Assistive technology

1. Assistive technology Technology to assist patrons and staff who are deaf, hard-of-hearing, blind, have low vision, or are mobility-impaired LIS 670

2. Laws Prohibited discrimination on basis of race, religion, national origin. Language model for later legislation Civil Rights Act of 1964 Architectural Barriers Act of 1968 Federal buildings must be accessible to persons with disabilities. Section 508 (added 1998) mandates accessibility of electronic and info. tech. Rehabilitation Act of 1973 Signed into law by Pres. George Bush (Sr.) on July 26, 1990. Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

3. Laws Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1975

4. Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 - findings (1) Codified as 42 U.S.C. 12101-12213 43 million Americans have one or more physical or mental disability Historically, society has tended to isolate individuals with disabilities http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/42/ch126.html

5. Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 - findings (2) Discrimination against individuals with disabilities persists in employment, housing, public accommodations, education, transportation, etc. Need for legal recourse to redress such discrimination

6. Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 - purpose (1) Provide national mandate for elimination of discrimination against individuals with disabilities Provide consistent, enforceable standards addressing discrimination against individuals with disabilities

7. Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 - purpose (2) Ensure Federal Government plays a central role in enforcing standards Invoke congressional authority to address the major areas of discrimination faced day-to-day by people with disabilities

8. Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 “No covered entity shall discriminate against a qualified individual with a disability because of the disability of such individual in regard to job application procedures, the hiring, advancement, or discharge of employees, employee compensation ...” Title I: Employment Must hire person who is blind to drive bookmobile? No Automatically disqualify person with low vision from cataloging? No

9. Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 Title I: Employment Automatically disqualify person with low vision from cataloging? No

10. Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 Title II: State and local government activities & public transportation Title III: Public accommodations and services operated by private entities (including libraries)

11. Disability - ADA definition 42 U.S.C. 12102 • A physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of the individual • A record of such an impairment; or • Being regarded as having such an impairment Note: B and C related to ability to seek redress for discrimination

12. ADA Amendments Act of 2008 FINDINGS “... the holdings of the Supreme Court ... have narrowed the broad scope of protection intended to be afforded by the ADA, thus eliminating protection for many individuals whom Congress intended to protect ... ”

13. ADA Amendments Act of 2008 “to reject the requirement enunciated by the Supreme Court in Sutton v. United Air Lines ... that whether an impairment substantially limits a major life activity is to be determined with reference to the ameliorative effects of mitigating measures; ” “to reject the Supreme Court's reasoning in Sutton v. United Air Lines...” “to reject the standards enunciated by the Supreme Court in Toyota Motor Manufacturing...”

14. ADA Amendments Act of 2008 “Major life activities.-- "(A) In general.--For purposes of paragraph (1), major life activities include, but are not limited to, caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating, and working. "(B) Major bodily functions.--For purposes of paragraph (1), a major life activity also includes the operation of a major bodily function, including but not limited to, functions of the immune system, normal cell growth, digestive, bowel, bladder, neurological, brain, respiratory, circulatory, endocrine, and reproductive functions. ”

15. ADA Amendments Act of 2008 “The definition of disability in this Act shall be construed in favor of broad coverage of individuals under this Act... ”

16. ADA Amendments Act of 2008 “The determination of whether an impairment substantially limits a major life activity shall be made without regard to the ameliorative effects of mitigating measures such as-- "(I) medication, medical supplies, equipment, or appliances, low-vision devices (which do not include ordinary eyeglasses or contact lenses), prosthetics including limbs and devices, hearing aids and cochlear implants or other implantable hearing devices, mobility devices, or oxygen therapy equipment and supplies; "(II) use of assistive technology; "(III) reasonable accommodations or auxiliary aids or services; or "(IV) learned behavioral or adaptive neurological modifications. ” http://www.access-board.gov/about/laws/ada-amendments.htm

17. Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA) “The law forbids discrimination on the basis of genetic information when it comes to any aspect of employment, including hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoffs, training, fringe benefits, or any other term or condition of employment.”

18. Reasonable accommodation 42 U.S.C. 12111 (9) • Making existing facilities used by employees readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities; and • Job restructuring … acquisition or modification of equipment or devices Note: Without undue hardship ("requiring significant difficulty or expense when considered in light of overall financial resources of the facility, type of operations, etc.")

19. ADA Home Page http://www.ada.gov/

20. http://www.ada.gov/stdspdf.htm

21. ADA Standards for Accessible Design 28 Code of Regulations (CFR) Part 36 Appendix A Sets forth guidelines for ramps, doorways, drinking fountains, bathroom facilities, aisle widths, signage, etc. http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/stdspdf.htm

22. ADA Standards for Accessible Design

23. ADA Standards for Accessible Design 4.4 Protruding Objects. “Objects projecting from walls (for example, telephones) with their leading edges between 27 in and 80 in (685 mm and 2030 mm) above the finished floor shall protrude no more than 4 in (100 mm) into walks, halls, corridors, passageways, or aisles”

24. ADA Standards for Accessible Design

25. ALA Library Services for People with Disabilities Policy Resolution (1) Approved January 16, 2001 "Libraries play a catalytic role in the lives of people with disabilities by facilitating their full participation in society."

26. ALA Library Services for People with Disabilities Policy Resolution (2) " Libraries should use strategies based upon the principles of universal design to ensure that library policy, resources, and services meet the needs of all people." http://www.ala.org/ala/ascla/asclaissues/libraryservices.htm

27. Technology for persons with vision problems

28. Technology for persons with vision impairments Keyboards not standardized (Where's the backslash key?) Input problems Mouse, trackball, touch pad and touch screen require user to see cursor or mouse indicator on screen

29. Technology for persons with vision impairments Enhanced keyboards Input solutions Optical scanners Talking screen programs Voice recognition systems

30. Enhanced keyboards Add-on orientation or Braille dots Large-letter keys Braille keyboards

31. Braille keyboard http://www.sighted.com/english/elba2003.html

32. Optical scanners Used with optical character recognition programs Talking book technology can be used to create files that can then be taken home by the user and read on his or her machine $2,595.00

33. Scanned text with voice synthesizer technology Proposition: IS THERE A SANTA CLAUS? As a result of an overwhelming lack of requests, and with research help from that renown scientific journal SPY magazine (January, 1990) - I am pleased to present the annual scientific inquiry into Santa Claus. 1. No known species of reindeer can fly. BUT there are 300,000 species of living organisms yet to be classified, and while most of these are insects and germs, this does not COMPLETELY rule out flying reindeer which only Santa has ever seen… http://www.kurzweiledu.com/files/santa-kate-200.mp3

34. Talking screen in concert with traditional input devices Use traditional mouse, trackball, or touch pad but talking screen program lets user know where cursor is on the screen

35. Voice recognition systems Good for staff workstations Not as good for public terminals (requires "training" the software to recognize individual speech patterns)

36. Technology for persons with vision impairments Textual or graphic monitor displays Output problems Textual or graphic printouts

37. Technology for persons with low vision Screen magnification Output solutions Some people have a reduced field of vision. Decreasing the size of the text helps them to see more of the text on the page. Software to change color or contrast Large- or small-text printers

38. Changing contrast with XP

39. Changing contrast with XP (2)

40. Changing contrast with XP (3)

41. Changing contrast with XP (4)

42. Screen magnification with XP (1)

43. Screen magnification with XP (2)

44. Windows 8

45. Windows 8

46. Windows 8

47. Technology persons who are blind Voice synthesizers Output solutions Tactile output Braille printers Braille displays

48. Microsoft narrator Start  Run  type “narrator”

49. Refreshable Braille display

50. Refreshable Tactile graphic display