Making Printed Materials Usable

Standard printed materials can be difficult or impossible to use for people with a variety of disability types. The Knox Center at 1128 Shapiro Library has a variety of technologies to transfer printed documents into alternative formats for either one-time or repeated use:

• Closed circuit televisions (CCTVs) magnify anything placed under their camera lens—handwriting as well as printed text. They can also be used to make handiwork (knitting, fishing fly tying, using hand tools, etc.) easier to see. The Knox Center has several different CCTV models, with varying options for setting color contrast; at a minimum, they all allow black-on-white and white-on-black display settings.

• The Reading Edge device (shown in photo) scans good-quality printed text and reads it aloud. It’s useful for people who want to hear something once without needing to store or edit the information.

At the Knox Center, there are scanners attached to one Macintosh and three PC computers. These can be used with standard scanning software, as well as specialized assistive technology such as Kurzweil 3000 and WYNN, to transfer good-quality printed text into an electronic format. This material can be not only read but also edited and saved.

If you have any questions or would like training in using any of these devices, please contact Jane Vincent at jbvincen@umich.edu or 6-3794.