Information Scotland

The Journal of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals in Scotland

April 2005 Volume 3 (2)

Social inclusion

Are you accessible and approachable?

'Access for all' is something that all services aspire to, but perhaps don’t always achieve. One speaker at a recent seminar, focusing on students’ needs, took things back to basics - are you 'approachable to all'?

To a user with a disability, whether it is physical or visual, using a new library can be a daunting experience. The information may be there, but is it in a format they can use? A recent seminar suggested that advanced technology, although enabling, isn’t always the solution; low-tech solutions and physical support can at times be as effective.

A short video highlighted that enabling tools are only of use if web designers have produced pages enabling the technology to be effective. For instance, a Screenreader reads text on the same line from left to right, whilst visually pleasing, text wrapped in boxes when ‘read’ will not make sense. Web developers wishing to design web pages that are accessible to all can view advice offered by the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) and also run their web URL through ‘Bobby’ a service which will immediately report any faults (www.cast.org/bobby/)

Paul Brown, Director of Scottish Disability Team based at Dundee University, stressed that whilst technology facilitated access, investment in low-tech solutions should not be forgotten. These include arm rests; wrist guards; pen grips; adjustable height tables; and even a human element - he has access to a ‘Human Reader’ for 15 hours a week.

Paul then took us on his own personal journey using assistive technology. On entering University Paul’s biggest fear was not using technology or attending lectures: “The scariest thing was the library. It was a huge building filled with things that I couldn’t access -I couldn’t even get them off the shelf and if I did, how would I use them?” Paul became a pioneer at Dundee University, assisting the library staff in delivering a service catering for all abilities, and helping the computing staff to develop systems. His legacy still lives on.

Email has changed his life. It was not until he was in his mid-20s that “...for first time I could send and receive, privately, my own mail.” He demonstrated his talking mobile phone, but revealed that designers modify older versions rather than current models. However mobile technology is a further step towards being inclusive in today’s society, in Paul’s words “...it gives me access to all the crap you lot have! And I have a right to it!”

Part IV of the Disability Discrimination Act (also known as the Special Educational Needs Discrimination Act), outlines that HE and FE institutions are required to ensure that ‘reasonable’ adjustments are made, to supply teaching that is accessible for all students. Carol Murphy, Assistive Technology Adviser, discussed the services that the University of Strathclyde provides for those requiring additional help. There are currently 740 students with a declared disability at the University including: 31% with Dyslexia; 6% with hearing impairments; 4% who are wheelchair users or have mobility problems; and 3% who are partially sighted (approx 20 people). Strathclyde University takes a joined-up approach to accessibility; student disability requirements are shared between academic staff, Learning and Disability Services. The Staff Student Information Server is used to record at registration any individual needs and to track recommended/ reasonable adjustments.

An IT Training Team works closely with Assistive Technology and Disability Advisers to ensure that accessibility issues are highlighted within staff and postgraduate IT skills development; from the creation of accessible PowerPoint presentations to web pages. Disability Advisers can make recommendations on issues such as funding, exam assistance and the provision of ‘Non Medical Personal Helpers’.

Other assistive initiatives include a Laptop (wireless) purchase scheme; Fetch and Carry provision; access to Individual study carrels for students and helpers to share; access to Jaws screen reader and Zoom text magnification on log-in to PCs in labs; and site license to MindGenius (concept mapping software). MindGenius allows users to map thoughts and break information down into bite-size chunks. Students with Dyslexia can benefit by being able to structure and organise their ideas in written form, highlighting key points and concepts. Kurzweil 3000, a device used to scan and read documents, allows students to read and learn at their own pace. The device can scan text and read PDFs or Word files.

Robert Gormley, Edinburgh University Library Learning Resources Centre, said that of the 1500 disabled students this year at the university, around half of them have dyslexia. In these cases screen readers are very useful, using Jaws software or OCR. CCTV offers a very good method of screen enhancement and simpler remedies such as changing colour and backgrounds can help a great deal. Read and Write Gold is software which includes text prediction, a dictionary, word wizard, homophones, convert to audio facility, and a pronunciation tutor.

For students with mobility problems, adjustable desks are a must, and Robert urged the purchase of electrically operated models so that users may adjust them themselves. Different mice to suit different needs are an easy option - at Edinburgh University they have built up a library of these. For some students, however, a trackball is often easier to use. Experience has shown that voice recognition machines are no longer needed, as these are something that students are bringing to college themselves.

In the library, noise from braille embossers and voice recognition software can sometimes be a problem. Also some products are not appropriate to university use - the suppliers have not yet got to grips with the corporate environment and much equipment is geared to standalone pcs, although things are getting better. “We are often constrained by environment and technology.” said Robert.

Robert stressed the importance of responding to individuals’ needs, by engaging with and chatting to the users.

Information
The Enabling Technologies Seminar was held by the Multimedia & Information Technology Group Scotland on 17 March, at Edinburgh University Library. A full report is in the next issue of e-MmITS, the online newsletter, at www.mmits.org.uk

Information Scotland Vol. 3 (2) April 2005

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Last updated: 11 May 2005