Assistive Technology and Libraries

Taking Access for Granted at K-12 School Libraries

"It is easy to take for granted the ability to gain knowledge through print and electronic resources.."

- Janet Hopkins

As a public and academic library user, I sometimes take for granted the amount of accessibility I have as an individual unaffected by a learning challenge. I can read, listen to, and access books in different formats without too much trouble. However, for individuals in need of extra accommodation when accessing and consuming materials at K-12 institutions, less access and less resources for students persists. Although there are public programs for blind or physically handicapped persons at public and post-secondary libraries, K-12 institutions appear to lag in embracing new Assistive Technology (AT) resources. According to the academic article titled School Library Accessibility: The role of Assistive Technology by Janet Hopkins, she discusses the role of K-12 libraries in seeking out and providing tools to increase information access for learning challenged individuals.

BARD talking books help those with blindness or physical disabilities (NLS).

While Janet Hopkins believes that university and public libraries have increased accessibility for persons with disabilities, she also suggests that there is room for improvement among K-12 school libraries. Many AT options integrated in school libraries can be described as "low-tech" options, which consist of pencil grips, audiobooks, large print books, tactile letters, etc. Low-tech AT in school libraries do impact student outcomes, but there is opportunity for embracing newer forms of AT that can enrich learning-challenged students even more. Higher tech options like e-readers, speech-to-text recognition, word processing support programs, and smart pens can greatly ameliorate a learning challenged individual's ability to thrive in an academic environment.

One AT example, talking books, are available through many public libraries through the National Library Service (NLS) Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD) site which helps both adults and children struggling to see text. This resource enables individuals who are blind or physically handicapped to have access to "audio, large-print, and online formats and distributed at no cost to participants in the Library of Congress reading program" (NLS). In addition to the vast quantity of BARD books available for learning challenged adult individuals, there are also kid's books available through the NLS Children's Catalog. BARD has two forms, one that consists of a physical player and a cartridge and another that consists of a mobile app called BARD Mobile. Both options make audio and braille translations of books accessible to those who may have otherwise never had access to this literacy.

Digital Talking Book Player and Cartridge (NLS).

BARD Mobile app can be used to listen to or read BARD books with a
refreshable braille display connected to your smartphone (YouTube).

While students with disabilities in a school system can develop more academic skills through the integration of AT, there is another advantage that Hopkins cites from studies done by the Community Research for Assistive Technology. They suggest that Assistive Technology "has a positive psychological influence on users and those who interact with them." Helping individuals who cannot read standard print materials with accessing the same resources, through programs like BARD, expands autonomy through the self-discovery of information. Impairment of reading, senses, and mobility can increase a child's dependence on others, however, as Hopkins suggests, AT can allow "students with disabilities to independently seek out solutions and meet more of their own needs."

Increasing access to high-tech AT in school libraries will greatly enrich the learning environment and the information accessibility for students whose reading capabilities are sometimes overlooked. School libraries and their librarians play an integral role in breaking down information barriers to expand accessibility to all students no matter their physical, cognitive, or sensorial limitations.

Works Cited

Hopkins, Janet. "School Library Accessibility: The Role of Assistivetechnology." Teacher Librarian, vol. 31, no. 3, Feb. 2004, pp. 15-18. EBSCOhost, login.ezproxy.palomar.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=12450976&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

Library of Congress. “BARD Mobile: Introduction.” YouTube, YouTube, 25 Sept. 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFocDhTa1FM.

Library of Congress. “NLS/BPH Digital Talking Book Player and Cartridge.” National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) | Library of Congress, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/nls/about/organization/business-plan/nlsbph-digital-talking-book-player-cartridge/.