Accessibility Services

Children's Braille Books

Having come to work at Lillian H Smith Branch from various other branches, I wasn't aware of the nearly 100 children's braille books that Lillian has in its collection.  Prior to working here, there were two things I had heard about the branch; it was named after Lillian H Smith who was the first librarian dedicated to children's services in the British Commonwealth and that it had an excellent children's collection.  I wasn't aware that it also had braille books for children.   The braille books fill up two shelves on the first floor and can be found in the South-East corner.  "Braille has been an effective means of communication for people who are blind since 1829 when it was invented in Paris, France by Louis Braille".  For more information, the CNIB does a great job of explaining braille and its history on their website.  Our collection has two kinds of braille books; ones that are strictly braille and others that have clear plastic with braille language overlapping the pictures and text.  This is so that both readers with or without vision loss can enjoy them together.  Going through the collection it is easy to see that it is filled with classics.  Don't live close by or prefer to order some to other locations?  You can search Toronto Public Library's website by using the keyword "braille book" and narrow your results on the left hand side.  If you need further assistance you can also call us at 416-393-7746 or the Answerline at 416-393-7131

Hearing loss - how you can help

According to Canadian Hearing Society Awareness Survey, almost one in four adult Canadians reports having a hearing loss. I'm one of them. 

Due to illness in infancy, I lost all hearing for high frequency sounds. I have been unable to hear higher frequency or "sibilant" sounds such as "s" "th" and many others all my life and was often teased as "tongue tied." I didn't learn about my hearing disability until I was thirty years old when, by chance, I approached a speech pathologist who was outreaching at a shopping mall.

While some forms of disability such as blindness or mobility issues are quickly evident, hearing loss is not, either to the person with the disability or to those around them. In fact, people with hearing loss don't understand the problem until they actually cannot hear or carry on a normal conversation. No one wants to interrupt a conversation by constantly asking people to repeat what they say and most people are not eager to acknowledge a disability. So how do people with hearing loss react when they cannot hear?

Three different types of reaction

1. Passive
   • pretend to understand by smiling or nodding the head (often not looking very smart by doing so)
   • withdraw from the conversation
   • result in poor communication or isolation
2. Aggressive
   • express needs openly in a strong way that puts others on the defensive
   • react in a hostile manner to the speaker
   • look frustrated or angry
   • dominates the conversation (try to talk to avoid listening)
3. Assertive
   • admit problems and ask for help
   • respect others
   • take initiative to improve the communication situation
   

How can you help?

Communication tips (Source: Canadian Hearing Society) 

• Try not to cover your moth or lips
•  Always face the person you are talking to
• Speak normally - don't shout or yell
• Speak at a moderate pace - not too quickly - what you're saying needs to be processed and figured out
• Avoid dim areas which make it difficult to speechread
• When speaking to someone who is hard of hearing, try to reduce surrounding noise or go to a quieter area if possible
• Explore alternative ways of communicating, such as writing on a whiteboard, using pen and paper or showing examples of what needs to be done
• Confirm that your message is received, possibly by asking the recipient to repeat the message back