Technology’s Assistance for the Visually Impaired in Today’s Libraries
"A Case of Individual Adaptation for Universal Accessibility." EContent. Vol 30 no 2. March
2007: 53-55.
Dr. Wayne Dick, chair of the computer engineering and computer science department at California State University, Long Beach, and who also happens to be partially sighted, works with IBM on their WebAdapt2Me software and introduces it campus-wide. Relatively affordable, the software is particularly helpful for the partially sighted in surfing the Web, and has been effective with recovering stroke victims and those with arthritis or tremors, the latter with recognizing typing patterns and adjusting to the most common errors made.
Brisco, Shondra. "From Braille to ZoomText: Resources to Meet the Needs of Blind or Visually
Impaired Students in the Media Center." Library Media Connection. Vol 22 no 1.
Aug/Sept 2003: 50-53.
Brisco found in her experience as the librarian at the Oklahoma School for the Blind that one of the most valuable resource for librarians faced with the challenge of trying to get materials for their visually impaired students was a resource list. Here she provides invaluable contact information for books, video and television, software, and more.
Ethridge, Jill. "Removing Barriers for Visually Impaired Users Through Assistive Technology
Solutions." Mississippi Libraries. Vol 69 no 4. Winter 2005: 82-84.
Ethridge provides a brief, informative overview of how the 1990 ADA act has compelled librarians to seek out ways for the visually impaired to access information. Informative rundowns of different software available including screen magnification, screen reading, Braille, and scanning and reading, as well as electronic magnification systems, are explained.
Hannah, Karen. "AIRS: ICT and Information for the Visually Impaired." Multimedia
Information Technology. Vol 30 no 4. Nov 2004 : 113-115.
Hannah discusses her Gateshead Central Library’s programs and resources to make information available to their visually-impaired patrons. With a believable argument for the worth, still, of the audio cassette, particularly with the Talking Newspaper Service, Hannah provides insight into the many ways, with the help of assistants that are deaf and/or visually impaired, every effort has been made to make their deaf and visually impaired patrons feel like a part of the learning community.
"The Idea Generator." Library Journal (1976). Vol 129 no 5. Mar 15, 2005 supp: 16.
A brief profile of librarian Lori Bell, who in her most recent job at the Mid-Illinois Talking Book Center as a project leader for InfoEyes, is offering digital audio books on MP3 players with up to three books of a participant’s choice on them at a time.
"Pilot Project to Provide Virtual Reference to Visually Impaired." Advanced Technology
Librarian. Vol 33 no 4. April 2004: 5.
Citing the aforementioned Lori Bell of MITBC and InfoEyes, this briefly describes a pilot program being conducted over six months for the visually impaired to interact with QuestionPoint, the Library of Congress and OCLC’s virtual reference services, including "voice- over IP, co-browsing and application sharing."
