The AD-A-P-T-A-B-L-E Approach: Planning Accessible Libraries‪.‬

THE PROBLEM: A SURFEIT OF TECHNOLOGICAL CHOICE On the road to making libraries more accessible to people with disabilities, librarians often get stuck in technological mud. The choices are overwhelming, and many librarians feel they lack the technical expertise to select appropriate equipment. They have many questions about assistive technologies (AT): Should we buy a monochrome or colour CCTV (Close Circuit Television)? Which scanner works best? Can scanning software be used independently by someone who relies on synthesized speech output? How much RAM (Random Access Memory) and how large a hard drive are needed to run assistive technologies? What size monitor is optimal for for screen enlargement software? Is the screen enlargement program compatible with the voice output program? Do we need a Braille printer? a refreshable Braille display? a personal transmitter/receiver system? If yes, FM or infrared? And what about a voice recognition system?