More Information Sources on AT for the Blind

Citation

Johnson, D. and Chong, C. (2000), "More Information Sources on AT for the Blind", Library Hi Tech News, Vol. 17 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/lhtn.2000.23917aad.001

More Information Sources on AT for the Blind

David Johnson, Column Editor

More Information Sources on AT for the Blind

David Johnson and Curtis Chong

[Ed.: "EASI Access to Library Automation," a regular feature of Library Hi Tech News, examines new technology, information sources and services, and other news of interest to librarians concerned with providing quality services to their patrons with disabilities. EASI (Equal Access to Software and Information), in affiliation with the American Association of Higher Education (AAHE), is concerned with new and emerging technologies for computer users with disabilities. For the second portion of this month's column, I have invited Curtis Chong, technology director for the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), to write about the NFB's International Braille and Technology Center.]

Access World: A Consumer Reports for AT

David Johnson

Many people have regretted the lack of a Consumer Reports-type source for assistive technology (AT). There are some very good sources of AT product information, several of which have been profiled in this column (Deines-Jones, 1997), but most of them list product features and/or provide advice on what type of product would be suitable for someone with a given disability. These are useful services, but it would also be great to have an objective source that would evaluate and compare particular models. When I searched in Abledata recently for page turners, for example, I found listings for 29 items; each listing had a product description supplied by the manufacturer, along with contact information. These product descriptions can help you to identify devices worth further investigation, but the descriptions may leave you slightly bewildered if only because there are so many products to choose from.

So why is there not a Consumer Reports for AT? A few years ago, Access to Living carried an article by the project director for Abledata focusing on this question (Halverson, 1997). (The publication of this article in Access to Living was ironic in a way, since Access to Living has itself been described as a Consumer Reports for people with disabilities. However, while Access to Living contains much product information, it does not do comparative product testing.) This author identified three reasons for the lack:

1. 1.

   too small a market;

2. 2.

   no good source of funding;

3. 3.

   fear of liability suits.

Reason (2) may be the key: Consumer Reports is funded by consumers/subscribers, but AT consumers often have lower-than-average incomes, so most AT information sources are funded by the government, which prefers to be neutral in the marketplace.

Nonetheless, product evaluations appear to be more readily available for blindness-related products than for other types of AT. Both the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) and the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) make product evaluations available, and in January 2000 the AFB will launch a new bimonthly called Access World, which is intended to be a Consumer Reports for products for the blind and visually impaired.

Access World will expand upon the product reviews that appear regularly in The Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness (the AFB's monthly journal). The reviewers test products in performance of various tasks, and if the product is computer-related they test it with multiple computer systems. The reviews typically discuss a single model, rather than covering most of the available models for a product category, the way Consumer Reports articles do, so if you want to compare products you may need to read a set of reviews, which can be obtained from the AFB Technology Center on request (e-mail techctr@afb.net).

As of the time of writing, a preview issue of Access World is available on the AFT Web site ( http://www.afb.org/accessworld.html). This issue includes an evaluation of Henter-Joyce's MAGic for Windows NT, and a comparison of the IBM Home Page Reader and The Productivity Works' Web Speak. In addition to product evaluations, it also contains announcements about new products and other news from the AT industry, a calendar of conferences, and a question-and-answer page. It looks promising, and one can only hope that organizations in other disability fields will find the resources to do something similar.

What Can the International Braille and Technology Center Do for Libraries?

Curtis Chong

The International Braille and Technology Center (IBTC) is operated by the National Federation of the Blind at its national headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland. When the Center was created in 1990, its mission was to obtain every Braille embosser in the world which could receive information from a computer. As the center has grown over the years, so has its mission. Today, the IBTC strives to have in-house every computer-driven Braille embosser, every English-speaking screen access system, every English-speaking optical character recognition (OCR) system, every refreshable Braille display, and every electronic note-taker that might be used by a person who is blind. With more than $2 million of hardware and software, the IBTC is the largest facility of its kind in the USA and the world.

How can the IBTC be of help to libraries? The IBTC serves as a demonstration, evaluation, and training center with emphasis on assistive technology for the blind. We have a tremendous wealth of knowledge and experience with screen access technology for the blind, Braille translation software, Braille embossers, programs that enable blind people to "surf the Web", and access strategies and techniques for blind people to use the Windows operating system and Windows applications. If you have a question about technology for the blind, including questions about what product or system is "the best", the IBTC is the place to call.

We often receive calls from libraries that want to set up blind-accessible workstations. In addition to answering callers' technical questions, we also raise an often-overlooked issue: training. For example, there is a variety of screen-reading programs for Windows, and no one single program is known by every blind computer user. No matter what talking program you install into an accessible workstation, you will find a blind patron who does not know how to use it. Either the patron has learned to use a different screen reader or the patron does not know how to use the computer. You may have installed the best screen reading and OCR system in the world, but if the patron does not know how to use it, the workstation is still just as inaccessible as if there were no assistive technology installed. Your library will need to consider what strategy it will use to teach blind patrons to use the "accessible" equipment. The IBTC can help you to develop the appropriate strategy.

Our Computer Resource List, which is updated every few months, lists many devices and programs (with approximate prices) that are helpful to the blind. For example, it contains lists of Braille embossers, refreshable Braille displays, tutorials for Windows, screen-reading programs for Windows, and print-reading systems. In addition, companies that market assistive technology for the blind are listed in alphabetical order at the end of the document. You can have our Computer Resource List sent to you via conventional mail, or you can download it off the Web at http://www.nfb.org/computer.htm

The IBTC has published a number of product evaluations. Articles by IBTC specialists have appeared in the Braille Monitor reviewing stand-alone reading machines and reading software that runs on a standard personal computer, as well as comparing the "true" speeds of various Braille embossers. Copies may be obtained from the center, but because technology changes so rapidly, and evaluations published months or years ago are likely to be outdated, we recommend that if you want to get a "real-time" evaluation of a specific product or a comparison of products based on our most current experience, you contact us via telephone, letter, or e-mail.

The supervisor of the International Braille and Technology Center is Richard Ring, who can be reached from 12.30 p.m. to 5.00 p.m. Eastern time at (410) 659-9314, or via e-mail at nfb@iamdigex.net

For more information on Access World contact the AFB Press/ Subscription Services, 450 Fame Avenue, Hanover, PA 17331; (888) 522-0220, fax (717) 633-8920. The subscription price for Access World at the time of writing is $29.95 for six issues, with no hint on the AFT Web site of any special high rates for institutions. The AFB Technology Program Web page is http:\\www.afb.org/technology

Curtis Chong is Director of Technology for the National Federation of the Blind, Baltimore, MD. Chong99@concentric.net

David Johnson is Abstractor/ Information Specialist at the National Rehabilitation Information Center (NARIC), Silver Spring, MD. Readers with questions, comments, or suggestions may e-mail him at jdivad@aol.com