Eric Dibner Papers
Guide written by Elizabeth Konzak .
The Bancroft Library.
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California, 94720-6000
Phone: (510) 642-6481
Fax: (510) 642-7589
Email: bancref@library.berkeley.edu
URL: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu
© 2005
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Guide to the Eric Dibner Papers
Collection number: BANC MSS 99/186 c
The Bancroft Library
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California
Contact Information:
- Processed by:
- Guide written by Elizabeth Konzak
- Date Completed:
- July 2002
- Encoded by:
- James Lake
© 2005 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Collection Summary
Collection Title: Eric Dibner Papers,
Date (inclusive): 1973-1991
Date (bulk): 1975-1985
Collection Number: BANC MSS 99/186 c
Creator:
Dibner, Eric
Extent:
Number of containers: 4 cartons
Linear feet: 5
Repository: The Bancroft Library.
Berkeley, California 94720-6000
Abstract: The Eric Dibner Papers, 1973-1991 (bulk 1975-1985), document Dibner's work as an accessibility expert for persons with disabilities.
Dibner was very active in the disability rights movement, and consulted for variety of institutions and organizations, including
the University of California, Berkeley, the Center for Independent Living (CIL), and the California Association of the Physically
Handicapped (CAPH). The collection, which includes notes, correspondence, meeting agendas, files, legal briefs, photographs,
architectural plans, reports, and publications, also shows the development of architectural accessibility through the momentum
of the disability rights movement.
Languages Represented:
Collection materials are in English.
Physical Location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Information for Researchers
Restrictions
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Copyright has not been assigned to The Bancroft Library. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts
must be submitted in writing to the Head of Public Services. Permission for publication is given on behalf of The Bancroft
Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which
must also be obtained by the reader.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Eric Dibner Papers, BANC MSS 99/186 c, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
Related Collections
BANC MSS 2001/49 c, v. 3. Phonotape 3109 C: 1-29
Builders and sustainers of the Independent Living Movement in Berkeley: oral history transcripts. Vol. 3: Eric Dibner: Advocate
and specialist in architectural accessibility; Hale Zukas: National disability activist, architectural and transit accessibility,
personal assistance services. Interviews conducted by Kathy Cowan and Sharon Bonney, 1997-1998. Regional Oral History Office,
The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 2000. Transcript available through the Online Archive of California;
http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/kt4c6003rh.
Additional related collections may be found by searching the corporate author/name "Disability Rights and Independent Living
Movement collection" in U.C. Berkeley's online catalog.
Separated Material
Printed materials have been transferred to the book collection of The Bancroft Library.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.
Center for Independent Living.
University of California, Berkeley.
San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (Calif.)
California Association of the Physically Handicapped.
Gray Panthers.
Barrier-free design--California--Berkeley.
Discrimination against people with disabilities--Law and legislation.
People with disabilities--California.
Dwellings--Access.
Barrier-free design.
Barrier-free design for students with disabilities.
Berkeley (Calif.)
People's Park (Berkeley, Calif.)
Photographs.
Disability Rights and Independent Living Movement collection.
Administrative Information
Acquisition Information
The Eric Dibner Papers were given to The Bancroft Library by Eric Dibner in 1998.
Processing Information
Processed by Amber Smock; completed by Elizabeth Konzak.
Biography
Eric Dibner, born in 1947, enrolled in an architecture curriculum at University of California, Berkeley in 1965. After working
at a construction company and an architect's office during the following summer, Dibner found that he did not enjoy drafting,
preferring to think and theorize about design. While attending classes in the Fall of 1967, Dibner also began working part-time
as an attendant for Scott Sorensen and John Hessler, disabled students in the Cowell Hospital Disabled Residence Program.
In 1968, frustrated by his schoolwork and enthralled by the activity in Berkeley, Dibner dropped out of school and accompanied
John Hessler to France to work as a live-in attendant while Hessler studied abroad.
In the fall of 1969, following his return to California, Dibner became a live-in attendant for Scott Sorensen in Berkeley.
After Sorensen died a year later, Dibner worked for the University's Physically Disabled Students Program (PDSP) as a housing
coordinator, also filling in for various other duties when needed. Because of his interest in architecture, Dibner became
involved with the Coordinating Committee for the Removal of Architectural Barriers (CCRAB), working within the university
to promote accessibility for the disabled. Dibner ascribed to the thought that people with disabilities know best what sort
of accommodations work, and helped to test new accessibility measures with people from PDSP.
In 1972, Dibner began working for the Center for Independent Living (CIL), a Berkeley community organization for disabled
self-help. He worked on a variety of access and housing issues for CIL including accessibility surveys of buildings and sidewalks.
In 1974, Dibner worked as a live-in attendant for Hale Zukas, a leading advocate for barrier removal. Zukas became a mentor
to Dibner on access issues, policy processes, and design development.
In 1975 Dibner conducted an accessibility survey of BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit), and also worked on campaigns and lawsuits
to remove grocery store cart barriers that made stores inaccessible. Besides working on these and other public building accessibility
initiatives, Dibner also coordinated CIL's move from their University Avenue offices to a new building on Telegraph Avenue.
In 1978 and 1979 Dibner worked with the Disabled Law Resource Center of CIL to provide Section 504 compliance training as
well as continuing education classes on accessability. Through his work experience Dibner became known as an accessability
specialist, frequently working as a consultant and speaking at conferences.
By the early 1980's CIL had many important projects but very little funding, causing the staff to be overwhelmed and underpaid.
After CIL administration tried to prevent a union from forming, the staff, including Dibner, went on strike. Disillusioned,
Dibner resigned from CIL in 1982. He then worked for Access California, a municipal organization in Oakland, California, and
spent much of his time surveying Oakland's street corners for accessability. Dibner was also very involved with the California
Association of the Physically Handicapped (CAPH), serving on various housing and executive committees, and as East Bay chapter
vice president and later, president, from 1983-1984.
In 1985, Dibner returned to Maine to be closer to his family. From 1986 to 1991, he worked as an accessability specialist
for a number of groups, including the independent-living organization Alpha One and the Maine Association for Handicapped
Persons (MAHP). He also consulted for the Transit Authority of South Portland in order to help tackle accessability issues
on public buses. In 1991, Dibner moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, and took a consulting job that focused on technology-related
assistance, as part of a project undertaken by the Department of Rehabilitation. Later, he worked on access issues and building
codes with the Governor's Committee on Advocating for Disabled Access. Dibner returned to California in the mid-1990's, and
worked for the City of Berkeley as the Disability Compliance Coordinator from 1996-2001.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Eric Dibner Papers, 1973-1991 (bulk 1975-1985), document Dibner's work as an accessibility expert for people with disabilities.
Dibner was very active in the disability rights movement, and consulted for variety of institutions and organizations, including
the University of California, Berkeley, the Center for Independent Living (CIL), and the California Association of the Physically
Handicapped (CAPH). The collection, which includes notes, correspondence, meeting agendas, files, legal briefs, photographs,
architectural plans, reports, and publications, shows the development of architectural accessibility through the momentum
of the disability rights movement.
The bulk of the material is from Dibner's work with CIL and various other housing and accessability organizations, including
committees organized by the City of Berkeley, in the late 1970's and early 1980's. Although Dibner worked as an attendant
for UC Berkeley students John Hessler, Scott Sorensen, and Hale Zukas, and was very active in the university's Physically
Disabled Students Program (PDSP), there is no documentation of these activities in the collection. There are also very few
records dated after Dibner's move to Maine in 1985.
The collection contains materials on a number of notable projects and events, including the surveying of public buildings
and streets in Berkeley, Oakland, and San Francisco, and materials documenting an accessibility survey resulting in an access
lawsuit against BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit). Also included are materials regarding campaigns and lawsuits for the removal
of grocery store cart barriers, as well as documentation of protests against San Francisco Regency Theaters' ironically inaccessible
screenings of Coming Home, a film about a disabled veteran.
Other San Francisco Bay Area related materials in the collection include files regarding Berkeley public space planning for
areas such as the California School for the Deaf and Blind, the waterfront, and People's Park, as well as files concerning
Berkeley housing and rent control.
Records from CIL, predominantly from the years 1975-1982, contain condensed reports on the internal workings of CIL, and include
information on accessibility measures, as well as administrative, organizational, and committee files. The materials also
include documentation and photographs of the CIL worker's strike in 1981-1982, and information on the Disability Support Service
Workers Union.
Of particular interest to researchers may be CIL records, community group files, and materials regarding Berkeley-area public
space planning, as well as the broad coverage of a number of disability rights and accessibility organizations.
Carton 1, Carton 2 folders 1-21, Oversize folder 1B
Series 1:
Architectural and Transportation Barriers,
1973-1991, undated
Scope and Content Note
Arrangement
Arranged hierarchically and chronologically.
This series chronicles Eric Dibner's work on architectural and transportation barriers through notes, flyers, meeting minutes,
correspondence, architectural sketches and blueprints, publications, and photographs. The materials cover a broad range of
activism from general information to specific cases.
The series is divided into geographical sub-series: General, National, State of California, and San Francisco Bay Area. General
includes Dibner's accessibility presentations, as well as general accessability clippings. National contains records on organizations
such as the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance
Board. State of California consists of information on building standards, the Office of the State Architect, and the California
Association of the Physically Handicapped (CAPH).
San Francisco Bay Area information is further divided into Bay Area subjects and cities. BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) includes
an access study as well as an accessibility lawsuit. Market Barriers contains documentation on the campaign and lawsuit against
grocery store cart barrier gates. Berkeley materials include work with Grey Panthers housing committees, the Berkeley Housing
Coalition, and the California School for the Blind and Deaf. University of California, Berkeley contains materials on campus
access, the Coordinating Committee on the Removal of Architectural Barriers, and accessible housing. Oakland materials include
complaints of accessability in Oakland restaurants, and files concerning the Oakland Housing Authority. San Francisco records
consist of information on the protests against inaccessible screenings of
Coming Home, a film about a disabled veteran, at the Regency Theaters, and also include a public buildings accessibility survey.
Subseries 1.1:
General,
1978-1991, undated
carton Carton 1, folder 1
Presentations and Programs
1978-1991,
undated
carton Carton 1, folder 2
Disability Awareness flyers and clippings
1981,
1988-1989
Subseries 1.2:
National,
1978-1986
carton Carton 1, folder 3-4
US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD): Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1980
1978-1983
oversize Oversize 1B
HUD Field Office jurisdictions
1979
carton Carton 1, folder 5-6
Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (ATBCB)
1980-1986
carton Carton 1, folder 7
National Center for a Barrier Free Environment
1980-1984
Subseries 1.3:
State of California,
1979-1985, undated
carton Carton 1, folder 8-9
California Association of the Physically Handicapped (CAPH) meeting materials
1982-1985
carton Carton 1, folder 10
Building Standards Commission
1979-1985
carton Carton 1, folder 11
Office of the State Architect
1980-1984
carton Carton 1, folder 12
Title 24 Revision of the Uniform Building Code
1983-1985
carton Carton 1, folder 13
Coalition for Strong Access Regulations
1983-1985
carton Carton 1, folder 14
California Access organizations brochures
undated
Subseries 1.4:
San Francisco Bay Area,
1973-1985, undated
BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit),
1983-1985, undated
carton Carton 1, folder 15
Ridership survey questionnaires
undated
carton Carton 1, folder 16
Kathi Pugh, Steve Herber, and Katherine Corbett v. San Francisco Rapid Transit District
1983-1985
oversize Oversize 1B
Architectural modification drawing
1984
Market Barriers,
1976-1985, undated
carton Carton 1, folder 17-20
carton Carton 1, folder 21
Consumers Cooperative of Berkeley: Market Gates
1977
carton Carton 1, folder 22-23
Lawsuit Materials: City of Oakland v. Safeway Stores, Inc., Promarket Inc., P-X Market, Emby Foods, Inc., and Food Farm
1977-1985
oversize Oversize 1B
"Corral Those Carts!" [Lucky Store's Poster]
undated
oversize Oversize 1B
Safeway Store's Gate drawing
undated
carton Carton 1, folder 24
Herrick Hospital expansion
1973-1975
carton Carton 1, folder 25
Gray Panthers Nursing Home Committee
1977-1979
carton Carton 2, folder 1-2
Gray Panthers Housing Committee
1978-1983
carton Carton 2, folder 3-4
Berkeley Housing Coalition
1979-1980
carton Carton 2, folder 5-7
California School for Deaf and Blind site
1979-1985
oversize Oversize 1B
California School for the Blind, Fremont
1981
carton Carton 2, folder 8
California School for Deaf/Blind site: Dwight/Derby section 8 housing study
1984
carton Carton 2, folder 9
University Avenue housing cooperative
1981
University of California, Berkeley,
1975-1985
carton Carton 2, folder 10
Architecture 202-135 course material
1975
carton Carton 2, folder 11
Physically Disabled Students Residence - Program brochures
circa 1975-1980
carton Carton 2, folder 12-13
Coordinating Committee for the Removal of Architectural Barriers (CCRAB)
1977-1985
carton Carton 2, folder 14
Campus Access by Keith Wilson
1979
carton Carton 2, folder 15
University Student Co-op Association: Rochdale II
1979-1980
carton Carton 2, folder 16
Jack London Village
1975-1982
carton Carton 2, folder 17
Keith Kellum correspondence
1976-1983
carton Carton 2, folder 18
Oakland Housing Authority (OHA)
1978-1979
carton Carton 2, folder 19
Regency Theaters Protest
1978
carton Carton 2, folder 20-21
Public buildings access
1978-1982
oversize Oversize 1B
Ghirardelli Square Tour Guide Map marked with access barriers
1982
Carton 2, folders 22-24, Carton 3
Series 2:
Center for Independent Living (CIL),
1973-1982, undated
Scope and Content Note
Arrangement
Arranged hierarchically and chronologically.
This series is divided into two sub-series: Administrative Records, and Reports and Publications. Administrative Records consist
of general files, committee notes, grant funding information, and staff meeting minutes. The records also include papers and
photographs that chronicle the CIL workers' strike in 1981-1982. Reports and Publications contain brochures and reports on
the demand for rehabilitation services, as well as the 1975 State of the Art Conference. They also include a list of publications
from 1980.
Subseries 2.1:
Administrative Records,
1973-1982, undated
carton Carton 2, folder 22
carton Carton 2, folder 23-24
carton Carton 3, folder 1-7
General
1978-1982,
undated
carton Carton 3, folder 8
carton Carton 3, folder 9-10
Organization files
1975-1982
carton Carton 3, folder 11-13
Community Development block grant
1976-1980
carton Carton 3, folder 14
Coordinating Committee
1976-1977
carton Carton 3, folder 15
Workers' Council
1979-1980
carton Carton 3, folder 16-17
carton Carton 3, folder 18
Disability Support Service Workers Union
1981-1982
Subseries 2.2:
Reports and Publications,
1973-1980, undated
carton Carton 3, folder 19
Brochures
circa 1975-1985
carton Carton 3, folder 20
Estimating Demand for a Rehabilitation Services Facility
1973
carton Carton 3, folder 21
State of the Art Conference Papers and Report
1975-1976
carton Carton 3, folder 22
CIL Project Reports
1978,
undated
carton Carton 3, folder 23
CIL List of Publications
1979-1980
carton Carton 3, folder 24-25
Alameda County Lawyers Committee for Disability Rights Training Manual, by CIL's Disability Rights Education and Defense
Fund
1981
Carton 4, Oversize folders 1-2B
Series 3:
City of Berkeley,
1976-1986, undated
Scope and Content Note
Arrangement
Arranged chronologically.
This series contains correspondence, notes, photographs, and printed materials about the City of Berkeley, including access
violations, accessibility lawsuit materials, records from the Mayor's Task Force on the Disabled, architectural records denoting
access renovations, and records of community committees. It also contains planning materials for People's Park and the Berkeley
waterfront.
carton Carton 4, folder 1
Public works and codes inspection
1976-1981
carton Carton 4, folder 2
Daniel Drake v. City of Berkeley, George Pope, et al.
1977-1982
carton Carton 4, folder 3
Berkeley Unified School District
1978-1982
carton Carton 4, folder 4-5
City of Berkeley disability awareness
1978-1981
carton Carton 4, folder 6-7
carton Carton 4, folder 8
Waterfront planning
1977-1985
carton Carton 4, folder 9-13
carton Carton 4, folder 14
Surveys of Berkeley public buildings
1980
carton Carton 4, folder 15-16
Mayor's Task Force on the Disabled report
1980-1983
carton Carton 4, folder 17
oversize Oversize 2B
Post office architectural drawing drafts
1977
carton Carton 4, folder 18
Berkeley YMCA: Advisory Health Committee
1982-1983
carton Carton 4, folder 19
Coalition to Stop Electroshock Treatment
1982-1984
carton Carton 4, folder 20
Committee for the Removal of Architectural Barriers (CRAB)
1984-1985
carton Carton 4, folder 21
Disability Awareness training course
1984
carton Carton 4, folder 22-24
Human Relations and Welfare Commission Subcommittee on the Disabled
1984-1985
oversize Oversize 1B
Architectural modifications plan of the Church of the Divinity School of the Pacific
undated