Assistive Technology

The Library's Assistive Technology Center provides equipment to empower the visually impaired, blind, hearing impaired, learning disabled, and students with limited English to do their own research. The Center, housed on the 4th floor of the Library, was made possible by a State of Pennsylvania grant and University funds. It provides a suitable and comfortable workspace for visually impaired and blind Library users and their assistance dogs.

Two PCs housed in the Center are connected to the Library's network and allow users to print either to the Braille printer or the Library's network printers.

In addition to the basic desktop applications available in the Library, the computers in the Assistive Technology Center provide the following specialized software:

• Jaws - reads the content of each screen to the user.
• Arkenstone Openbook - allows blind and visually impaired users to read, edit, and manage scanned images from books, journals, and other printed documents. Converts scanned material to allow it to be read aloud by the computer.
• Wynn Wizard - assists users with difficulty reading by allowing them to modify the appearance of the page to suit their needs; helps students study by allowing them to highlight passages and make voice or written annotations.
• Co:Writer - helps students build and write complete sentences.
• ZoomText Level II - enlarges screens for users with low vision.
• GoodFeel Dancing Dots Braille music translation software - transcribes Braille music.

The Center also features a closed circuit television (CCTV).

Additional Equipment Available in the Library
A special CCTV is also available for use in the classroom, which allows students to adjust the camera to point at the instructor, the projection screen or their own notes on the desktop. Another CCTV is available in the 4th floor reference area. A PC on a multimedia cart can be used in the Library classroom or other locations within the Library.