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This flier is also available in Chinese, Spanish, Vietnamese or Braille. All Versions except Braille are on the library's website at oaklandlibrary.org, under Disability Services.

Library users who are deaf, hard of hearing, or who have speech disorders can call the REFERENCE SERVICES TTY at 834-7446 with reference questions or with questions about library holdings and library services.

Library users can also use the CALIFORNIA RELAY SERVICE to call the library. (1-800-735-2929 TTY, 1-800-735-2922 Voice, or just dial 711) Callers are connected to an operator who, using a TTY, can transmit spoken words to a recipient with a TTY, or vice versa. There is also Speech to Speech, or STS, a form of Relay Services that provides Communications Assistants (CAs) for people with speech disabilities who have difficulty being understood on the phone. (1-800-854-7784, or 711)

There is a PUBLIC PAY TTY in the Main Library’s lobby, on the first floor. There is also one at the Rockridge branch.

The library sponsors annual Deaf Culture celebrationS, usually a reading by local Deaf writers, performers, or storytellers.

CAPTIONED VIDEOS were earlier labeled on the spine. This is no longer done because all commercial videos now are captioned.

A PHONIC EAR listening assistive system is available for use at library-sponsored programs, with 5 working days advance notice. This is for the hard of hearing. 

SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETERS, REAL-TIME CAPTIONING, or AUDIO TRANSLATION are available also for library-sponsored programs, with 5 working days advance notice.

• There is a Sorenson VideoPHONE or VRS station in the Magazine and Newspaper Room at the Main Library. People who are deaf can telephone others using a television and a camera. They can call using sign language, either to a hearing recipient using a relay operator, or to someone else deaf who has a VRS set up. Use of the Sorenson videophone for ½ hour, more than ½ hour only if no one else is waiting to use it. The maximum use per person is one hour a day.

ROLLATORS (walkers) are available at the Main Library for use within the library. They are equipped with a large basket for carrying library materials to the checkout desk, plus they all come with a seat and backrest when one might need to take a break.

Adaptive technology station at the Main Library is in the “Kurzweil Room” across from the circulation desk. To schedule training on any of the technologies (except JAWS), call Lynne Cutler at voicemail 238-4974. Workstations include sit-stand tables, JAWS, ZoomText, Kurzweil 1000 and 3000, Inspiration, Internet, word processing, and library catalogs. To use the computer you need your library card and a pin number. Computers can be reserved three days in advance. Maximum 2 hours per day. (* Find out how to use it for the second hour on the last page of this flier)

These full workstations are also at five branches: DIMOND, EASTMONT, KING, ROCKRIDGE, and WEST. Please call each branch individually about training and use policies. Maximum 2 hours per day.

There is also a LOW VISION/MOBILITY COMPUTER in the Main Library Computer Lab. This has a height-adjustable table, a BigKeys keyboard, a large trackball, ZoomText with speech output, and access to the Internet or word processing. Headphones are available from the Computer Lab Monitor. Maximum 2 hours per day.

JAWS is a screen reader, reading aloud information from the computer screen. Ask for a list of available off-site training.

ZOOMTEXT is a magnification and reading software, magnifying and reading information from the computer screen.

KURZWEIL 1000 READING MACHINE for blind users can scan and read a book aloud in English, Spanish, French, Russian, German or Italian.

KURZWEIL 3000 is a reading program for people with learning disabilities. This machine scans a text or the Internet and reads it aloud at the same time as it displays it on the monitor. It includes a dictionary and many study aids. It also will scan and read in other languages. This is now at all library sites.

WYNN (What You Need Now) is a similar reading program on computer for those with learning disabilities. It is in the Main Library’s TeenZone. Call 238-7322 for training and hours. A CD-ROM is available for use on this computer, called Open Futures: Role Models for Youth with Disabilities.

INSPIRATION software is installed in the Kurzweil room and the TeenZone at Main, and at the four branches with teen librarians: Chávez, Dimond, Eastmont and Rockridge. Inspiration helps 6th to 12th grade students. Students build graphic organizers to represent concepts and relationships and use the integrated outlining capability to further organize ideas for reports.

A collection of materials on learning disabilities, including autism and Asperger’s, is at the Main Library and in the Teen collections. This includes the 22-video set by Melvin Levine called Developing Minds.

The Library owns AUDIO TUTORIALS to teach blind and low-vision users how to use computers, word processing, and the Internet. They are in the Kurzweil room at the Main Library.

A Perkins Brailler, a BRAILLE TYPEWRITER, is available for public use at the Main Library. Call 238-4974 to schedule use.

A BRAILLE THERMOFORM machine is also available. This copies Braille to Braille, like a Xerox copy machine. Call 238-4974 to schedule use.

VIDEO MAGNIFIERS (CCTVs) are available at the Main Library in the Art, Music, History & Literature Section, and at five branches: Dimond, Eastmont, Rockridge, West, and King.

Printed material and objects can be placed under a camera and the magnified image is displayed on a screen. It does not interface with a computer, but allows you to magnify books, letters, or any other text. (An older CCTV is on the second floor of the Main Library in the Magazine and Newspaper Room.)

Catalogs and applications to borrow free recorded and Braille materials from the California State Library Braille and Talking Book Library are in the Art, Music, History and Literature Section at the Main Library. Applications are also available at each branch or online at www.library.ca.gov

The library owns many DESCRIPTIVE VIDEOS. These are for people who are blind or who have low vision. A narrative description of the action has been inserted into the original soundtrack and picture. Unlike other videos, these go out for three weeks and can be reserved and sent to any branch.

There is a collection of books in LARGE TYPE.

Pictograms representing the Dewey Decimal System are mounted on the bookshelves at the Main Library, including the Children’s Room and the Teen Zone. These were designed as universal access, to aid those with learning disabilities and others, such as non-native English speakers.

The library has many BOOKS AND MAGAZINES relating

to disabilities. Some magazines are Braille Forum, New Mobility, and Disability Rag. Matilda Ziegler Magazine for the Blind and Choice Magazine are on audiotapes which may be checked out from AMHL at the Main Library.

The library owns several BI-FOLKAL KITS. These are multi-media kits used by activity directors to evoke memories in older adults. They can be found in the catalog by using Bi Folkal Productions as author, and can be placed on hold.

Second Start Adult Literacy is a local literacy provider that dispenses high-quality literacy services in our community. Second Start provides instruction, in a confidential setting, in which adults can learn to read, write and spell. They are accredited through ProLiteracy America as standing in the first rank of institutions for library literacy. Call 238-3432.

BOOKMOBILE service focuses on four main areas: neighborhood "street" stops including Emeryville and Piedmont, preschools and childcare centers, senior services such as retirement facilities, and rehab centers. They don’t visit individual homes, but individuals near their scheduled stops can go there. Call 238-6718 for a schedule or check the library’s web site.

The library offers EXTENDED SERVICES FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES. This includes expanded circulation parameters. See the Extended Services description and application. These applications are also available in Chinese, Spanish, Vietnamese, and Braille versions.

The Library offers E-ANSWERS SERVICE, an easy way to get brief answers to factual questions via e-mail. This service can be found on the library’s web site www.oaklandlibrary.org

Please feel free to call LYNNE CUTLER, with any questions, concerns, or suggestions. Lynne Cutler, Services for Persons with Disabilities and for Older Adults, Access Services, at 238-4974 (V) or 834-7446 (TTY), or email her at lcutler@oaklandlibrary.org

This flier is also available in Chinese, Spanish, Vietnamese or Braille. All Versions except Braille are on the library's website at oaklandlibrary.org, under Disability Services.

Information for library users with disabilities who may need two hours on the computers

Oakland Public Library, like many other public libraries in the Bay Area, recognizes that sometimes people with disabilities need more time on the computers. This could be due to a vision, hearing, physical or cognitive disability.

To become a 2-hour computer user, verification of disability is required. Verifications include: a disabled parking placard with the registration for that placard, a disabled transit pass such as the East Bay Paratransit Certification, a letter on an official letterhead from a doctor, social worker, registered nurse, psychologist, or learning disabilities, rehabilitation, or special education teacher. If verification is not for a permanent disability, verification will be required at the time of library card renewal.

Oakland Public Library staff at any check-out desk will issue you a temporary Telus patron ID for 999 days. (Telus is the software which limits computer use to one hour a day.)

You must keep the username and password issued to you for your 999 days, and use them every time you book a second hour on the computers. This will allow you 2 hours on a computer which has adaptive technology, or on any library Internet or word processing computer.

This second card cannot be used to check out materials. It is for your use only. The temporary ID will be revoked if given or loaned to another patron, or if library rules regarding computer use are broken.

October, 2007