Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Where do I find books with Deaf Characters?

Just last week, I took a break from work and went to the Deaf Stacks in Gallaudet University's library. All of those books that I have been unable to purchase or borrow through other university's library loan programs were basically sitting on the shelves waving me toward them. I thumbed through the section with Deaf Characters and thought, "This is so not going to be good for you Sharon" envisioning hours of time lost in the library basement.

I spend hours randomly searching for books with Deaf Characters; however, there are several publishing companies and websites that I use on a regular basis. I search Amazon, Barnes & Noble and, I search publishing companies like Butte Publications, Forest Books, Deaf Internet Bookstore, Gallaudet University Press, and Harris Communications who have published books with Deaf Characters. There are several sites that you may want to search to find bibiographical information and/or information about Deaf People in general including the Deaf Resource Library and RIT's Deaf in Literature page. Brenda Weeaks has created a Deaf Characters shelf on MyShelf.com listing titles and summaries of books with deaf characters. I have used this as a reference for my own research. It's also nice to offer to students so that they can select their own reading materials.

Today, I stumbled upon Goodreads, a privately run website started in 2006 by software engineer and entrepreneur Otis Chandler. On Goodreads, when an individual adds a book to the site, all their "friends" can see their review of the book. I like this site because it is just another place for me to search for books with Deaf Characters.

Visit their site: http://www.goodreads.com/

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