Assistive Technology: Keeping the Library Accessible for Every Body By Val Andalon

 Librarians care about equity of access for their patrons. A sizeable portion of patrons have vision and hearing loss making it imperative that library staff communicate with their community and have knowledge of Assistive Technologies (AT) that can be helpful to people in their community with disabilities. In the article "You Too! - Assistive Technology" author Martha Baden shares "The 2016 National Health Interview Survey found that 14.1 percent of Americans 65–74 years of age and 16.6 percent of Americans 75 years of age and over reported having vision loss" and continues to add that that number will double by 2030. In making sure our libraries are accessible for every body they implement the usage of a variety of AT from magnifiers to specialized software.

Many of us are already familiar with text-to-speech and speech recognition software on our smartphones. They are part of the everyday tools for the general population, but they started out as specialized AT for parts of our disabled communities. It is now common standard for libraries to offer eBooks that allow for text size customization and audiobooks. Anyone who owns a smartphone or tablet can access books easily. For those who do not own mobile devices, some libraries may provide tablets to access that same material. Beyond books, the library can some of the following AT in their buildings:

•           Computers equipped with text reading software where a patron can place a page, be it a book or a bill, under a scanner and the software then reads the text out loud to the patron.
  

• A software designed for visually impaired people with low vision where the program allows a person to zoom in on words and images in a web browser or computer document to see everything on the computer screen.

 

•     Braille keyboards so patrons can read the computer screen and type even if they are vision and hearing impaired. Braille printers that print out paper with braille characters from for patrons that prefer print over a computer.

        Another area we must continue to improve upon is making sure the library space is accessible so that patrons feel welcomed to enter and use our AT. This could be something like having tables at different height levels, or even adjustable tables for patrons who may use wheelchairs to access our devices. Collaborating with organizations in your city who advocate on the behalf of disabled communities to provide insight and share how we can make our current space even easier to navigate can help. (Baden, 2018)

👀 Learn more👀

Take a look at what AT Sarasota County Libraries are offering:

-Click HERE to see a list of AT available the San Diego Public Library's Central Library-

Take a deeper look at why making our library spaces more accessible matters:

Work cited:

Baden, Martha. “You Too!—Assistive Technology.” Library Journal, vol. 143, no. 19, Nov. 2018, p. 10. EBSCOhost, https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.palomar.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lxh&AN=132987735&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

Burke, John J. “ASSISTIVE- ADAPTIVE Technologies.” American Libraries, vol. 44, no. 11/12, Nov. 2013, pp. 44–46. EBSCOhost, https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.palomar.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lxh&AN=91782533&site=ehost-live&scope=site.