didn't need The Deaf Man. Especially since he'd already put in two previous appearances resulting in blackmail, murder and general havoc. But they had him, certainly, they very definitely had him -or was it he that had them? This time, The Deaf Man thinks it fitting that a police detective will help him rob a bank.

Date Added: 03/08/2018

A Loss for Words

“A personal journey of introspection by a young woman whose childhood was spent as parent to her deaf parents” (Kirkus Reviews).From the time she was a toddler, Lou Ann Walker acted as the ears and voice for her parents, who lost their hearing at a young age. As soon as she was old enough to speak, she assumed the responsibility of interpreter—confirming doctors’ appointments and managing her parents’ business transactions. While the Walkers’ family was warm and loving, outside the comfort of their home, they faced a world that misunderstood and often rejected them.In this deeply moving memoir, Walker offers us a glimpse of a different world, bringing with it a broader reflection on how parents grow alongside their children and how children learn to navigate the world through the eyes of their parents. In recounting her story, she encourages us to question the inequalities that shape our society, introduces us to the warm, supportive deaf community, and illuminates the creativity and kindness of humanity.Winner of the Christopher Award“A deeply moving, often humorous, and beautiful account of what it means to be the hearing child of profoundly deaf parents . . . I have rarely read anything on the subject more powerful or poignant than this extraordinary personal account by Lou Ann Walker.” — Oliver Sacks

Date Added: 03/08/2018

Listening with My Heart

Heather Whitestone. Her name has become synonymous with incredible determination and unprecedented achievement. In Listening with My Heart, Heather tells her own story and the stories of others who have inspired her, proving that with hard work, perseverance, and faith, each of us can move mountains.

Profoundly deaf since she was eighteen months old, Heather strove to live a normal life, and refused to listen to the voices of discouragement that many of us so often hear, no matter what problems confront us. She wouldn't listen to the doctor who said she wouldn't develop beyond third-grade abilities, or to those who said she would never dance ballet, or even speak. She did, however, hear the encouraging spirit of her family and followed the guidance of her own heart's dreams.

Struggling through her difficulties, she was sustained by every success--no matter how small--and ultimately became Miss America 1995. Though she is disabled, her incredible gifts have inspired many throughout the world, and in Listening with My Heart she at last shares her life-changing wisdom.

Date Added: 03/08/2018

Kami and the Yaks

Just before the start of a new trek, a Sherpa family discovers that their yaks are missing. Young Kami, anxious to help his brother and father maintain their livelihood, sets off by himself to find the wandering herd. A spunky deaf child who is unable to speak, Kami attempts to summon the yaks with his shrill whistle. Failing to rout them, he hustles up the steep mountainside to search the yaks' favorite grazing spots. On the way he encounters the rumblings of a fierce storm which quickly becomes more threatening. Surmounting his fear of being alone in the midst of treacherous lightning and hail, Kami uses his heightened sense of observation to finally locate the yaks. Reunited with their animals, the astonished family is once again able to transport their gear and guide the mountain climbers into the majestic terrain.

Winner of the Schneider Family Book Award

Date Added: 03/08/2018

Chelsea

Chelsea: The Story of a Signal Dog is the heartwarming, humorous, inspirational love story of a young deaf couple and the beautiful Belgian sheepdog who acts as their "ears" When Paul and Anne Ogden felt they needed a better link to the hearing world, they turned to Canine Companions for independence, a unique organization that trains dogs to help deaf and disabled persons live more successfully and creatively with their special needs. ...

Once the Ogdens return home with Chelsea, the story unfolds in lively detail. Life in a deaf family with an "almost human" dog seems to be a constant series of adventures and misadventures, and as Chelsea matures into a proud professional, readers will be utterly captivated by her charm. In addition to being a heartfelt animal story, the book shows us life in the deaf world ...

Poignant, touching, and joyful, Chelsea reveals deeper truths about the way we communicate or fail to communicate with one another, while conveying the spirit of triumph that once again proves that dogs are man's (and woman's) best friend. Chelsea is a love story guaranteed to delight.

Paul W. Ogden, professor of deaf education at California State University at Fresno, is the coauthor of The Silent Garden: Understanding the Hearing-Impaired Child. He lives with his wife, Anne Keegan Ogden, R.N., and their signal dog, Chelsea. When Paul is not teaching, writing, or beachcombing, he is collecting stories from deaf people for an anthology.

Date Added: 03/08/2018

Song Without Words

Much has been written about the profoundly deaf, but the lives of the nearly 30 million partially deaf people in the United States today remain hidden. Song without Words tells the astonishing story of a man who, at the age of thirty-four, discovered that he had been deaf since childhood, yet somehow managed to navigate his way through Andover, Yale, and Columbia Law School, and to establish a prestigious international legal career.

Gerald Shea's witty and candid memoir of how he compensated for his deafness--through sheer determination and an amazing ability to translate the melody of vowels. His experience gives fascinating new insight into the nature and significance of language, the meaning of deafness, the fierce controversy between advocates of signing and of oral education, and the longing for full communication that unites us all.

Date Added: 03/08/2018

Leading Ladies

Megan's fourth-grade class is putting on their own original musical based on the book The Wizard of Oz, and Megan wants to be the star of the show and play Dorothy. Since she's deaf, she will sign the songs for her audition. However, a problem develops when Lizzie, her best friend from camp, transfers from her all-deaf school to Megan's class - and signs the same two songs that Megan was going to do! Luckily, Megan has some other ideas up her sleeve...

Date Added: 03/08/2018

Millionaire Dad

Nick Regan-Phillips: a millionaire, whom the world assumes has it all...but he's got a secret that he's kept from the world-he's a single dad. Nick's daughter, Rosie, is deaf. Nick missed the first five years of Rosie's life, but now she's come to live with him he's struggling to communicate with her....

Lydia Stanford: beautiful, courageous, award-^nnning journalist. And seemingly the only person who can help Nick forge a bond with his daughter..."But when their fragile relationship is tested, will , Lydia realize how much this millionaire dad really means to her-and needs her-before it is too late?

Date Added: 03/08/2018

On the Fence

Although Drolsbaugh is listed as author, he is actually the editor of writings by 37 individuals. They label themselves hard of hearing or hearing impaired. This is a very different population than the culturally deaf, signing community. Authors found their community in Self Help for the Hard of Hearing (SHHH), later renamed as HLAA (Hearing Loss Association of America). A bio of the authors is included at the end. They vary from childhood age to the elderly.

Date Added: 03/08/2018

Kicking Up Dirt

At nineteen, Ashley Fiolek is already the top female competitor in a tough men's sport: motocross, a form of off-road motorcycle racing that is one of the most competitive and dangerous extreme sports in the world. Since going pro in late 2007, Fiolek has taken gold at the X Games, won the American Women's Motocross Championship twice, and become the first woman in American motocross history to be signed to a factory team—the highest echelon of industry backing. But Fiolek's rise has not come without obstacles. Fiolek was born profoundly deaf, a handicap that makes everyday life difficult—and competition on the track downright dangerous. Originally misdiagnosed as "mildly retarded," she was a painfully shy and introverted child—until her parents introduced her to the world of dirt bikes, which helped her escape the silence in her head and connect with others who shared her passion. She began racing at seven, and as her successes grew through hard work and no small number of broken bones, so did her confidence.Fiolek has never believed her disability should stand in the way of her dreams. Nor has she allowed her gender to limit her career—motocross historically has been a men's sport, but with the love and support of her dirt-obsessed family, including her "Grandpa Motorcycle," her little brother, Kicker, and her dogs, Turbo and Rocco, Ashley has emerged as one of the sport's most talked-about stars, changing the way the entire industry views women. Armed with her extraordinary talent, contagious grin, and deep faith in God, Fiolek continues to venture into unknown territory, relentlessly pushing herself—and women's motocross—to ever-greater heights.Kicking Up Dirt is a remarkable, inspiring tale of a young woman's courage and determination to succeed in the face of truly challenging obstacles.

Date Added: 03/08/2018

Nobody's Perfect

"She's practically perfect," Megan said thoughtfully. She repeated the new girl's name, practicing the way Ms. Endee had written it on the whiteboard. Alexis Powell. Megan has spent forever planning her positively purple birthday sleepover. She's even made glittery purple invitations for every girl in her class. Then a new girl, Alexis, joins their class. Alexis seems perfect: She's smart, pretty, and rules the soccer games on the playground. But no matter how hard Megan tries to be a friend to Alexis, the new girl is aloof or rude. At first, Megan thinks Alexis is shy. Then Megan starts to fear that Alexis is treating her differently because she's deaf. When the girls are forced to collaborate on a science fair project, Megan learns the truth -- and realizes that nobody's perfect. Once again Marlee Matlin draws on experiences from her own childhood to tell Megan's story. In this funny, poignant book, readers will root for Megan, a spirited young girl who doesn't let anything stand in her way.

Date Added: 03/08/2018

In This Sign

Janice and Abel are a deaf couple. Their daughter can hear, and becomes their interpreter from a very early age. The parents are ashamed of their sign language and won't sign in public, only at the deaf club or with deaf friends. The daughter is interpreting phone calls, medical and banking appointments, legal and other situations long before she understands them. This is a historical novel, of a deaf world that no longer exists, but is accurate for its time.

Date Added: 03/08/2018

I Danced

Weber presents a readable yet comprehensive look at cochlear implants and shares her own story:
why did she choose to hear?
how did she cope?
what were the frustrations with implants?

The book includes some technical information and lists of resources for those with hearing disabilities.

Date Added: 03/08/2018

Five Flavors of Dumb

The Challenge: Piper has one month to get the rock band Dumb a paying gig.

The Deal: If she does it, Piper will become the band's manager and get her share of the profits.

The Catch: How can Piper possibly manage one egomaniacal pretty boy, one talentless piece of eye candy, one crush, one silent rocker, and one angry girl? And how can she do it when she's deaf?

Piper can't hear Dumb's music, but with growing self-confidence, a budding romance, and a new understanding of the decision her family made to buy a cochlear implant for her deaf baby sister, she discovers her own inner rock star and what it truly means to be a flavor of Dumb.

Winner of the Schneider Family Book Award

Date Added: 03/08/2018

Longshot

Lance Allred was probably the last person you'd expect to make it in professional sports. Not only did he grow up on a polygamist commune in Montana, he struggles with obsessive-compulsive disorder. If those hurdles to the NBA don't seem large enough, Lance is also deaf.

Self-deprecating, witty, and wholly original, Longshot is the unlikely story of an unlikely athlete, who despite these factors and a lot of setbacks along the way, finally realized his dream of playing in the NBA, becoming the first legally deaf player in the league.

Lance refused to let others' expectations hinder his dreams, and his refreshing sense of humor about his disability allowed him to face these setbacks without giving up. From his childhood on the commune where he was "Mormon royalty" (his grandfather was prophet Rulon Allred of the fundamentalist sect) to his first time picking up a basketball (eighth grade), to his clumsy efforts to build his skills while growing into his 6' 11" frame, Longshot is a riveting account of a young man finding his purpose and letting the love of the game drive him toward his ultimate goal.

Going inside the competitive world of collegiate basketball and the strange experience of playing professionally in Europe, with paychecks that never arrive and a knee injury Lance's team didn't want to cover, Longshot recounts the moment when Lance hit rock bottom. When he came back to the United States for surgery, Lance was prepared to let go of his basketball dreams and become a high school history teacher like his dad.

But luckily he had an agent who didn't want to see Lance's dream die, and who found him a deal with the Idaho Stampede, an NBA Development League team in Boise. Although it was paltry pay, it was the last resort. And Lance slowly began to be noticed.

Revealing the resilient heart of a young man who truly believes that it's not about failure or success but about being willing to try, Longshot is a Rudy story for a new generation, a tale of inspiration, dedication, and the power of a dream.

Date Added: 03/08/2018

Alandra's Lilacs

When, in 1968, 19-year-old Tressa Bowers took her baby daughter to an expert on deaf children, he pronounced that Alandra was "stone deaf," she most likely would never be able to talk, and she probably would not get much of an education because of her communication limitations. Tressa refused to accept this stark assessment of Alandra's prospects. Instead, she began the arduous process of starting her daughter's education. Economic need forced Tressa to move several times, and as a result, she and Alandra experienced a variety of learning environments: a pure oralist approach, which discouraged signing; Total Communication, in which the teachers spoke and signed simultaneously; a residential school for deaf children, where Signed English was employed; and a mainstream public school that relied upon interpreters. Changes at home added more demands, from Tressa's divorce to her remarriage, her long work hours, and the ongoing challenge of complete communication within their family. Through it all, Tressa and Alandra never lost sight of their love for each other, and their affection rippled through the entire family. Today, Tressa can triumphantly point to her confident, educated daughter and also speak with pride of her wonderful relationship with her deaf grandchildren. Alandra's Lilacs is a marvelous story about the resiliency and achievements of determined, loving people no matter what their circumstances might be.

Date Added: 03/08/2018

Some Kids Are Deaf

Simple text and photographs describe kids who are deaf, the ways they communicate, and some of their everyday activities. Note to Parents and Teachers The Understanding Differences set supports national social studies standards related to individual development and identity. This book describes children who are deaf and illustrates their special needs. The photographs support early readers in understanding the text. The repetition of words and phrases helps early readers learn new words. This book also introduces early readers to subject-specific vocabulary words, which are defined in the Glossary. Early readers may need assistance to read some words and to use the Table of Content's, Glossary, Read More, Internet Sites, and Index sections of the book.

Date Added: 08/03/2021

Deaf American Poetry

“The Deaf poet is no oxymoron,” declares editor John Lee Clark in his introduction to Deaf American Poetry: An Anthology. The 95 poems by 35 Deaf American poets in this volume more than confirm his point. From James Nack’s early metered narrative poem “The Minstrel Boy” to the free association of Kristi Merriweather’s contemporary “It Was His Movin’ Hands Be Tellin’ Me,” these Deaf poets display mastery of all forms prevalent during the past two centuries. Beyond that, E. Lynn Jacobowitz’s “In Memoriam: Stephen Michael Ryan” exemplifies a form unique to Deaf American poets, the transliteration of verse originally created in American Sign Language.

This anthology showcases for the first time the best works of Deaf poets throughout the nation’s history — John R. Burnet, Laura C. Redden, George M. Teegarden, Agatha Tiegel Hanson, Loy E. Golladay, Robert F. Panara, Mervin D. Garretson, Clayton Valli, Willy Conley, Raymond Luczak, Christopher Jon Heuer, Pamela Wright-Meinhardt, and many others. Each of their poems reflects the sensibilities of their times, and the progression of their work marks the changes that deaf Americans have witnessed through the years. In “The Mute’s Lament,” John Carlin mourns the wonderful things that he cannot hear, and looks forward to heaven where “replete with purest joys/My ears shall be unsealed, and I shall hear.” In sharp contrast, Mary Toles Peet, who benefitted from being taught by Deaf teachers, wrote “Thoughts on Music” with an entirely different attitude. She concludes her account of the purported beauty of music with the realization that “the music of my inward ear/Brings joy far more intense.”

Clark tracks these subtle shifts in awareness through telling, brief biographies of each poet. By doing so, he reveals in Deaf American Poetry how “the work of Deaf poets serves as a prism through which Deaf people can know themselves better and through which the rest of the world can see life in a new light.”

Date Added: 01/22/2019