courtduvall.files.wordpress.com · Web viewCabarrus County Public Library. Shae Cantrell, Court Duvall. LIS 630. Grant Assignment Part 2. EZ Innovation Grant, 2015-2016

Cabarrus County Public Library. Shae Cantrell, Court Duvall. LIS 630. Grant Assignment Part 2

1. WHAT IDEA WOULD YOU LIKE TO PITCH?

The Cabarrus County public library would like to better provide for the information

needs of patrons with vision disabilities. The needs of this population may be better met by the

provision of a dedicated set of computers that will be installed with software that addresses

common barriers to information faced by patrons with vision disabilities. The two primary

software the library plans to implement into existing computers are screen reader and screen

magnification technologies. Additionally, providing two touch screen tablet devices will provide

users new ways to more easily engage with information through the inherent screen

magnification capabilities of the devices. Also, text to speech applications will be installed on the

devices and the mobility they provide users will allow for unique learning scenarios. Screen

reader technologies allow for text on computer monitors to be read aloud, while screen

magnification software allows for text to be greatly magnified on the screen. While these

technologies are intended to assist people who are blind or have extremely limited vision,

placing the technologies in a public library means that any patron who prefers larger text or

audio-speech feedback when using library computers will also benefit.

2. HOW IS IT INNOVATIVE?

The addition of specialized computer technologies for vision impaired patrons is

innovative because these resources are not currently publicly available in this metropolitan area,

nor are they typically found in a public library environment. These kind of technologies are often

only found in specialized libraries such as that of the NC Library for the Blind and Physically

Handicapped, which is more than two hours away from the Concord branch library. Therefore,

adding these kinds of resources to the Cabarrus County Public Library will provide a unique

opportunity for citizens with vision impairments to meet their information needs locally. These

EZ Innovation Grant, 2015-2016 1


resources will find use even among those who may not identify as having a severe vision

impairment, such as older adults and the aging baby boomer generation, as eyesight becomes

poorer with age and large print in books and on screens becomes a necessity. As these

technologies are expensive for individuals to acquire and maintain, and may require training for

effective use, the library and librarians at the Cabarrus County Public Library are in an ideal

position to assist their patrons by providing these resources. By partnering with the North

Carolina Division of Services for the Blind, the Cabarrus County Public Library will be able to

increase knowledge of these resources to members of the public and will also have the special

opportunity to include workers from this division who are likely to be personally assisting our

patrons first hand with these computers in training sessions with the technologies. As knowledge

of available resources at any public library are often gone unnoticed or unknown by members of

the community, additional advertising of this new collection will be provided through Cabarrus

County’s Communications department via television, website, and print promotions.

3. WHAT IS THE NEED OR PROBLEM IT WILL SOLVE?

One of the biggest problems faced by patrons with visual disabilities is getting access to

adequate resources. North Carolina has a very high percentage of individuals who have visual

disabilities, which indicates that further resources may be required to meet those individuals’

information needs. North Carolina has recently reported approximately 242,200 cases of visual

disabilities statewide, ranking it as the fifth highest state in the nation regarding reported cases of

visual disabilities among children and adults.1

1 National Federation of the Blind. (August 6, 2014). Blindness Statistics Statistical Facts about Blindness in the United States Definitions. Retrieved from https://nfb.org/blindness-statistics



North Carolina also has a larger population of older adults as a percentage of their

population as compared with other states. Twenty eight percent of North Carolina’s population is

currently aged 50 and older, composed of 2.3 million people, or, 28 percent of the total statewide

population.2 By 2030, it is projected that 35 percent of North Carolina’s population will be aged

50 or older.3 While older adults do not necessarily require visual assistance with their

information needs, it is commonly understood that as people age their eyesight becomes worse

and the need for large print and audio resources becomes much more important.

Because both these population groups are both much higher in North Carolina than the

national average, and members of these groups have clear need of assistive technologies

regarding blindness, low vision, and audio feedback assistive technologies, our pursuit of these

technologies will better provide for Cabarrus County’s patrons. Currently, the nearest facility

that can assist patrons with these kinds of resources is in Raleigh, North Carolina, and would

require either a two hour commute by most of the individuals in Cabarrus County, or an attempt

to get their information needs through this resource using remote means.

4. INTENDED OUTCOMES

Select up to three of the Intended Outcomes for your project from the list below.

Human services

Improve users' ability to apply information that furthers their personal, family or household

finances.

2 State Center for Health Statistics. (April 2003). A Health Profile of Older North Carolinians. Retrieved from http://www.schs.state.nc.us/schs/pdf/Elderly.pdf3 State Center for Health Statistics. (April 2003). A Health Profile of Older North Carolinians. Retrieved from http://www.schs.state.nc.us/schs/pdf/Elderly.pdf



Improve users' ability to apply information that furthers their personal or family health &

wellness.

Improve users' ability to apply information that furthers their parenting and family skills.

Information access

Improve users' ability to discover information.

Improve users' ability to obtain information resources.

Institutional capacity

Enhance library's workforce.

Improve library's operations.

Improve library's physical and technology infrastructure.

5. DESCRIBE HOW THIS IDEA MIGHT EXTEND THE LIBRARY’S REACH AND

ENHANCE CAPACITY. FOR WHOM?

The Cabarrus County Public Library currently provides free services to local population of

approximately 192,000 individuals. While this capacity represents numerous modes of outreach,

it does not necessarily address the specific needs of patrons with vision impairments. By

acquiring software to equip four desktop computers with the capability to address the unique

needs of vision impaired patrons, the CCPL will increase its capacity to serve community

members. Furthermore, acquiring two additional tablets will serve not only vision impaired

patrons, but has the potential to benefit both librarians and other patrons. Although the tablets

will be reserved for vision impaired members of the community who request them, during the

times when the tablets are not in use by such patrons, they will be available for librarians and

other patrons to use for other information access needs. Finally, by partnering with the North

Carolina Division of Services for the Blind, CCPL extends the scope and visibility of its



involvement in the community. Through technology sharing and joint training sessions, the

library will become more solidly aligned with a community group whose expertise will be vital

to the success of this project, but will also lay the foundation for future efforts on the part of the

library to increase its accessibility services.

6. HOW MUCH MONEY IS NEEDED? WHY?

The complete funding amount for this project totals $10,313.00. The majority of this

money will finance the specialized software to be installed on four public computers that the

Cabarrus County Public Library will provide. The remaining funds will allow for the purchase of

two touch screen tablets, installation of apps onto those tablets, some necessary braille signage

for the walls, desks, and tablets, and finally will provide a training seminar in which librarians

and members from our partner group will be educated on the installation of these softwares,

shown techniques for their optimum use, and shown proper maintenance techniques.

JAWS screen readers and MAGic magnification software are both considered to be

leading edge technology in assisting visually impaired persons. Each installation of JAWS is

$1095, while each installation of MAGic is $595. The Ipad Air 2 is positioned as the premier

touch screen tablet currently in the market. This tablet comes equipped with Zoom technology,

which allows for easy resizing of the screen. The 64GB version of this tablet is $659, and will

provide plenty of capability for installing various free applications and ebooks, in addition to

professional software which provides high quality text to speech output options. These text to

speech applications are Voice Dream Reader and Natural Text2Speech and each installation of

both products costs $9.99 each. Some braille signage will be required for display outside of the

door of these computer spaces, as well as braille strips that will be attached to the desks,

keyboards and tablets. This signage will cost approximately $70 for the wall sign and $125 for



the rest. Finally, for optimum use of the equipment and to assist patrons with the equipment, a

three hour seminar will be offered to library staff and partner members which will cost $2000.

7. IS THIS IDEA BEING IMPLEMENTED ANYWHERE ELSE? IF YES, TELL US

ABOUT IT; IF NO, HOW DO YOU KNOW?

On a county-wide level, this idea will be the first of its kind in a public library setting. On a state

level, the State Library of North Carolina Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped

exclusively provides resources for the visually impaired. However, their single location in

Raleigh makes it difficult for most visually impaired persons to utilize the physical library space,

limiting accessibility to a majority of these individuals. The ideas and technology proposed in

this grant are not commonplace in a typical public library. By implementing these specialized

technologies and physical workstations in the Cabarrus County Public Library, we will provide a

unique opportunity for citizens with vision impairments to meet their information needs locally.

8. ABSTRACT

The Cabarrus County Public Library system will provide greater access to online information for

patrons with visual disabilities through the acquisition and stewardship of specialized

technologies. By providing four computer workstations with screen reader and text magnification

software, patrons will be provided avenues to information that normally only specialized

libraries provide. Also, introducing two touch screen tablets will provide leading edge

technology that is capable of easily magnifying text, will provide text to speech through

installation of unique applications, and will offer new learning opportunities in and outside of the

library because of their portability. Providing this technology locally fulfills an important

information service and will reduce the need for members of this metropolitan area to travel to



the nearest such specialized library which is over two hours away. While these technologies are

normally aimed at individuals who are blind or those with extremely limited vision, older patrons

may also find this technology useful as vision problems often occur in the later stages of life

which prompt the need for large print resources.








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courtduvall.files.wordpress.com · Web viewCabarrus County Public Library. Shae Cantrell, Court Duvall. LIS 630. Grant Assignment Part 2. EZ Innovation Grant, 2015-2016