robertj@tekgen.bv.tek.com (Robert Jaquiss) (03/07/91)
Index Number: 13833
Hello SIG-TEAL members:
Here is an article written by Barbara Mates of the Cleveland Public
library concerning CD-ROM and the visually disabled. I didn't find a
Copyright notice on the article but please assume that it is Copyrighted.
Special thanks to Katy Lenn at the University of Oregon for bringing this
article to me attention. Barbara Mates kindly sent me a computer readable
copy. Happy CD-ROMing.
Robert S. Jaquiss Jr.
Internet: robertj@tekgen.bv.tek.com
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CD-ROM: A NEW LIGHT FOR THE BLIND & VISUALLY IMPAIRED
By Barbara T. Mates, Head
Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
Cleveland Public Library
CD-ROM technology is the newest tool in information service.
It is being hailed by some as the greatest invention since
Gutenberg's printing press; while others, a bit more conservative,
would rank it after automation of the printing press and computer
technology. Conversely, it has also received much criticism as
being too costly, too complicated and it's future too uncertain
(i.e. will costs come down, will more titles become available?).
Information specialists who see it as the "new papyrus" comment on
the vast amount of information contained on the silver discs, shelf
space saved (which also saves paper and consequently trees and the
ozone layer), searching capabilities, money saved vs. on-line
searching and the possibility of eventually establishing Local Area
Networks (LANS).
Acknowledging the CD-ROM's present faults and promises, this
information specialist would like to say "Pass me a CD please"
because it is providing the 11,000 blind, visually and physically
impaired patrons of the Cleveland Public Library's Library for the
Blind and Physically Handicapped (service area,the 55 northern
counties of Ohio) with a type of reference service they have not
been able to have in 25 years. This service is simply: receiving
on request and in a timely fashion (i.e. same day service, plus
mail transit time) encyclopedia articles and consumer information
in a medium they can use regardless of their impairment. Because
of the universal format of ASCII, information can be translated and
printed in Braille. Independent commands given to a laser printer
allow all articles to be printed in clean bold faced type in a
print size the visually impaired reader requires (14-18pt). A
speech synthesizer can read the articles aloud eliminating the need
of a sighted human reader for the individual unable to hold a book
and turn the pages as well as for the blind non-Braille reader.
insert. fig. 1
What Was Available To The Blind & Visually Impaired Pre-CD-ROM
The day the CD-ROM system was set up and the Grolliers Encyclopedia
was slipped into the tray was one that advanced the large-print
multi-volume encyclopedia world by 100%. The day we successfully
translated an article on the space shuttle into Braille
saw the first "direct Braille text to reader" (that is one
that did not have to be transcribed) article from a multi-
volume encyclopedia since World Book Encyclopedia published the
only Braille encyclopedia in 1959.
For the visually or physically impaired reader who can neither read
large print nor Braille, a screen reader can read the article
aloud. This is finally bringing an updated recorded encyclopedia to
print-impaired readers. The last recorded multi-volume encyclopedia
was the 1980 World Book. While not as dated as the Braille and
large print formats, it is not what anyone seeking current events
should access.
Another major step in updating reference service was made with the
McGraw-Hill Science and Technology Encyclopedia. Research
and interviews of knowledgeable blind and visually impaired patrons
indicated that there never has been a special media, multi-volume
science encyclopedia available. This means that previously,
reference queries such as:
"They say my house should be checked for radon gas, can you
please send me something on radon gas in large print so I can
read about it myself?"
or
"My dentist says I have periodontal disease, which scares me;
can you quickly send me something about it in Braille before
my next appointment?"
could not be addressed in a timely fashion. Information on radon
gas would have had to be found in a regular print encyclopedia and
either enlarged on a photocopying machine (not an easy task for
multi-columned document, nor is the final product easily readable)
or given in regular print (which meant that the patron would have
to find a sighted reader). Information on periodontal disease in
Braille may have been found in a general health book (if on the
shelf) or the information photocopied in regular print and sent to
a Braille transcriber (at least a ten day delay). The CD-ROM,
however, allowed us to send out both the large print information on
radon gas and a Braille article on periodontal diseases to the
patrons needing this information on the same day as the queries
were made.
One of the most used reference books in the public reference
library is the Physicians Desk Reference as many patrons wish to
know more about the prescribed drug they are taking. Many patrons
who are visually impaired are also using prescription drugs. They,
like the sighted want to know more about the drug prescribed and
find that pharmacists and doctors do not have the time needed to
fully explain each side effect or contradiction. Trying to read the
package insert is a challenge for people with 20/20 vision, let
alone patrons whose vision is 20/200. Being able to have
information from Physician's Desk Reference in 16 pt. type allows
the visually impaired to read and re-read information about the
drug, on their own, without asking someone to read it for them.
Although the translation to Braille is awkward it can be done and
is a more reliable than the last Braille edition, published in
1978! There has never been an unabridged large-type edition.
The Microsoft Bookshelf brought a current edition of the World
Almanac and Book of Facts, as well as the bonuses of the Chicago
Manual of Style, Roget's Thesaurus, American Heritage Dictionary,
and Bartlett's Familiar Quotations. Updates of these titles were
not as dramatic as the aforementioned, but nevertheless needed.
The World Almanac has never been Brailled or been available in
large print. The latest Braille dictionary, Webster's New World
Dictionary of the American Language was printed in 1970, and the
Braille edition of Roget's Thesaurus was last issued in 1961.
There was both a large print abridgement of a dictionary and
thesaurus by ISIS Publishing in 1985, but the most recent
Mirriam-Webster's Dictionary and Merriam-Webster's Thesaurus were
published in 1977. Bartlett's Quotations was Brailled by the
Library of Congress' Library Service to the Blind and Physically
Handicapped in 1988 but at 105 volumes, doesn't make lending
realistic for the patron simply wanting to have some quotes on
"time" to use in a paper he is writing or wanting to know the exact
wording of the quotation "All's fair in love and war". By using
Microsoft's CD-ROM Bartlett's Quotation's all pages and cross
references on "time" can be printed either in large print or in
Braille and sent to the patron. Likewise the entire quotation about
the fairness of love can be printed for the patron in the medium
needed.
The study of American history and its foundation documents is a
pursuit that most of us see as a right, but what historical
documents are accessible to the blind and visually impaired?
Basically, the Constitution and Bill of Rights, which were just
Brailled for mass distribution in 1988! Again the CD-ROM and
Constitution Papers bring forth important documents in America's
history, such as the Mayflower Compact, the Monroe Doctrine, the
Articles of Confederation, etc. in large print and Braille.
WHAT IT TAKES TO MAKE IT WORK
In the broadest definition you need a cooperative "humanware" ,
hardware and software network, i.e., all must "shake hands".
Humanware Required:
Cooperative humanware is defined as: 1) a "PC-literate person who
is willing to put aside his/her own work to install hardware and
trouble shoot", 2) an information specialist, who is willing to
search out available software, write proposals for the project and
make the system work by encouraging staff and users to access the
newly acquired information sources, 3) a staff willing to use the
technology and 4) last but not least an administration willing to
take a chance on a theoretical proposal. Also of great help in
working out the original problems was an on-staff Braille literate
person and knowledgable colleagues who knew the idiosyncrasies of
the Braille printer and software translation program*.
*The PC-literate person, Mark Nekic, Assistant Head, Automation,
Cleveland Public Library; the Braille literate staff member,
Warren Sladky, Technician, Cleveland Public Library, Library for
the Blind & Physically Handicapped; the administration of Cleveland
Public Library approved the expenditures for the materials and
development time; and Nick Dotson, President of Dotsun Enterprises
and Lloyd Rasmussen of the National Library Service provided the
extra knowledge to "iron out the rough edges".
Minimum Hardware needs:
-An IBM PC-XT (or clone) equipped with 640 K RAM; 40
megabyte hard disk drive (this allows you to use you to use your
PC for other purposes without having to down-load stored
information to diskettes)
-Switching box
-CD-ROM drive (Hitachi or clone) compatible with IBM or clone
-Laser printer equipped with bold-faced font, capable of
printing 14-18 pt. type
-Sony (or clone) PC speaker
-EMBOSS-35, Braille printer-- or-- a working relationship with
an organization/individual willing to print an article from
a diskette.
Peripherals:
Braille mouse (Model II) which when moved along a flat surface
from left to right, converts each electronic character to its
Braille equivalent and translates the information to the users
fingertip by raising pins on the mouse to form the Braille
element. The mouse uses a single roller, coupled with a serial
digital pickoff to confine motion to the horizontal direction
and prevent the operator from wandering across the screen.
Artic Voice Card which will read the text of article directly from
the screen line by line, from the hard disk, without interruption.
The voice is synthesized, and accomplishes its reading task by
using a set of complex letter-to-sound rules, or text-to-speech
algorithms.
Software needs:
Hotdots, a print/Braille translation program which quickly
translates conventional print to grade 2 Braille (grade 2
Braille is the accepted form of written communication for the
blind and contains contractions, a type of "shorthand").
(insert fig. A)
CD-ROM discs known to successfully and easily translate to large
print:
Grolier's Electronic Encyclopedia
McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology
Microsoft Bookshelf (with some effort)
Physicians Desk Reference
Constitution Papers
CD-ROM discs known to successfully and easily translate to
Braille format output:
Grolier's Electronic Encyclopedia
McGraw -Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology
Constitution Papers 1
CD-ROM disc known to translate acceptably2 and easily to voice
output:
Grolier's Encyclopedia
CD-ROM discs known to successfully translate Braille output with
some effort:3
Physicians Desk Reference
Microsoft Bookshelf
1Translates easily, but will need a form cover letter, telling
Braille reader that the document contains some irrelevant notations
unrecognizable to the Braille translating program and therefore
non-translatable to Braille.
2By acceptable it is meant of a quality that is easily understood
when recorded. The screen reader will read anything on a PC screen.
Its limits are that it will only pronounce words as it was
programmed to, and it needs a clean "non-glitzy" screen without
multiple pull down menus or windows. If a visually or physically
impaired reader were accessing the PC directly, all CD's would be
acceptable as he/she could have the screen reader spell the words
or repeat them (a mouse would be helpful in this case). The McGraw
Hill Science & Technology CD reads very well, but has serious
problems with scientific words which tend to defy programmed
algorithms.
3The Braille translator will get "hung up" with a cluttered or
visually appealing screen. For Braille output, the document must be
cleaned up (to remove items such as multiple asterisks or
paragraph notations) through a word pocessing program. If the
patron were to directly interact with the PC, a Braille mouse
would make all the above CD titles readable in Braille.
insert Conversion Guideline's -
figure 2
It appears that all CD-ROM programs available can easily
be printed in large print, on an independently controlled laser
printer. Being able to offer patrons large print will break down
the first barrier for visually impaired readers, a population that
will grow larger as the population continues to age. Additionally,
all CD-ROM titles will aide users who are physically impaired and
able to come into the library, as they, with the use of even one
finger or dexterity with a mouth stick, can do complex searches
using computer keys to turn the pages of the CD-ROM title.
The things to be aware of when searching out new CD-ROM titles for
translations purposes are:
1. The program should have an straightforward method of gathering
and saving desired text onto your hard disk. A product which
allows you to print to a disk file is ideal.
2. The text should read left to right, top to bottom as opposed
to wrapping columns.
3. The screen should be clean or "bland"; devoid of, for
example multiple asterisks, dashes, or highlighted bars.
4. A single menu format is preferred by the visually impaired
user rather than one with overlapping menus.
Admittedly there are still glitches in translating some of the
CD's, but you will find that you, rather than your print impaired
patron will be the harshest critic. The visually impaired desire
the ability to continue to access current information and will say
the information is on target with his or her needs. The Braille
reader will be especially appreciative, 30 years between
encyclopedias is reason enough for coping with quirks!
------- End of Blind-Carbon-Copy