"The Disability Resources Monthly (DRM) Guide to Disability Resources on the Internet," the award winning gateway to the best disability information on-line, is improving its technical capabilities and exploring new ways to help people with disabilities, family members, and service providers find the best information on-line quickly and easily. Thanks to the generous grant from Bell Atlantic Foundation, the web site has a new address - www.disabilityresources.org - as well as other new and upcoming features.
Disability Resources, inc. is a national organization, based on Long Island, New York, which has provided information about resources for independent living since the inception of its print newsletter, Disability Resources Monthly, in 1993. The organization developed the web site in 1997 to help people quickly locate high quality Internet resources on-line. The site currently features approximately 350 pages of alphabetically arranged disability topics -- from Abuse of People with Disabilities to Xeroderma Pigmentosum -- and 50 state resource pages.
"The DRM Guide to Disability Resources on the Internet" has been the recipient of such prestigious awards as the top Medsite award for excellence; five stars from Health A to Z, a premiere review and search tool for health-related resources on the ‘Net; four checks from the authoritative Argus Clearinghouse; and three stars from Mental Health Net, the largest catalog of mental health resources on the ‘Net.
In a review of Disabilities resources’ web site, the Encyclopedia Britannica Internet Guide wrote: "Information is power! is the premise of this wonderfully well-organized site created by librarians and communication specialists as a tool for cutting through the morass of disability-related material on the Web. The frequently updated guide lives up to its stated mission, pointing visitors to carefully selected sources whose aim is to tend the store of knowledge meant to assist people with disabilities in living and working independently. A geographic index quickly links users to organizations, institutions and other resources close to home. Librarians seeking to make their libraries more accessible to people with disabilities should make it a point to visit Librarians’ Connections, a collection of sites supporting the increased availability of Web-based information and technology to disabled individuals through libraries."
Julie Klauber, who created and maintains the site, noted that The DRM Guide was developed on a shoestring. "People are amazed that a site of this quality could be built using a free Internet Service Provider, free web host, and free labor -- disability professionals and librarians who volunteer their time and expertise," she said. "The grant from Bell Atlantic will enable us to take this free, on-line resource to a new level of service and reliability for the disability community."
Disability Resources is seeking additional site sponsors as well as volunteers to build, edit and update subject and state pages For more information, contact Avery or Julie Klauber, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST, at (631) 585-0290, or send e-mail to info@disabilityresources.org.