Accessibility Services

Finding Closed Captioned Materials In The Library Catalogue

Closed captioned films have words that can be seen with a closed captioned decoder or with a built-in decoder on newer televisions*.

What is the difference between closed captioning and subtitles? There is a good article in the Examiner.com called Closed Captioning Vs. Subtitles - And what You Should Know about this. The author, Marilyn Sparks, explains that subtitles provide the words that are being spoken, while closed captioning provides much more:

"Films often use sound to convey actions or events that happen off camera, such as screaming, crashes, telephones ringing, knocks on doors, music playing etc. These descriptive captions explain what the actors are reacting to and are important inclusions that might otherwise be lost to those who have trouble hearing".

The latest closed captioned movies and videos at the library include drama, history, biography, juvenile films, and much more. You can sort by those categories, as well as by date, owning library, and language. 

You can also look up closed captioned materials in the catalogue by using the subject heading Video Recordings for the Hearing Impaired.

Check them out!

*See the comment from Joe Clark, below. As he points out, closed captioning has been built into TVs for almost twenty years now, so it's not just "newer" TVs that have this technology!

Going Somewhere? Check Out Planat.com First!

I frequently receive information from my colleagues about interesting articles or events related to accessibility. For example, a few days ago a fellow librarian pointed out a recent story in the Globe and Mail about Planat - a new website developed by the Rick Hansen Foundation.

Look up a venue on this site and you will see reviews of its accessibility, whether it be a restaurant, shop, accommodation or attraction. Reviews are for locations around the world.

Rating criteria include:                

• Entrance
• Venue Pathway
• Main Function
• Washrooms
• Customer Service

You can choose to see reviews from a sight, mobility or hearing perspective, and you can filter by name of the venue, location, type and minimum rating. Planat currently lists over 17,000 locations.

Once you are registered, you can also post a review yourself. If you own or operate a venue, you can post the accessibility features of your location.

According to the website, reviews can be made and accessed through a desktop, laptop, iPad, iPhone, BlackBerry Torch and devices using Android 2.2 or above on the Opera Mobile browser.

Have a look at this interesting tool. Let us know what you think of it!

Look for more information on the Rick Hansen Foundation in future posts.

Also, you may want to have a look at the book Access Anything: I Can Do That!. It includes disability travel information and tips for travel by airplane, rental car, charter bus, cruise ship and plane.

Enjoy your trip! 

 

Accessibility At The Library: Call For Input

Toronto Public Library is committed to providing accessible services for all residents including persons with disabilities.

To meet the requirements of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) and its standards for customer service and integrated accessibility, TPL has updated a Policy with a statement of commitment and posted a Compliance Status Report.  Now we need your input!

You can submit comments on the draft Policy or accessibility in the Library in a number of ways:

• By filling out the online survey
• By calling the TTY at Answerline: 416-393-7030
• By phoning Answerline: 416-393-7131

As well, you can speak to staff at your local branch about accessibility features and services.

Your input is vital to this process. Thank you for helping us continue to provide excellent service to all our users.

Website Accessibility

Toronto Public Library is committed to making our website accessible to users.  Recently we have launched a area on our site dedicated helping customer get the most out of their online experience.  You can find this area from the bottom of the home page under the Accessibility section or click here http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/accessibility/web-accessibility/ .  Some features are semantic page structures for ease of navigation, machine readable text, and keyboard usable design.

There are also browser accessibility guides available for assistance on changing font size, text to speech and magnifying the screen.   We hope that these features will help customers to access our online content.

 

Children with special needs at the library

I wonder how many parents are sitting at home right now with a child with extra support needs. They may know that the library offers programs for children, but think that their child, for whatever reason, would not fit in. To these parents I would like to say: please call or visit you local library and talk with the children's librarian to find out what the library has to offer. This conversation can be the beginning of a rewarding relationship with the library. Working together, parents and librarians can make that visit to the library a satisfying outing for everyone.

Over the last three years, many library staff have had training to help them better serve children with special needs. With the help of a grant from the South Ontario Library Service, Toronto Public Library was able to put together a Storytime Tips Guide for librarians, caregivers, and parents. A short video shows how library storytimes are easily adapted and gives a peek at a sample program.

A hidden silence - side effect of hearing loss

I was having dinner with my family in a busy, noisy restaurant last Saturday. While we were enjoying the Peking duck, I noticed a man in his early 70s sitting at a table across from us. He and his friends had just finished eating and everyone seemed to be catching up the latest news. His friends looked satisfied and relaxed after their meal.  They seemed like a fun group, with everyone engaged in enthusiastic conversation. Someone would say something to the whole table and the rest would smile and nodding their heads in agreement. However, while everyone else interacted, that older gentleman sat with his back straight, his hands clasped at the edge of the round table, and his eyes stared blankly ahead. He seemed neither happy nor sad, just resigned.

What was wrong with him? Was he sick? Was he anti-social? Why didn’t he participate? Why did he choose to be alone and “voiceless”? The answer of these questions was given away by one external clue – the hearing aid he wore on each ear.

He looked relieved when everyone decided that it was time to go home. He rose slowly but determinedly from his chair and put on his coat. I am sure this was what he was thinking: “Finally! It’s over!”

How could I be so sure what the man was thinking, you may ask. It’s because I am one of every four Canadians who, like him, live with hearing loss.

When I was one year old, I was seriously ill and was hospitalized for nine months. The illness passed but it extracted a price that was not detected until I was 30 years old – a serious hearing loss that greatly affected my ability to communicate. When I was in my elementary school, I often teased by my classmates as “tongue-tied” or for speaking Cantonese, my mother-tongue, with a funny accent – missed clue number 1! When I was very young, I consistently missed answering our doorbell – high pitched and weak in volume. I only started answering the door when my brother gave up using the doorbell and began pounding his fist on the metal gate (yes, I could hear that quite well as the banging sound is low in frequency and loud in volume). When I was nine, my brother actually diagnosed me though not very pleasantly: he got so frustrated and called me “deaf woman” – missed clue number 2!

Why was I mercilessly teased for being tongue tied? Why did my school mates and adults laugh at my mispronunciation, even though I was speaking in my own mother tongue? Did they not have empathy? Why didn’t his family or friends try to talk to the older gentleman during dinner? Did they not love or care about him? No! No! No!

The reason, I believe, is lack of awareness and awareness is the foundation of understanding and support. When friends and colleagues understand that people with hearing loss can’t hear normal conversation in a noisy environment, they are more inclined to accommodate their particular needs. Instead of talking loudly or yelling, they would opt to face the person they are speaking to, to repeat and rephrase as necessary and to modify the surroundings to maximize hearing ability.

Instead of resigning him or herself to alienation, the person with the hearing loss can adopt a more proactive approach by informing others of their condition, giving specifics of what they have or have not heard, by confirming what they heard and by requesting clarification as necessary.

So, the next time you speak to someone who seems to be “lost in transmission,” try to speak clearly, reduce background noise and be supportive. Along with a friendly smile and sense of humour, it can make a big difference.

Adult Fiction books featuring characters with a disability

Everyone likes to read books with complex and compelling characters that they can relate to, including people who are in some way affected by physical or intellectual disabilities, mental illness, and/ or hearing and vision impairments.  The following list is a sample of some of the adult fiction books available at the Toronto Public Library that feature a diverse range of characters.    

Animal’s People by Indra Sinha (Physical Disability)

Animal’s People tells the story of a 19-year old orphan of Khaufpur who was horribly injured in the 1984 Bhopal chemical disaster.  The effects of chemical exposure caused his bones to become severely twisted, forcing him to walk on all fours resulting in the nickname of Animal.  Despite his severe disability, Animal takes charge of his life rejecting sympathy and continually looking to improve conditions for himself, his pet dog Jara, and the crazy old French nun he lives with named Ma Franci. 

I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb (Mental Illness)

Dominick Birdsey is a 40-year old emotionally unavailable housepainter with an identical twin brother suffering from paranoid schizophrenia. After a horrific incident of self-mutilation by his brother Thomas, Dominick is forced to take charge of his life and deal with his complicated past involving domestic violence, abuse, and his brother’s mental illness.   

House Rules by Jodi Picuolt (Autism/ Aspergers)

Jacob Hunt is a teenage boy with Asperger’s syndrome.  He is hopelessly unable to understand social cues or express his feelings and thoughts to others, including his devoted mother and troubled brother.  Jacob’s special interest and in-depth knowledge of Forensic Science puts him in the spotlight following the disappearance of his social skills tutor, and threatens to tear his life apart. 

The First Man by Albert Camus (Deaf-Mute)

The First Man is a partly autobiographical novel of Camus’ own life growing up in Algeria.  The novel was discovered amidst the wreckage of the car accident that took Camus’ life, and was later transcribed and published by his daughter Catherine.  The novel describes the childhood and experiences of Jacques Cormery, a young boy who develops a strong attachment to his deaf-mute mother, following the death of his father. 

Blindness by Jose Saramago (Blind)

A man is sitting in his car waiting for the traffic light to change when he is suddenly struck blind.  What at first seems to be an isolated case turns into an epidemic when a day later everyone who had contact with the man also suddenly becomes blind.  As the epidemic continues to spread, government officials panic by locking those who have become blind in a mental institution.  

Handle with Care by Jodi Picuolt (Physical Disability)

Charlotte and her husband are struggling to come up with the money needed to pay for their daughter’s mounting medical expenses.  After much deliberation, Charlotte thinks she has found a solution to their problems.  She will file a wrongful birth lawsuit against her ob/gyn for not disclosing the fact that her child would be born with a severe disability.  The payout will cover all of Willow’s medical expenses, but it means that Charlotte will have to stand up in a court and say in front of everyone, including the daughter she loves more than anything, that she would have terminated her pregnancy had she known about the disability beforehand.      

 

If you have any questions about these books or other materials available at the Toronto Public Library, contact your local branch or call Answerline at 416-393-7131 (TTY 416-393-7030).

Having trouble seeing the computer?

Do you strain to see what’s on your computer screen? Have trouble reading text, recognizing pictures and graphics, or finding what you are looking for?

Screen magnification software called  Zoomtext Magnifier enlarges and enhances everything on the computer screen, making your computer easier to see and use.

You can select from a range of magnification levels from 1X to 36X, and a high visibility mouse pointer to make it easier to see on the screen.   This software with a large print keyboard is available on 1 computer in all branches. Ask staff at your local branch to direct you to this computer.

Download Screen Magnification tip sheet 2011

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