Information Technology, Campus Libraries, and Patrons with Disabilities: Emerging Issues and Access Strategies

by Danny Hilton-Chalfen

Danny Hilton-Chalfen, Ph.D., is coordinator of the UCLA Disabilities and Computing Program in the Office of Academic Computing's Microcomputer Support Office, and former Chair of EDUCOM's Project EASI, 1990-1992.
Special thanks to Jane Berliss for her comments on a draft of the article.

(The article is reprinted with permission from the EDUCOM Review,
Vol. 27, No. 6, November/December, 1992.)

• Overview
  
• Access to On-line Information
  • Electronic Card Catalogs
  • CWIS
  • CD ROM
  • GUI
  • Full Text
• Distributed Campus Access
  
• Other Considerations
  • Printed Text Materials
  • Physical Access to Public Areas
  • Staff Resources
• Readings
  
• Organizations

Overview

Today's campus library has a unique opportunity to play a leading role in providing equal educational and employment opportunity to students, faculty and staff with disabilities. This opportunity is due to the convergence of two evolving trends: The increasing computerization of library information resources and the enhanced power of adaptive computing technologies designed to make computing accessible to people with disabilities.

Historically, library patrons with difficulty reading due to visual, orthopedic, or learning disability have had to rely on the assistance of others for access to many basic library resources. Card catalogs, reference materials, books and journals required readers, or ordering audio tapes and Braille copies. Indeed, this is still the case with access to many of the academic resources of college and university libraries. But the computerization of information enables an increasing number of these resources to be captured by a variety of special output devices and "read" to the library patron with visual and learning disabilities. Similarly, the patron with difficulty manipulating printed texts due to orthopedic disability can take advantage of computerized information to access it with a wide range of computer input devices. As library systems at campuses worldwide computerize their information resources, an unprecedented window of opportunity opens for patrons with disabilities.

Access to On-line Information

• Electronic Card Catalogs
  Electronic card catalogs are becoming standard features of the campus information technology landscape. Dedicated terminals linked to campus mainframe computers provide catalog access in many library public terminal areas. However many of these dedicated terminals cannot be made accessible through adaptive computer peripherals. The secret lies in providing access to the mainframe and electronic catalog via a desktop microcomputer equipped with these special devices. For example, a voice synthesizer and "screen reading" software allows a blind patron to listen to information on the microcomputer screen, facilitating on-line searching and retrieval of bibliographic reference information. For the reading impaired person, the empowering nature of the match between on-line information and specially adapted computer workstations cannot be overemphasized (see Coombs, 1992).

• CWIS
  The Campus Wide Information System (CWIS) is one of the latest developments in campus information automation. A CWIS may contain the course catalog, schedule of classes, campus job bulletin, schedule of events, etc. Many campuses are implementing CWIS through their existing library on-line system. The ability to search this data base will be a great convenience to all. But consider: the blind students I work with at UCLA's Disabilities and Computing Program have never read the course catalog. These students can, however, independently write terms papers, take exams and class notes on microcomputers equipped with a speech synthesizer. UCLA's developing CWIS will make accessing a course catalog routine for these students, like their counterparts at other campuses, as adapted workstations are linked to the campus CWIS.

• CD ROM
  Many campus library reference departments offer data base information on CD ROM's. To the extent that the CD ROM technology is microcomputer-based, adapting it to the needs of the disabled user becomes a matter of outfitting the microcomputer with the necessary peripheral equipment and software. The addition of a large print software program, for example, can make a CD ROM with dissertation abstracts data accessible to a graduate student researcher with low vision. Take note, however, that dedicated (turnkey or propriety) CD ROM systems (vs. standard desktop microcomputers), cannot be equipped with adaptive equipment. Again, as with access to on-line systems in general, plan ahead for microcomputer-based accessibility. This proactive approach offers the most flexibility in meeting disability access needs and can avoid costly retrofitting.

• GUI
  There is often a lag between the development of standard computer systems and the adaptations designed to access them for people with disabilities. A library on-line interface based on text or ASCII characters may be read by a blind user with a voice synthesizer and a variety of screen reading software programs. When that same on-line system is based on a graphical user interface (GUI), such as X-Windows, access can be problematic. At the time of this writing, GUI access is available for the Macintosh, and is now becoming available for OS/2 and Windows, with UNIX access being the next hurdle. It will be some time, however, until the variety of GUI access software available approaches that of text-based screen reading programs. In the interim, libraries that provide a text-based interface alongside a newer GUI will accommodate the widest range of users with disabilities.

• Full Text
  In addition, we can look ahead to future library on-line systems that offer the full text of computerized journals and books. To the extent that these full text resources contain alpha-numeric characters, they will be accessible via a range of special input and output devices. To the extent these electronic texts contain scientific notation and mathematical symbols, the future is, at present, cloudy. Standards will need to be developed before such texts can be fully accessible in a variety of modes (Braille, voice synthesis, etc.) for users with disabilities (See Jones, 1992, for a discussion of issues and strategies regarding access to texts with mathematics and scientific notation.).

Distributed Campus Access

Where should access to library on-line information resources be placed? This will depend on the structure and resources of both the library and campus computing services. But there are some considerations that will apply broadly. When implementing any accessibility technologies, think "mainstream." Students, staff and faculty with disabilities should have access to the same resources, in the same locations, as their peers. This may mean the public terminal and reference sections of a library.

However, local area, enterprise-wide and international computer networks increasingly make remote access to on-line data bases possible. CD-ROM's can be shared through network file servers. Campus backbone networks can allow access to library on-line information from public access microcomputer labs and individual office workstations. At UCLA, new student residence hall micro labs are being designed with computer accessibility in mind. Mobility impaired students, for example, will be able to check on the availability of library books on-line across the campus backbone network, without first making the hilly trek across campus from dorm to library.

In some instances, specialized campus libraries will have accounts with on-line services that are not made available to the general campus population. The UCLA Law Library has accounts with the Westlaw and Lexus on-line data base services. In this instance, a special microcomputer with speech access was set up in the law library for law students with blindness and low vision to provide access to these data bases. Other accommodations (a text reading machine and large monitor) are available on site.

Law students can also dial-in to these electronic resources from home via modem. For one law student who is blind, remote login from home was especially important. She used her home computer with voice synthesizer to access the on-line data bases, complete her assignments, and study for the bar.

Other Considerations

• Printed Text Materials
  While electronic text access is the main focus of this article, mention must be made of accessibility to printed text materials, including books, journals, reference materials, and library on-line computer user documentation. Patrons with disability-related difficulty reading can be accommodated through a number of assistive technologies. Closed circuit television cameras displays (CCTV, or more recently, CCD technology) magnify any printed material for people with low vision. Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology can be combined with a voice synthesizer to convert printed material into speech. These "reading machines" have become a major breakthrough technology for people with visual and learning disabilities.

• Physical Access to Public Areas
  Public access computers in libraries or elsewhere on campus need to be physically accessible. Height adjustable tables, single power switches up front, and monitor stands are among the simple accommodations that will enable the broadest access to people with a range of disabilities. Indeed, most library computer users in general will find these ergonomic modifications to be equally beneficial. (See Berliss, 1992 for a discussion of this "electronic curbcuts" philosophy and an excellent checklist of library computing accommodations.)

• Staff Resources
  As important as computer modifications are, full accessibility to library information resources depends on dedicated, permanent staff support. Each campus must develop its own staffing strategy for people with disabilities. Ideally, a successful approach begins with a campus-wide task force or committee with representatives from key departments. These may include library services, academic and administrative computing services, disabled student services, and campus disability advisory groups. The task force may recommend to the campus administration appropriate staffing levels, equipment resources and home base for the program, based on each campus's unique needs. (See EDUCOM's Project EASI, 1992, and Murphy, 1992, for campus implementation models.) Library information access, both on-site and distributed on and off-campus, can be a natural product of a comprehensive campus-wide computer and information access strategy.

Readings

1. Berliss, Jane "Checklist for Making Library Automation Accessible to Disabled Patrons." Trace Research and Development Center, 1992.
2. Jones, Richard "The Future of Braille Access to Math and Scientific Notation." EDUCOM Review, July-August 1992, Vol. 27 No. 4. pp. 48-49.
3. EDUCOM'S Project EASI, "Computers and Students with Disabilities: New Challenges for Higher Education." 1992, EDUCOM, EUIT Program.
4. Murphy, Harry "the Impact of Exemplary Technology-Support Programs on Students with Disabilities. National Council on Disability, 1991.
5. Coombs, Norman "Liberation Technology." DEC EDU Magazine, Spring 1991, pp. 6-9
6. Library High Tech Journal, 1993, Special Issue on Adaptive Computing Technology in Libraries, In Press.

Organizations

1. Adaptive Technology Interest Group of the Library and Information Technology Association, a division of the American Library Association. 1992-93 Chair of ATIG, Christopher G. Lewis, The American University Libraries, 4400 Massachusetts Avenue N.W., Washington, DC 20016-8046, tel:202-885-3257; clewis@american.edu
2. EDUCOM'S Project EASI, EDUCOM, EUIT Program, 1112 16th Street NW, Suite 600, Washington DC 20036. 202-872-4200. EASI@EDUCOM.EDU.

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