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N ewsletter
February 2017

Ed i t or 's N ot e Pr ef ace

Dear f r i en d s,
Read i n g i s a m ean s of Access t o i n f or m at i on
l an gu age acqu i si t i on , Ar t i cl e 21 of Con v en t i on on t h e Ri gh t s of Per son s w i t h
com m u n i cat i on , an d of sh ar i n g Di sabi l i t i es ex p l i ci t l y st at es abou t Fr eed om of ex p r essi on
i n f or m at i on .Th e l i br ar y p l ay s a an d op i n i on , an d access t o i n f or m at i on
p i v ot al r ol e i n t h i s jou r n ey of
States Par ties sh al l tak e al l appr opr iate m easu r es to en su r e
acqu i r i n g k n ow l ed ge. Assi st i v e
th at per son s with disabil ities can exer cise th e r igh t to
Tech n ol ogy i s a boon t o al l w i t h
fr eedom of expr ession an d opin ion , in cl u din g th e fr eedom to
p r i n t -d i sabi l i t y i .e. w h o can n ot
seek , r eceive an d im par t in for m ation an d ideas on an equ al
ef f ect i v el y r ead p r i n t becau se of a
basis with oth er s an d th r ou gh al l for m s of com m u n ication of
v i su al , p h y si cal , p er cep t u al ,
th eir ch oice, as defin ed in ar ticl e 2 of th e pr esen t Con ven tion ,
d ev el op m en t al , cogn i t i v e, or
in cl u din g by:
l ear n i n g d i sabi l i t y ".
(a) Pr ovidin g in for m ation in ten ded for th e gen er al pu bl ic to
Th i s ed i t i on i s d ed i cat ed t o
per son s with disabil ities in accessibl e for m ats an d
i d eas on h ow accessi bl e l i br ar i es
tech n ol ogies appr opr iate to differ en t k in ds of disabil ities in a
can be cr eat ed t h u s en su r i n g t h at
tim el y m an n er an d with ou t addition al cost;
al l ci t i zen s, y ou n g an d ol d h av e
an equ al op p or t u n i t y i n t h ei r (b) Acceptin g an d facil itatin g th e u se of sign l an gu ages,
qu est f or l ear n i n g. Br ail l e, au gm en tative an d al ter n ative com m u n ication , an d al l
oth er accessibl e m ean s, m odes an d for m ats of
I al so w an t t o br i n g t o y ou r
com m u n ication of th eir ch oice by per son s with disabil ities in
n ot i ce t h at h en cef or t h al l t h e
official in ter action s;
ed i t i on s of Con n ect Sp eci al w i l l
be av ai l abl e on l i n e at (c) Ur gin g pr ivate en tities th at pr ovide ser vices to th e gen er al
h t t p :/ / i n f o.con n ect sp eci al .com / pu bl ic, in cl u din g th r ou gh th e In ter n et, to pr ovide in for m ation
an d ser vices in accessibl e an d u sabl e for m ats for per son s
So H ap p y Read i n g & sh ar i n g!!
with disabil ities;
Regar d s
(d) En cou r agin g th e m ass m edia, in cl u din g pr ovider s of
Bh av n a Bot t a in for m ation th r ou gh th e In ter n et, to m ak e th eir ser vices
accessibl e to per son s with disabil ities;
(e) Recogn izin g an d pr om otin g th e u se of sign l an gu ages.

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N ewsletter
February
Fr om t h e H ear t
K n ock ,k n ock ,y ou r book i s h er e ...
Dr .N am i t a Jacob
Tel l u s t h e n eed of a l i br ar y l i k e t h i s
Th e Ch etan a Accessibl e Ear l y Readin g l ibr ar y
was cr eated for ch il dr en wh ose im pair m en ts
m ak e it difficu l t to access typical l y avail abl e
stor y book s. In dia h as a r ich tr adition of or al
stor ytel l in g, bu t bein g captu r ed by book s - fil l ed
with il l u str ation s; stor ies r ich with
per son al ities, pl aces, an d al l k in ds of excitin g
even ts an d th in gs - th is is wh at pu l l s l ittl e k ids
to wan tin g to r ead.
On h om e visits, I r eal ized th at ch il dr en with
disabil ities, r egar dl ess of wh at str ata of society
th ey com e fr om , r ar el y h ad or en joyed book s -
book s th ey cou l d l eaf th r ou gh th em sel ves,
book s th ey r ecogn ized, a favor ite stor y book .
Pr e r eader s becom e em er gin g r eader s as th ey
por e over th e sam e l ar ge br igh t col or ed stor y
book s again an d again an d th at ear l y
excitem en t an d l ove of stor ies is wh at gets
ch il dr en to per sever e an d becom e su ccessfu l
ear l y r eader s
H ow i s t h i s d i f f er en t f r om ot h er l i br ar i es?
W h il e l ibr ar ies offer au dio book s an d br ail l e
book s, th er e ar e n o ser vices th at pr ovide for th e
r an ge of ch il dr en with disabil ities BEFORE th ey
ach ieve l iter acy.
Pl ease t el l u s abou t y ou r jou r n ey
Over th e year s, Ch etan a pion eer ed m an y
effor ts to r aise awar en ess of th is n eed - we
wr ote an d pu bl ish ed ou r own stor y book ; we
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par tn er ed with Tu l ik a Pu bl ish er s an d m ade five
of th eir titl es accessibl e. W e tested accessibl e
stor y book s in h om es, in sch ool s an d acr oss
disabil ities an d wr ote ar ticl es, con du cted
r esear ch an d r an wor k sh ops on th e im por tan ce
of h avin g m an y sen sor y el em en ts in book s. W e
discover ed again an d again , th at tou ch
par ticu l ar l y was an in cr edibl y power fu l tool of
en gagem en t an d u n der stan din g for ALL
ch il dr en - n ot ju st th ose with vision
im pair m en t.
H ow d o y ou sel ect a book an d can y ou ad ap t
an y st or y book ?
Cr eatin g a book th at is accessibl e is an
expen sive an d tim e con su m in g task . . Adaptin g
a book so th at a ch il d m ay access it r equ ir es
k n owl edge, in gen u ity an d a l ot of th in k in g an d
pl an n in g.
Th e M ar r ak esh Tr eaty per m its u s to adapt a
book with ou t specific per m ission of th e au th or
or pu bl ish er in or der to m ak e it accessibl e to
in dividu al s with disabil ities. To ou r way of
th in k in g, th is pl aces a ver y big r espon sibil ity on
u s to be r espectfu l of th e au th or ,il l u str ator an d
pu bl ish er an d al l th at th ey h ave pu t in to
cr eatin g a won der fu l stor y. W e r eceive book
r ecom m en dation s fr om k ids an d fr om par en ts
of ch il dr en with disabil ities.
W h at i s t h e p r ocess of m ak i n g t h em
accessi bl e?
W e wor k steadil y with ou r vol u n teer s to cr eate
m or e book s ever y m on th , an d wh il e th e wor k
in vol ved is n ot easy,th e feedback fr om th e
ch il dr en , th eir par en ts an d teach er s tel l s u s it is
cer tain l y wor th it. Ou r en gagem en t with
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N ewsletter
February 2017

in depen den t ar tists, au th or s an d pu bl ish in g th e im por tan t r ol e th ese book s pl ay in al l owin g

h ou ses, Visu al Ar ts col l eges h as been r ich l y par en ts with disabil ity r ead to th eir ch il dr en . It
r ewar din g an d at l east in Ch en n ai, fr om th e car is ou r dr eam to bu il d a r ich r esou r ce of ear l y
seat gu ys of Royapettah to th e r oadside tail or in book s for ch il dr en with disabil ities an d fin al l y
M yl apor e, th e stick er sh op fol k an d th e paper on e day,to en cou r age al l pu bl ic l ibr ar ies to
str eet in Par r y's.... th ey al l k n ow a l ot abou t cr eate th e sam e, so an y ch il d (or adu l t) m ay be
disabil ity th an k s to th is wor k ! abl e to h ave th e pl easu r e of r eadin g a l ittl e k id's
A good book dr aws a ch il d in to an oth er book .
wor l d, or in to an exper ien ce an d expl or ation W e th er efor e decided to expl or e th e
th at is r ich an d excitin g. W e tr y to h ave a idea of a l ibr ar y. Ou r par tn er Littl e Spar k s h el ps
bal an ce of In dian an d for eign au th or s an d tr y u s with del iver ies an d m ain tain in g th e
to en su r e th at we h ave Tam il an d En gl ish book s m em ber sh ip l ist. Ou r m em ber s ar e th r il l ed to
H ow l on g d oes i t t ak e t o m ak e a book be h an ded th eir l ittl e col or ed bags with th eir
accessi bl e ? book s of th e m on th an d par en ts ar e as excited
as th eir ch il dr en as th e k n ock on th e door each
On ce a r ecom m en dation or a su ggestion m on th br in gs n ew su r pr ises.
com es we eith er pu r ch ase or ar e given at l east
on e copy of th e or igin al book . Th e possibil ities
of each book ar e expl or ed an d a team of peopl e
m eet to discu ss h ow we m ay m ak e th e book
accessibl e acr oss var iou s access issu es.
Som etim es we m ak e sever al copies of th e sam e
book , each on e accom m odatin g som e specific
difficu l ty.
W e m ay sim pl ify th e stor y to m ak e it
accessibl e to a ch il d with in tel l ectu al
im pair m en t or r em ove el em en ts of th e im ages
to m ak e it visibl e to ch il d with l ow vision . W ith
each book , a gr ou p com pr isin g of peopl e fr om
differ en t fiel ds of disabil ity,edu cation , wr itin g
an d even l aw, tal k th r ou gh each ch an ge, Dr . N am ita Jacob is special
exam in in g its pu r pose an d con sider in g h ow it education consultant and
m ay be don e m ost effectivel y. an exper t in the field of
I t ?s ex ci t i n g n ew s t h at t h er e i s a d oor m ultiple disabilities with
d el i v er y ser v i ce av ai l abl e f or t h i s visual im pair m ent . She is
i n t er est i n g l i br ar y the dir ector of Chetana
Char itable Tr ust, Chennai.
Al th ou gh we began th is jou r n ey th in k in g of th e
ch il d, we wer e gen tl y r em in ded by a fath er ,of
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N ewsletter
February
A Poi n t To N ot e
I n cl u si v e L i br ar i es ? Ri gh t t o
k n ow l ed ge an d sel f -l ear n i n g
-Sh an k ar Su bbi ah
Libr ar ies ar e th e m ost
im por tan t poin t of access or gateway for
k n owl edge acqu isition , r esear ch ,
sel f-devel opm en t an d oppor tu n ities for
stu den t com m u n ity. Th ou gh In ter n et ser ves
th e r equ ir em en t, Libr ar ies pr ovide a gu ided
tou r towar ds k n owl edge in an or gan ized way,
qu ick to k n ow, en abl ed by th e ser vices of
exper ien ced an d tr ain ed l ibr ar ian s savin g tim e
an d effor ts especial l y with n o distr action s or
diver sification ch an ces fr om th e focal poin t. ,
Today,gath er in g in for m ation an d
k n owl edge acqu isition h as becom e a
ph en om en on in stu dies, em pl oym en t, l eisu r e,
wh y n ot in al l wal k s of l ife fr om ch il dh ood.
Per son s with disabil ities h ave special
r equ ir em en ts in th is pr ocess.
Access to l ibr ar ies pr ovide th e fir st
step bu t th at is n ot to be con ten ded with .
Pr ovidin g a r am p, wh eel ch air facil ity for
per son s with difficu l ties in m obil ity,or a gu ided
path way for th ose with visu al im pair m en t, easy
to r em em ber ,accessibl e r esou r ce or gan ization
for ch il dr en an d oth er s with in tel l ectu al an d
l ear n in g difficu l ties, can be th e n ext step
towar ds m ak in g l ibr ar ies in cl u sive.
Th e vast r esou r ce of k n owl edge in th e
for m of book s, per iodical s, n ewspaper s,
jou r n al s, r efer en ce stu dy m ater ial s, sel f
edu cative an d pr epar ator y m ater ial s of th e
k n owl edge war eh ou se, al on g with col l ection s
stor ed in digital for m ats accessibl e by
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com pu ter s, an d n etwor k in g is al so r equ ir ed to
be accessibl e to pr ogr ess fu r th er. Fin al l y,th e
social attitu de in th e l ibr ar y ser vices offer ed
br idges th e l ast m il e con n ectivity to th e
in cl u sive setu p.
W h en a per son is en abl ed, h is fam il y is. W h en
a fam il y is en abl ed, th e com m u n ity is, W h en a
com m u n ity is en abl ed, th e cou n tr y is
em power ed goes th e fam ou s Tam il sayin g. Th e
r esou r ce pool s, Libr ar ies especial l y th ose
accessibl e to pu bl ic, in edu cation al in stitu tion s
an d or gan ization s sh al l n ot al on e ser ve th e
r igh t to k n owl edge acqu isition of th e
in dividu al , in tu r n pr ovides equ al oppor tu n ities
in en abl in g, con tr ibu tin g to th e gr owth of ou r
n ation
. In cl u sive l ibr ar ies cr eate a l ar ger im pact
on th e edu cation pr ocess of ch il dr en with
disabil ities towar ds ach ievin g th eir goal s in l ife
an d l ife l eadin g exper ien ces.
Who does i nclusi on benefi t ?
Accessibl e an d in cl u sive l ibr ar ies n ot on l y
addr ess th e in for m ation an d k n owl edge
r equ ir em en ts of per son s with pr in t disabil ities
(l ow vision , total bl in dn ess, deaf bl in d
con dition , r eadin g difficu l ties, sever e m otor
difficu l ties), bu t al so addr ess th e n eeds of th ose
with com m u n ication , in tel l ectu al an d
devel opm en tal disabil ities. An oth er
con sider abl e gr ou p of au dien ce is th e el der l y
per son s, pr egn an t wom en an d th ose with
h eal th con dition s.
St eps t owa r ds I nclusi ve Li br a r y
Establ ish in g an in cl u sive l ibr ar y or con ver tin g
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an existin g setu p for in cl u sion is a sim pl e th r ee
step appr oach to accessibil ity for al l .
Ph ysical Accessibil ity ,In tel l ectu al
Accessibil ity & Social Accessibil ity
Ph y si cal Accessi bi l i t y
A l ibr ar y m ay h ave in for m ative
r esou r ces in al l for m ats an d be accessibl e to
th r ou gh m oder n assistive m eth ods bu t an easy
ph ysical access en su r es th eir u sage, con tin u ed
k n owl edge acqu isition an d pu r pose of settin g
u p. In an in cl u sive l ibr ar y,ph ysical access
m ean t, an y per son ir r espective of th eir
ph ysical , sen sor y or cogn itive abil ities sh al l be
abl e to access an d u se al l section s of th e l ibr ar y
in depen den tl y,safel y an d com for tabl y.
W h il e discu ssin g abou t
ph ysical access in to a l ibr ar y,th er e ar e var iou s
com pon en ts of th e str u ctu r al in fr astr u ctu r e
th at n eed to be l ook ed at.
In cl u siven ess in str u ctu r e sh al l n ot
on l y ben efit peopl e with ph ysical im pair m en t,
bu t al so en abl es peopl e with sen sor y
ch al l en ges l ik e vision an d cogn itive disabil ities.
Th e steps ar e sim pl e an d can be con sider ed ar e
an accessi bl e en t r an ce an d easy to appr oach
path way for per son s with m obil ity,visu al
im pair m en ts an d el der l y per son s
easy t o n egot i at e p at h w i t h i n l i br ar y
sect i on s with ou t h ittin g again st obstacl es, book
r ack s or oth er im m ovabl e r esou r ces for
per son s with visu al im pair m en ts
w r i t t en i n st r u ct i on s or i n f or m at i on , easy t o
u n d er st an d si gn age, h el p d esk wh er ever
r equ ir ed for per son s with com m u n ication
disabil ities
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easy d i f f er en t i at i on by col or , or gan i zat i on of
book st ack s for per son s with cogn itive an d
l ear n in g difficu l ties
accessi bl e f u r n i t u r e an d ad ap t i v e t oi l et s for
per son s with m obil ity,visu al im pair m en ts,
h eal th con dition s, sh or t statu r e an d el der l y
per son s
secu r i t y an d em er gen cy al ar m s i n
accessi bl e m od e l ik e visu al l igh ts, vibr ator for
per son s with com m u n ication , au dio for visu al
disabil ities, easy to iden tify al ar m in g displ ays
for peopl e with cogn itive an d l ear n in g
difficu l ties
f ast er ex i t or a gu i d ed m od e ap p r oach f or
em er gen cy ev acu at i on fr om th e bu il din g
in fr astr u ctu r e
I n f or m at i on Accessi bi l i t y
Access to r esou r ces l ik e pr in ted book s,
n ewspaper s, m agazin es, per iodical s, jou r n al s,
au dio / video book s in th e for m of M P3, M P4
Digital for m at book s or as DAISY or e-for m atted
text book s in th e l ibr ar y becom es in cl u sive,
th en ever yon e can access in for m ation in a way
th ey cou l d easil y u n der stan d. In cl u din g
accessibl e r esou r ces, adaptation s in existin g
r eadin g pr ocess accom pl ish es th e above
objectives, l ik e.
M agn i f i cat i on ? for per son s with pr in t
disabil ities an d el der l y r equ ir e a m agn ified
view of r eadin g con ten ts, an d for few a col or
con tr ast m ode too.
Tool s l ik e h an d h el d m agn ifier s, CCTV
m agn ifier s, an d m agn ification u til ities in
com pu ter s / tabl ets for digital for m ats su ppor t
it.
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N ewsletter
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Scr een Read er Su p p or t ? Access to digital
for m at in for m ation in th e for m of e-Book s, soft
copy of book s as Texts, Docu m en ts, PDF an d
In ter n et for th e visu al l y ch al l en ged can be
accom pl ish ed by Scr een Readin g softwar e
in stal l ed in com pu ter s. Th e scr een r eadin g
softwar e u ses TTS (Text To Speech ) tech n ol ogy
l ik e NVDA, JAW S, Su per n ova con ver ts ever y
text, m en u , com m an ds visu al in th e com pu ter
scr een to au dio to h ear an d act. Scr een r eader s
for An dr oid an d iOS M obil e devices ar e par t of
Accessibil ity settin gs. Th ey ser ve for En gl ish ,
In dian an d oth er l an gu age con ten t in th e
wor l d.
Scan n i n g an d Read i n g ? W ith am ou n t of
k n owl edge avail abl e in pr in ted for m at, sm al l er
sized texts, col or ed con ten ts, to con ver t th em
in to digital for m at becom es an addition al task
an d tim e tak in g effor t. A scan n in g an d r eadin g
assistive tech n ol ogy scan s th e pr in ted book ,
Optical l y Recogn ize th e Ch ar acter s (OCR) an d
con ver t in to au dio for th ose with pr in t
disabil ities. Th e scan n in g an d r eadin g
tech n ol ogy is avail abl e as in depen den t r eadin g
tool s as wel l as softwar e in stal l ed in com pu ter s
equ ipped with a scan n er.
Br ai l l e, L ar ge Pr i n t an d Tact i l e Resou r ces ?
Br ail l e is a Six Dot ch ar acter sen sor y r eadin g
m eth od for per son s with visu al im pair m en ts.
An y text or gr aph ical r epr esen tation of r eadin g
m ater ial can be con ver ted in to Br ail l e. An d for
th ose with l ow vision an d r eadin g difficu l ties,
an d l ar ge pr in t ver sion s can ser ve th e pu r pose
of in for m ation access.
Book an d r efer en ce m ater ial s can be pr ovided
eith er as ph ysical r esou r ces l ik e Br ail l e book s
or in a digital way th r ou gh Ref r esh abl e Br ai l l e
Di sp l ay s con n ected with Com pu ter s or
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in depen den t Br ail l e Reader s th at can stor e
book con ten ts.
Tact i l e gr ap h i cs of pr in ted m aps, biol ogical
r epr esen tation s, oth er scien ce an d
m ath em atical objects of l ear n in g su ppor t easy
to feel , sen se, an d l ear n th r ou gh expl or ation .
Al t er n at e I n p u t Dev i ces ? Digital for m at
r esou r ces in in ter n et an d oth er n etwor k
en vir on m en t r equ ir e access to com pu ter s or
m obil e devices. An adaptive k eyboar d, m ou se
or con tact / n on -con tact switch con n ected can
ser ve access for per son s with m obil ity
im pair m en ts.
Al t er n at e For m at Ser v i ces ?Tal k in g Book s in
au dio for m ats or DAISY (Digital Accessibl e
In for m ation System ) / E-Pu b Text ar e best
com pan ion s for n avigatin g, r epetitive h ear in g
wh en th e k n owl edge r esou r ce is a digital
con ten t. On l in e accessibl e l ibr ar ies l ik e
Book sh ar e.or g, Su gam ya Pu stak al aya by DAISY
for u m an d Gover n m en t of In dia ser ve as
vol u m in ou s r epositor ies of su ch con ten t.
Accessi bl e W ebsi t e an d Di gi t al L i br ar y ?
W ebsite an d OPAC ser ve as th e gateway to th e
l ibr ar y for on l in e as wel l as distan t com m u n ity
to k n ow abou t its r esou r ce str en gth an d easy
n avigation to a par ticu l ar con ten t r equ ir ed.
W ebsites of th e l ibr ar y or th e digital l ibr ar y
m u st con for m to th e W eb Con ten t
Accessibil ity Gu idel in es (W CAG) 2.0 as
ou tl in ed by th e W or l d W ide W eb Con sor tiu m
(W 3C).
If an y in for m ator y r esou r ces ar e in r egion al
l an gu ages th en Un icode for m atted con ten t is
r equ ir ed for r eadin g assistive tech n ol ogy to
r ecogn ize th e fon t
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Soci al Accessi bi l i t y Ser vices act as a br idge
between th e r esou r ces an d th e u ser s. An
accessibl e ser vice an d com m u n ication setu p
en su r es th e goal s of in cl u sive l ibr ar y.
Et i qu et t es t r ai n i n g ? Libr ar ian s pl ay a m ajor
r ol e as in for m ation ser vice pr ovider s as wel l as
sou r cin g h an ds in a l ibr ar y. Th e staff an d
l ibr ar ian s h ave to be tr ain ed with adequ ate
k n owl edge on dail y l ife as wel l as r eadin g
access r equ ir em en ts of per son s with
disabil ities, h eal th con dition s, ch il dr en an d
el der l y per son s.
Tr ai n i n g on assi st i v e m et h od s an d t ool s ?
Tr ain in g for l ibr ar ian s an d ser vice staff
en h an ces th e ser vice an d tim e for easy access
to r esou r ces in an in cl u sive setu p Sp eci al
ser v i ces - Special ser vices l ik e ar r an gin g
wor k sh ops, pr ogr am m es on l atest tech n ol ogy
devel opm en ts, job al er ts, stu dy gu idan ce
sem in ar s, r eadin g session s can be or gan ized
with th e h el p of social or gan ization s, fil m s an d
stor ytel l in g activities ser ve to u til ize th e
r esou r ces avail abl e in Libr ar y an d en cou r age
m or e visits.
Gu i d ed r esou r ce v i si bi l i t y - Gu ided tou r s or
r esou r ce visibil ity th r ou gh n otice boar ds,
sign age displ ays, an d k n owl edge session s on
th e l ibr ar y at th e tim e of th eir m em ber sh ip as
wel l as u pdates on n ew r esou r ces, ser vices
su ppor t th e pr ocess. In for m ation book l ets in
accessibl e for m ats l ik e Br ail l e, Tactil e, an d
Au dio for r esou r ces, r u l es an d pr ocedu r es
fol l owed by th e l ibr ar y assist per son s with pr in t
disabil ities.
Goi n g an ex t r a m i l e ? Existin g h u m an
r esou r ce bl en ded with th e m oder n m ar k etin g
tech n iqu es l ik e Social m edia (Facebook ,
I ssu e 10
2017
Twitter ,Bl ogs) by pu bl ish in g th eir even ts,
activities an d m ak in g on l in e r esou r ces of
Gover n m en t, con du ctin g awar en ess wor k sh ops
am on g th e par en ts, ch il dr en as wel l as adu l ts on
disabil ities ir r espective of th e dem ogr aph y,
oth er Gover n m en t depar tm en ts ar e add on
ser vices to l ook u pon .
Conclusi on
Righ t to Edu cation (RTE) act in In dia as wel l as
th e cou n tr y sign in g in Un ited Nation s
Con ven tion on th e Righ ts for Per son s with
Disabil ities (UNCRPD), ar e m il eston es for
edu cation as wel l as l ife oppor tu n ities for
cr eatin g an in cl u sive society. In cl u sive Pu bl ic
Libr ar ies an d th ose in edu cation al in stitu tion s,
or gan ization s can m ak e th ese m il eston es
ach ieved in r eal ity. Let th e in cl u sive l ibr ar ies
m ak e al l th ose vast k n owl edge r esou r ces
avail abl e ph ysical as wel l as digital to ach ieve
ever yon e?s dr eam edu cation , en h an ced r eadin g
an d l ear n in g exper ien ce.
Sh an k ar Su bbi ah ,
DIRECTOR, AGATE
INFOTEK is a m u ch
sou gh t after Assistive
Tech n ol ogy Con su l tan t
7
 I ssu e 10

N ewsletter
February 2017

Tr en d i n g n ow

A r ead i n g p en can be a h el pfu l tool for a wide r an ge of u ser s, fr om

th ose with r ead i n g an d l ear n in g difficu l ties (par ticu l ar l y dysl exia) to
stu den ts an d bu sin ess tr avel er s l ook in g to wor k m or e efficien tl y.
M ost r ead i n g p en s h ave a scan n in g m ech an ism in pl ace of a p en tip.

Read it air m agn ifier is a poar tabl e u n it wh er e you sim pl y pl ace you r
docu m en t u n der th e cam er a, pr ess En ter on you r k eyboar d an d a few
secon ds l ater ,you r docu m en t is bein g r ead al ou d to you , in you r ch osen
text size, col ou r an d for m attin g.

Bl in d Reader is a device th at l ook s l ik e a sm ar tph on e bu t fu n ction s

l ik e a text-to-Br ail l e con ver ter. Sim pl y sk im it over th e paper
pu bl ication an d th e su r face tr an sfor m s to Br ail l e th at can be easil y
r ead. Sim pl e, effective an d por tabl e

A page tu r n er h el ps peopl e with m otor difficu l ty

Transforms your television into a visual aid! Place the ezRead? directly on
top of your reading material to display the magnified image in full color on
your television screen!

Tar Heel Reader is a wonderful free source of books for emergent and beginning readers. It
is now possible to convert a Tar Heel Reader book into a Pictello story and read it on your
iPad, iPhone or iPod touch!
http://www.assistiveware.com/tar-heel-reader-pictello-converter

8
 I ssu e 10

N ewsletter
February 2017

Sn ippet s
Book sh ar e is th e
wor l d?s l ar gest accessibl e
on l in e l ibr ar y for peopl e
with pr in t disabil ities.
Book Sh ar e In dia is
wor k in g to en abl e access
to r eadin g m ater ial s of al l
k in ds to pr in t disabl ed
in dividu al s,.
Su gam y a Pu st ak al ay a , In dia 's fir st an d
l ar gest col l ection of accessibl e book s. It is
a col l abor ative effor t of sever al
or gan ization s to en d th e book fam in e
faced by peopl e with pr in t disabil ities.
User s can access a col l ection of over 2,
30,000 book s.
It is a facil itatin g pl atfor m for pr odu cer s
of accessibl e book s to peopl e with pr in t
disabil ities.
Th e I n cl u si v e
Pu bl i sh i n g pr om otes
pu bl ish in g pr ocesses
th r ou gh wh ich pu bl ish er s
del iver "bor n accessibl e"
pu bl ication s th at ar e fu l l y
accessibl e to al l r eader s,
in cl u din g peopl e with
pr in t disabil ities.

Th e M ar r ak esh VI P Tr eat y is a tr eaty on copyr igh t adopted in M ar r ak esh , M or occo, on 28 Ju n e

2013. Th e tr eaty al l ows for copyr igh t exception s to facil itate th e cr eation of accessibl e ver sion s
of book s an d oth er copyr igh ted wor k s for visu al l y im pair ed per son s. In dia r atified th e tr eaty on
24 Ju l y 2014 an d was th e fir st cou n tr y to do so.

1.a scr een L et t er t o ed i t or

Cr oss con n ect
For su bscr i p t i on s,su ggest i on s,l et t er s
t o ed i t or -
bot t a.bh av n a@gm ai l .com
i n f o.con n ect sp eci al .com
m agn ifyin g
Dear editor ,
softwar e
Th is fir st edition of th is year is ver y u sefu l an d
2.easil y in for m ative,especial l y abou t th e in cl u sive
n avigate th e edu cation by th e M on for t Sch ool is r eal l y good
com pu ter an d wou l d l ik e to m or e abou t it. Th e n ews abou t
3.an el ectr on ic CAR is al so ver y in ter estin g an d wil l tr y to ch eck
m agn ifier th e u sabil ity of th e Softwar e.M ay be a sm al l
su ggestion :is it possibl e to al l ot som e space for
Special Edu cator s to sh ar e on l y abou t th eir
ch al l en ges an d sol u tion s th at th ey h ave adopted
in h is/ h er cl assr oom ?
r egar ds
Ragh u
Ed i t or -Th an k you Ragh u ,we wil l be h appy to
featu r e th is col u m n
9