In early January, the power-adjusted table arrived at the
library. Within a week, it had been
assembled and placed in the Reference Department, awaiting the remaining
hardware and software that will make it a dedicated accessible
workstation. When the workstation is
complete, it will provide the most up-to-date assistive technology available
for library patrons who have vision loss or other disabilities. Because we know that age-related eye diseases
are a leading cause of vision impairment, meeting the needs of older patrons
and others with vision loss is a growing priority for the library.
For many years, our Outreach Department has been dedicated to
providing materials and technology for anyone experiencing vision loss or other
disabilities –
in the library or at home. That is why we deliver a variety of
materials to Norwood patrons who are unable to come to the library, including
regular and large print books, books on CD, and a small lending library of
Perkins Talking Books and machines. We also provide both low strength and high
strength magnifiers for checkout. However, we know that newer and better
technology is available to allow low vision and blind patrons to use the
library’s resources.
That knowledge was our motivation for planning the assistive technology
workstation.
Last May, the Outreach and Technology Librarians attended a special
workshop program for librarians at the Perkins School for the Blind. This comprehensive program offered us the
opportunity to see and use state-of-the-art technology devices and software
designed to enhance the library experience for people with disabilities. We conferred with the leader of the Perkins
workshop to determine the most essential items to include in our workstation,
with the intent of addressing the needs of patrons with visual impairment and
physical handicaps, as well as limited hand mobility and reading
disabilities. We are very pleased that
the components of the station have now been ordered. Once everything arrives, the station will be
set up and the staff will be trained to use the new technology.
So what will this new technology look like and how will it help our
patrons? First of all, the
power-adjusted table can be raised and lowered to accommodate wheelchair
users. The station computer monitor will
have a large 24”
screen and the keyboard will be a “BigKeys Keyboard”
with large print letters. There will be a standard mouse as well as a
track ball mouse that allows users with restricted hand movements to use just
their fingers to control the mouse. We
will have high quality headphones to be used with screen reading software on
the computer. This special software will
include ZoomText Fusion and Kurzweil 3000.
ZoomText Fusion is a new product that includes not only full magnification
but also a complete screen reader. These
features allow a person with progressive vision loss to use the magnification
feature, and to add the full screen reader, providing speech, wherever and
whenever it’s needed.
ZoomText Fusion is designed to grow with you as your vision
changes. It can be used by someone who
has no sight at all.
Kurzweil 3000 is
text to speech reader software designed for learners with dyslexia and the
blind and vision impaired. It can also
assist English language learners in their studies. Finally, we are very excited with the potential
uses of a device called the i-Reader, which allows the user to scan a document
and hear it read aloud, at a chosen reading speed. The user has the option to view the scanned
document and read along the spoken text via highlighted words. Material can be scanned and read not only in
English, but also in Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Polish and Russian!
The Outreach Librarians wanted to find out if a potential low-vision
patron would find our workstation design helpful, so we turned to Bob Brown, a
Norwood resident we have known for several years. Bob has been losing vision in his one good
eye over the past 11 years. Bob uses a
number of assistive technology devices at home, including the Pebble, a
powerful handheld magnifier, and the Merlin, a CCTV (closed-circuit television
or video magnifier) provided free of charge by the Veterans
Administration. He has ZoomText software
on his computer, which magnifies everything he reads online. Bob says he uses ZoomText all the time — in Word, Excel and for email. He says, “This is one thing you really have to have with
vision loss!” so he was
happy to hear it will be available on our workstation computer. Bob thinks the station will be a great addition
to the library for people with vision loss.
According to Bob, “The library is really thinking of people in need.”
Our next step will be hosting a Low Vision Awareness Open House with
Perkins Solutions in early spring. The
public will be invited to attend the event and explore the variety of
technologies that enable individuals with low vision to read text, see images,
and better use library services. Our
long term goal is to ensure that the visually impaired in Norwood and
surrounding communities have full access to all the services that the library
offers. The assistive technology
workstation is a big step in that direction.
