Claire Shoesmithtalks to firms who have been recognised in this year's Ability Awards and finds a common focus on going the extra step .

The recognition of Dublin City Public Libraries as one of the winners in the customer service category of this year's O2 Ability Awards proves that the institution is doing its job, says Margaret Hayes, the city's deputy librarian.

According to Hayes, a public library exists to serve the whole community and, if it doesn't make adequate provisions for people of all abilities and disabilities, it isn't fulfilling its obligation.

"Our ethos has always been to focus on inclusion," says Hayes, adding that in some cases this has even led to positive discrimination towards people with disabilities.

As many as 24 organisations have been recognised this year in the Ability Awards customer service category, which rewards groups that have shown a commitment to adapting their business model to suit the needs of their customers.

According to the awards' organisers, this could include anything from disability awareness training for staff through to providing an accessible environment for all customers and consulting with clients as how best to serve their needs.

Dublin's public library service is ahead of the game in many of these areas, having been involved in a project run by the Equality Authority for many years.

"For us it's all about inclusion," says Hayes. "It always has been and always will be."

According to Hayes, one of the most important factors in creating a positive experience for people with disabilities is that the library staff are confident with the whole issue of disability.

Since 2004, the group has been involved in training in disability awareness and has a special access team tasked with developing the all-inclusive library experience.

Moreover, by introducing special technology such as optical scanners aimed at helping those with impaired vision, the library is also opening itself up to another group, foreign nationals, who, according to Hayes, find the software very useful in improving their language skills.

Inclusion is also the keyword for Dublin's Merrion Hotel, another organisation recognised this year in the customer service category.

Having entered the awards in both 2005 and 2006 but not been recognised in any particular category, Kathy Rigney, the hotel's director of human resources, says it is good to see that the advice taken on board from previous years is starting to pay off.

"We have been supporters of the awards from the beginning, so it's nice now to see our efforts to improve services for people with disabilities being recognised," she says.

While the issue of accessibility for people with disabilities is being addressed through the refurbishment of a series of rooms in the hotel, the main change has been to incorporate what was an external disability awareness training course into the in-house training programme for new employees, she says.

For AIB meanwhile, recognition in the category of recruitment and selection has only reinforced the group's policy of accommodating all types of employee.

"We always have been an equal opportunities employer, but the Ability Awards led us to start looking at what we could do to improve further in this area," says Jacqui McCrum, head of corporate and social responsibility at the bank. "It has made us go that extra step."

According to McCrum, the equal opportunities aspect of the bank's employment policy now extends beyond providing the necessary resources for an employee with a disability, to offering awareness training for staff that work closely with that individual.

"It's about being as inclusive as you can," she says.

Twenty organisations have been recognised in this category, which requires an organisation to make positive changes to enable it to attract suitably qualified people, regardless of their disability.

AIB has been recognised in four other categories in this year's awards, the final ceremony for which takes place on June 15th.