I went to my friends in the disability community to
try to get you best-info.  A disability
attorney-advocate provided the input below, and
another is looking for info he provided to the
Carnegie Museums of Art a few years ago.  A third
believes that 24-hours should be sufficient, but if
you follow the advice of included below, you should be
in good stead to accommodate that suggestion.  

Remember, you're providing service to the public and
trying to comply with a law that has been on the books
for 15-years (Americans with Disabilities Act, or
ADA).  Would you be willing to visit someplace if
every time you wanted to go, you had to call weeks in
advance?  I wouldn't.  I'm very impulsive and do
things on spur of the moment.  Having to wait til I
could be accommodated would be an absolute turnoff.

I'm also expecting to have our resident deaf expert
(and Gallaudet graduate who worked with many Congress
folk) chime in a few days.

Here's what the attorney advises:

I produce address labels to put on Rolodex cards, with
foreign language
translators,  League, and ADA helpline in local areas
- they ought to be the
first, non-alphabetized card in every Rolodex.

What I tell folks is to "let us know as soon as you
know."  In the Nashville
area, I can get rudimentary foreign language on demand
and exact or signed
language within 4 hours, usually, if really needed. 
The strong preference
for signed is for 72 hours, but the League has worked
with me long enough to
know that my assessment of whether pen and paper or IM
will do or not is
well informed and reasonable.

I keep basic records of how long it takes to get an
interpreter (deaf or
other foreign language), so that I can assess whether
I have good sources
and can show some one that the availability is
reasonable, should they ask.

The real trick is to make the contacts before a
customer needs you to access
the service.  In doing trainings I have consistently
been pleased with the
willingness of providers to come, hand out business
cards, and explain how
they work.  This isn't hard stuff if you anticipate
that your own customers
are diverse.


--- Sarah Smith <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Dear List Serve Members:
> 
>  
> 
> How much notice do you request someone give you when
> they ask you for a
> signing interpreter?
> 
>  
> 
> Sarah Y. Smith
> 
> Executive Director
> 
> Hanover Tavern Foundation
> 
> (804) 537-5050
> 
>  
> 
> A Future Worthy of Its Past
> 
>  
> 
> 
>
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Indigo Nights
[log in to unmask]

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