Assistive and Adaptive Technology

Until this past summer I had never given much thought to adaptations for Disabled persons. This past summer my mother became disabled, and my whole concept of how this world needs to be accessable to ALL people was broadened. The library is no different than the grocery store, mall, or school; it needs to be adapted for those who need extra help. The library can offer several adaptations for those with diabilities. Often computers can make life easier for those with disabilities, unless you are blind or have eyesight issues. In addtion to books on tape/cd/mp3, the library can offer screen maginifiers and screen reading software. The screen reading software can read the text in voices and different speeds. For those who have coordination or motor skill troubles the library can offer touchpads or trackballs which are easier to use than a mouse. Many patrons also experience difficulty hearing and the library can help them also. Libraries can use virtual reference or librarians to communincate, nowadays this is taking the place of TTY equipment. Besides meeting the needs for physical disablilities, the library can help meet the needs of economic disabilities. The offering of free computer use and internet connection is huge, especially since our world seems more technology driven then ever. I think the library can use adaptive techonology is many ways, all the ways add up to a better quality of library use for those in need.

Assistive Technology

First, what is an assistive technology? According to the ATMn (Assistive Technology of Minnesota) website, it's any "device that allows an individual with a disability to do what they could not do without the device. Assistive Technology ranges from highly complex technology to simple adjustments that can make life more dignified, remove barriers and change lives."
Why is this important in libraries? According to the Census, there are 54 million people with disabilities in this country. Why is it important for libraries? A library's mission is to provide services to everyone, and 54 million is hardly a tiny minority that can be overlooked. So it's a library's ethical obligation to provide universal access through assistive technology.

A few examples of assistive technologies in use in libraries:

CCTV
Closed circuit televisions used as print magnifiers magnify a printed page and display it on a screen. These are useful for sight-impaired users who are using print resources.

Alternative Keyboards
Alternative keyboards are keyboards that have been designed for ease of use. Some are simply ergonomic or one-handed, but many are fancier. There are waterproof foldable keyboards, keyboards with a touch sensitive layer specifically for people who find it difficult to use a mouse, and miniature wireless keyboards.

Desks/Tables
While researching for this blog post, I learned something new: there is no such thing as a "standard" wheelchair. So if a library assumes that because one wheelchair fits fine with their tables and desks, they're wrong because a user could come in with a different chair and be unable to use the library the way they want to. This is where adjustable surfaces come in. Adjustable tables and desks move up or down and some allow the user to tilt the table top (though, obviously a tilting table would be a poor choice for a computer station). They are adjusted by a hand crank or have a power lift.

Optical Character Recognition Scanners and Software
OCR devices are also something I heard about for the first time while researching for this post. What they do is scan a printed page and upload it to a computer where it can be edited for a user's needs. An example is if a sight-impaired patron needed to be able to read a worksheet. The worksheet would be scanned, converted to braille using the OCR software, and printed for the user using a braille embossing machine.

Refreshable Braille Displays
This is by far the coolest thing I learned about while doing this research. Refreshable Braille displays are computer screens that display everything in braille. Small pins go up or down to form content in braille. This provides access to the internet and other electronic resources for the hearing impaired.

Adaptive Technology

In the preface of her book, Adaptive Technology for the Internet: Making Electronic Resources Accessible to All, Barbara T. Mates points out that while most libraries include the words “equal access” in their mission statements, not all libraries take into consideration the needs of people with disabilities when purchasing equipment or software. I’ve included the link the preface below. There are people out there trying to change that. I found the website http://www.disabiltyresources.org/. The website is a little hard to search, but I was able to find a good list of available devices that librarians could use to help determine what might need to be purchased. The list is part of a paper by Courtney Denies-Jones entitled Opening New Worlds of Information: Library Technology and Internet Access for Patrons with Disabilities. Until now, I didn’t realize there were so many software and hardware options available. Since no library can purchase every piece of equipment available, I’m glad Ms. Denies-Jones provided hints on how library staff can determine what technology should be acquired. What surprised me was that simple changes like having a trackball instead of a traditional mouse can make a big difference in terms of access. Preface to Barbara T Mates book. http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?section=ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=22254 Courtney Denies-Jones paper http://www.ualberta.ca/dept/slis/cais/deines.htm

Leslie's Voki Character

My baby

Voki fun!