The seminar will present the ways of searching for information and reading by print-disabled members of AMELib, focusing on the case of visually impaired readers. It is a continuation of the previous training seminar, presented at the 27th academic library conference, which dealt mainly with the production of accessible formats.
The seminar focuses on how print-disabled people with visual impairments read. It will be conducted by members of the HEAL-Link Accessibility Team and a print-disabled associate of AMElib.
The main aim is to inform colleagues in academic libraries about screen readers; especially those that are open access or free.
Taking into account the different needs of people with visual impairments, we will examine the most popular PC screen readers and other software with which users can read different document files (e.g. doc, pdf, epub, daisydook), provided via AMELib digital library.
Upon completion of the seminar, colleagues will gain an insight into these assistive technologies and the different ways in which people with visual impairments read. They will also be able to recognise the need for personalised proposals according to the abilities of each beneficiary, which is the basis for organising information literacy for this specific library audience.
Programme
Demonstration of Web navigation by a print-disabled person with visual impairments. During demonstration of searching/retrieving information from online sources, avenues of information search and obstacles she encounters will be discussed.
