Accessibility Services

June Is Deaf-Blind Awareness Month

 

Helen Keller, c. 1904. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (LC-USZ62- 112513)

June is Deaf-Blind Awareness Month, designated to celebrate both the achievements of deaf-blind persons and the birth month of Helen Keller.

Helen Keller was born June 27th, 1880, and became both blind and deaf at the age of two due to an illness. With her teacher Annie Sullivan at her side, she accomplished in her life what to many seemed to be utterly impossible - including graduating with honours from Radcliffe College in 1900. Writer and humanitarian, Helen Keller has become an inspiration to many people throughout the world. She died in 1968.

The Library has many children's books about Helen Keller's extraordinary life. Here is just a sampling:

Annie and Helen	Helen Keller's Big World	Helen Keller: The World In Her Heart

The Library also has many books for adults about Helen Keller and her world.

The "Miracle Worker" and the Transcendentalist: Annie Sullivan, Franklin Sanborn and the Education of Helen Keller	The Story of My Life  (The Library also has this title as an eBook and an eAudiobook)	The Radical Lives of Helen Keller

Have a look.

"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart." -Helen Keller

 

'Tis The Season For Amazing Fairs and Events!

Two great events are coming up soon, and Toronto Public Library is pleased to participate in both.

The first is People in Motion, which will take place Friday, May 31st and Saturday, June 1st, 10am - 5pm, at the Queen Elizabeth Building, Exhibition Place.

This show, the largest of its kind in Canada, is for people with disabilities, seniors with special needs, people working in related areas, family and friends, and anyone else who would like to come.

Exhibits include:

• adapted vehicles
• mobility aids
• barrier-free design
• rehabilitation services
• home health care products
• accessible travel
• leisure activities
• technical aids
• employment information
• corporate services
• government programs

This is a perfect opportunity to compare products and services all under one roof.

 

The second is JuneFest, which recognizes and celebrates June as Deaf-Blind Awareness Month in Ontario.

JuneFest will be held at Mel Lastman Square, 11:30am - 4pm on Wednesday, June 5th. Mel Lastman Square is at 5100 Yonge Street, North York.

The festival is hosted by The Canadian Helen Keller Centre , the only residential training centre in Canada for people who are deaf-blind, and Rotary Cheshire Homes, which provides housing and services for people who are deaf-blind. 

An amazing array of organizations will be present. Visit them, and learn about the technology and devices, services and resources that are available to people who are deaf-blind.

Artists who are deaf-blind will be displaying their work, which will be judged by JuneFest attendees. Works include paintings, drawings, sculpture, knitting, original craft projects, poems and short stories. There will be games and activities for people of all ages, a charity barbeque, free samples and music.

Come and check out these two great shows!

More about Deaf-Blind Awareness Month in future posts.

 

 

ARCH Disability Law Centre Library

ARCH Disability Law Centre is a specialty community legal aid clinic dedicated to defending and advancing the equality rights of people with disabilities in Ontario.

Recently, ARCH opened a library that is accessible to the public.

The ARCH Public Library holds a browsing general collection of current material on disability rights, policy and services together with practical information for independent living. It also carries accounts of personal experiences.

As well, the ARCH library houses a historical/archival collection of materials that would be of interest to researchers on disability rights and policy in Canada. The material covers a broad range of topics addressed by ARCH in over 33 years of law reform. Among them: equality rights, employment discrimination, education rights, legal capacity and income security.

All materials are for use in the ARCH Disability Law Centre Library, but if you find something you would like to take home, they will help you locate a copy and direct you to TPL if we have one. Their online catalogue also includes additional electronic resources.

There are two computers with adaptive technology available for library users.

Their catalogue is also available remotely, and online tip sheets show you how to make the most of your catalogue search.

The ARCH Public Library is open 9:30am-4:30pm Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. On Wednesdays it is open 12:30pm to 4:30pm.

It is located at 425 Bloor St. East, Suite 110, Toronto.

(It is important to note that the collection is intended for information only, not a substitute for advice on a specific legal matter.)

This new resource sounds fabulous and is well worth a look.

 

 

 

DSTO's Annual Information Fair 2013: TPL Will Be There!

Developmental Services Toronto is holding their 8th Annual Information Fair on Tuesday May 14th.

This is a wonderful opportunity to learn about services offered to adults with developmental disabilities and their families by agencies, organizations and groups throughout the city.  

There will be presentations throughout the day, and then, from 2pm - 3pm, a Self-Advocate Social with coffee and tea and hanging out.

The event is free, and no registration is required. It takes place at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre, 6 Garamond Court, Toronto.

Don't forget to visit Toronto Public Library at our information booth - we'll be there!

 

 

 

 

Finding Descriptive Videos In The Catalogue

The Toronto Public Library carries many descriptive videos, and now it's easier to find these in our catalogue.

What are descriptive videos? They are DVDs or videos "which have been augmented with special narration which describes the action for people who have visual impairments.

As a descriptive video plays, it describes the visual elements of action, characters, locations, costumes and sets to the viewer without interfering with the movie's dialogue or sound effects." (Definition from the Free Library of Philadelphia, Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped)

Up until now, descriptive videos were found by typing in the subject heading "Video Recordings for People with Visual Disabilities".

However, often people were unaware of the subject heading, and in this instance even a search by keywords doesn't help. Without the exact heading, the items are hard to locate.

Thanks to a customer's suggestion, now you can use easy-to-remember web addresses to get right to the page that will give you the list of descriptive videos and DVDs.

Just begin with the Toronto Public Library web address and then add any one of the following:

/describeddvds

/audiodescription

/descriptivevideo

/moviesfortheblind

Here's an example: http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/describeddvds.

You can also use a shortened version of the address. Simply type www.tpl.ca/describeddvds. 

Of course, you can still use the subject heading if you like!

There are more improvements coming to descriptive video and DVD searching. We'll keep you posted.

AEBC Vision Assistive Technology and Community Support Exhibition 2013

The 2013 Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians (AEBC) Conference will take place from Friday, April 26th to Sunday, April 28th at the Cambridge Suites Hotel, downtown Toronto. 

On Friday, from 10am - 4pm, displays from various vendors, organizations, social groups and service providers will be set up for the public and members. Several presentations and workshops are also scheduled.

This FREE public event will appeal to a wide range of individuals:

• People and families affected by vision loss
• Consumers looking for information about service providers, products and services in the area of vision loss
• Organizations working to remove access barriers to employees or customers with vision loss
• Teachers, students and parents looking for adaptive solutions in the education setting
• Anyone who is interested in the areas of access, inclusion, blindness, independent living, or caregiving

Nineteen exhibitors will be displaying their products and services, and there will be eight scheduled breakout presentations during the day.

Technologies on display include:

• Screen magnification software
• Screen readers
• Electronic video magnifiers (CCTVs)
• Portable magnifiers
• Text scanning solutions
• DAISY digital book readers
• Braille and talking notetakers
• Refreshable Braille displays
• Braille embossers
• Portable GPS
• Talking cell phone solutions
• Daily living aids and more!

Of course, Toronto Public Library will have an information table at Friday's event.

What a fabulous opportunity to see so many products, service clubs and agencies in the same place at the same time!

Details:

Friday April 26th, 2013
10am to 4:00pm
Cambridge Suites Hotel
15 Richmond Street East, Toronto
2nd Floor

Don't miss it! 

 

 

Adaptive Technology: Kurzweil 1000 and 3000 at the Library

Kurzweil 1000 and 3000 software is available to use at the Toronto Public Library.

Kurzweil is software designed to help people with disabilities. Kurzweil 1000 is used by people who are blind or have low vision. Kurzweil 3000 helps people who have learning disabilities such as dyslexia or dysgraphia, and who therefore find it hard to read print or electronic materials on their own. (It also is used by literacy students and English as a second language learners.)

Kurzweil software converts a scanned paper document into electronic form. The document is shown on the screen and read aloud by the program.

Some of the features of the Kurzweil 3000 include:

• A talking word processor
• Text read by word, phrase or sentence
• Translations of words
• Many different dictionary options
• Highlighting and notetaking tools
• Talking spellchecker

The Library's version of Kurzweil 3000 is 13.10, and is currently available at the Toronto Reference Library.

Most people who use the Kurzweil program at the Library already are familiar with it. Although the Library does not train people on this software, if you have not used Kurzweil and want to come in and use or explore it, we will gladly help you get signed on. Also, the short film "How to Work With Kurzweil 3000" will introduce you to its main features. 

Please book ahead to make sure that the computer is free before you come! Call the Access desk at 416-393-7161.

 

 

 

 

ZoomText New User Video

As promised in the last Accessibility Services post, here is more information about ZoomText magnification software.

AI Squared, the company that produces ZoomText, has posted some recorded training webinars on its site. For those of you new to the software, the ZoomText New User Introduction Webinar will certainly help get you started!

The first video below is the webinar in 2x magnification. The second is the same webinar at 4x magnification.

Note that the video covers both ZoomText Magnifier and ZoomText Magnifier/Reader. The Library has the Magnifier Software only, so you'll want to concentrate on that section of the video.

Have a look!

 

 

 

Have you used ZoomText at the library or at home? Do you have any tips or suggestions for other users? 

 

Golden Mile's Information Fair For People With Disabilities And Their Families

Golden Mile Employment & Social Services will be hosting an information fair for people with disabilities and their families on Tuesday March 19th, 2013.

The fair will take place between 1 - 3:30 pm at 1880 Eglinton Avenue East, Unit 139, Community Room.

Participating community agencies include:

 Action for Neigbourhood Change ("The Hub") -  works with residents to create strong, engaged communities

Better Living Toronto

Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work - promotes and supports meaningful employment of people with disabilities

Community Care Access Centre (CCAC) - links people to services needed at home and in their communities

Community Living Toronto - offers support and services to people with intellectual disabilities

Flemingdon Community Legal Services- offers legal advice about landlord/tenant, ODSP income support and immigration issues

March of Dimes Canada -  provides programs/services to people with physical disabilities to encourage independence and participation

RBC Royal Bank will be on hand to provide Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) information.

Service Canada

Parks, Forestry & Recreation

Woodgreen Community Services - offers personalized employment services in addition to many other community services

And of course, the Toronto Public Library will have a display, with information about the Library's adult literacy programs, Home Library Service, and services and assistive technologies for people with disabilities. TPL staff will be on hand to answer your questions.

Drop in, or register for this event online using the Employment Centre (EC) Portal.

Come and meet us!  

 

More About Zoomtext Magnifier

Zoomtext Magnifier, software available at the Toronto Public Library, is of great help to people with low vision. The Library now has Zoomtext Magnifier Version 10.

An earlier blog post by a colleague of mine gave a basic outline of the software and where it is located in TPL. As she mentions, software is available on one computer in all branches. Toronto Reference Library has the software loaded on several of its computers. 

Here are some of the things Zoomtext can do for you:

Window Views

On Zoomtext, you can choose from several different window views. Some examples:

• Overlay View will magnify the entire desktop.
• Line View magnifies one line of text at a time. This is best used while looking at a document. 
• Docked View enlarges one half of the screen (top, bottom, left or right). 
• Freeze Window allows a part of the screen that would normally be out of view because of the magnification to be visible at all times.

Enhancements

• Invert Brightness inverts white and black values on the screen - for example, black type on a white background becomes white type on a black background. The higher contrast makes the page easier to read.
• Reverse Video inverts colours - again, this increases the contrast.
• Point Enhancement allows you to more easily locate your pointer on the screen. For instance, you can ask the program for a red arrow in a red circle, or a giant green arrow (there are other choices too).
• Cursor Enhancement makes the blinking text cursor easier to read onscreen.  

There is a lot more to Zoomtext. Stay tuned!