How does Norwich's Otis Library help its blind and visually impaired patrons?
While there are many ways blind and visually impaired people can enjoy reading, one of the most prolific ways is through the Connecticut Library for Accessible Books (CTLAB).
CTLAB and the South East CT Community Center of the Blind visited Otis Library Friday to explain services to help blind and visually impaired people read.
Access to reading is just as important to visually impaired people as it is for anyone else, in order to learn about history, culture and more, Kevin Harkins, board vice president of the Center of the Blind, said.
“It’s vital to them being integrated into society and having the same opportunities to be educated and enrich their lives as anyone else,” Harkins, who is also blind, said.
Reading aids also matter for people who have reduced or no vision later in life. This is the case for Center of the Blind Board Secretary Tammy Paradis, who is losing her vision due to Usher Syndrome. She uses audiobooks, she said.
“It’s wonderful to learn and enlighten myself,” she said.
Otis Library services for the visually impaired
Efforts to get blind and vison-impaired people reading helps prevent a feeling of isolation due to the disability, Library Director Cathleen Special said.
“We want to connect them with people and other resources that are available,” she said.
Beyond working with CTLAB, Otis Library has its own collection of audiobooks and large-print books. Magnifiers can also be checked out, and there’s an Optelect text-to-speech reader, Special said.
Otis Library is handicapped accessible, and the library also wants to improve accessibility for deaf and hard of hearing individuals, Special said.
What is CTLAB?
CTLAB is the Connecticut branch of the Library of Congress’ National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled. CTLAB can lend books and magazines in audio and braille formats for free to any Connecticut resident who is blind or otherwise unable to read printed material, according to a flyer from the organization.
Materials can be distributed through the mail or digitally. Formats include braille books, audio book, and electronic braille books, which has a refreshable braille display, CTLAB Director Matt Geeza said
The program has over 5,000 clients in Connecticut. Clients can get five braille books to keep per month, or borrow 18 physical audiobooks at a time. The Braille and Audio Reading Download digital service lets people download hundreds of audiobooks a month, Geeza said.
Applicants for CTLAB can get a form on the CTLAB website, from their local library, or from The Center of the Blind. Within days, CTLAB will provide services to people. All clients are assigned to a reading advisor for customer support, from book requests to technical issues, Geeza said.
Preference for braille versus audiobooks is a personal preference, Harkins said
Supporting others
Paradis also finds herself reaching out to other people who are losing their vision later in life. As conditions like macular degeneration become more common, the need for these services will grow.
“You can be sighted all of your life and all of a sudden you’re losing your vision, and you think your world is coming to an end,” she said. “No, it’s not.”
About The Center of the Blind
The Center of the Blind, based out of New London, also organizes volunteers for transportation, holds social events, operates a store selling items to help visually-impaired people, and more. Membership is $25 a year, and anyone can join. The organization is looking for more drivers, More information can be found on the Center of the Blind website or by calling 860-447-2048.
This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Otis Library in Norwich CT helps blind readers with braille books
