Improving access for the sight impaired: Books in the Sky at the City of Burnside Library South Australia.The Books in the Sky technology is the first significant advance in providing books, magazines, newspapers, and community information in a simple to use, cost effective way, for the sight impaired. It has the potential to revolutionize rev·o·lu·tion·ize tr.v. rev·o·lu·tion·ized, rev·o·lu·tion·iz·ing, rev·o·lu·tion·iz·es 1. To bring about a radical change in: Television has revolutionized news coverage. 2. services and eventually replace talking books talk·ing book n. A recorded reading of a book, designed for use by the visually impaired. Talking Book Noun Trademark a recording of a book, designed to be used by the blind Noun on cassette tapes and cds. Edited version of a paper presented at the Alia pre conference seminar 'Library stars: best of the best' Perth WA Sept 2006 ********** The Books in the Sky project uses broadband technology broadband technology Telecommunications devices, lines, or technologies that allow communication over a wide band of frequencies, and especially over a range of frequencies divided into multiple independent channels for the simultaneous transmission of different signals. , a portable audio playback device and a content management system to create a cost effective, easy to use digital solution to providing books, magazines and newspapers to people with sight impairment Impairment 1. A reduction in a company's stated capital. 2. The total capital that is less than the par value of the company's capital stock. Notes: 1. This is usually reduced because of poorly estimated losses or gains. 2. . Books in the Sky makes it possible for any material in digital format, including books, magazines, newspapers, council minutes, and community information, to be accessed quickly and easily. The project has been developed in a partnership between the State Library of South Australia The State Library of South Australia is the official library of the Australian state of South Australia, located in Adelaide. It is the largest public research library in the state with a collection focus on South Australian information, and general reference material (Public Library Services), Royal Society for the Blind, local government (Burnside Library South Australia South Australia, state (1991 pop. 1,236,623), 380,070 sq mi (984,381 sq km), S central Australia. It is bounded on the S by the Indian Ocean. Kangaroo Island and many smaller islands off the south coast are included in the state. ) and Audio-Read (inventors of the technology). Books in the Sky leapfrogs existing technologies. Downloading of a book takes less than five minutes, and any number of people can access the same material at the same time. Local papers can be downloaded every day. The City of Burnside The City of Burnside is 10 minutes south east of Adelaide's CBD (Component Based Development) Building applications with components (objects). See component software. CBD - component based development . It covers 28 suburbs, 30 square kilometres Square kilometre (U.S. spelling: square kilometer), symbol km², is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of surface area, the square metre, one of the SI derived units. 1 km² is equal to:
retail outlet n → point m de vente retail outlet retail n → . Approximately 18 per cent of the population is aged over 65 years. Library facilities There is a main civic centre library and also a home library service. The Civic Centre Library is recognized as one of the leading libraries in South Australia and underwent a multimillion dollar renovation in 2000. In 2005/06 the library had over 310,000 visits and 770,000 loans. The service also issued over 9,000 cassette books to users with sight impairment. This high number of cassette book loans was a factor in the Burnside Library being chosen as the library to trial Books in the Sky. TheAudio-Read innovation The audio navigator is a patented device designed by Audio-Read. It can be easily operated by vision impaired people. Books from the Audio-Read catalogue can quickly and easily be loaded onto the navigator. Pod casts, newspapers, community information and music can also be added. The audio navigator has three levels of navigation control * level 1 is the library--where you browse through books, podcasts and newspapers that are loaded. * level 2 allows the user to select different chapters or sections of the selection made at level 1 * level 3 allows the user to move between paragraphs or pages of a book or sections of a newspaper When the navigator is turned on or off a message is heard. The navigator has a built in battery and when fully charged will play for 24 hours Adv. 1. for 24 hours - without stopping; "she worked around the clock" around the clock, round the clock . Data is transferred onto the navigator via USB USB in full Universal Serial Bus Type of serial bus that allows peripheral devices (disks, modems, printers, digitizers, data gloves, etc.) to be easily connected to a computer. cable. It is compatible with Windows, and Linux and Apple systems. There is a keypad A small keyboard or supplementary keyboard keys; for example, the keys on a calculator or the number/cursor cluster on a computer keyboard. See programmable keypad. lock, sleep function and it will power off after 20 minutes if no keys are pressed. Headphones Head-mounted speakers. Headphones have a strap that rests on top of the head, positioning a pair of speakers over both ears. For listening to music or monitoring live performances and audio tracks, both left and right channels are required. can be connected if required How Books in the Sky works at the Burnside Library The library's information desk has a computer with the Audio-Read catalogue and database loaded on to it. Users can come to the library and staff can load books onto their navigator as required. The process takes only a few minutes. Alternatively, some users feel comfortable fully utilizing the technology and do everything from home by contacting Audio-Read direct. Their request is processed and delivered to them via satellite. An innovative solution Books in the Sky solves problems relating to relating to relate prep → concernant relating to relate prep → bezüglich +gen, mit Bezug auf +acc cassette technology. Cassettes can be cumbersome, are difficult to replace when damaged, and expensive. Books In the Sky makes it possible for any material in digital format including books, newspapers, magazines, council information, learning materials, music and even podcasts to be quickly and easily accessed. It opens up a world that has been previously unavailable to people with sight impairment. The system permits multiple users to access the same digital text 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, allowing greater public access to resources. With cassettes or cds only one client can listen at a time. Books in the Sky has the added advantage of being able to bookmark A stored location for quick retrieval at a later date. Web browsers provide bookmarks that contain the addresses (URLs) of favorite sites. Most electronic references, large text databases and help systems provide bookmarks that mark a location users want to revisit in the future. , unlike other technology. It uses broadband technology and so can be available to anyone with access to the internet. An audio book can be downloaded in less than five minutes. Because it is digital there is no deterioration with repeated use. Resources and material can be shared and availability of audio selection in guaranteed. Community connection The initial trial of the technology was undertaken in partnership with the Royal Society for the Blind, Public Library Services South Australia and Audio-Read. Burnside was the only library selected for the first trial due to its high volume of cassette book loans A mix of Civic Centre Library and home library service clients were chosen to participate. These were existing users of the cassette book collections. Feedback was sought from participants and used to improve prototypes of the device and also service delivery. Library staff were responsible for the daily operation of the service, including downloading of the daily newspaper, selection of book titles, maintenance of navigators, and promotion of the technology. Creating value Books in the Sky assists sight impaired and people with poor mobility to access information and entertainment. The technology provides improved community access to a wider range of materials. The benefits are not just social, as the technology can also be used in the workplace which opens up possibilities for employers and employees. Books in the Sky provides potential financial savings to councils and libraries in not having to purchase, maintain or replace book cassettes--approximately $110 per book, plus staff time for processing and maintenance. It also has the potential to save library space. The Books in the Sky technology is the first significant advance in providing books, magazines, newspapers, and community information in a simple to use, cost effective way, for the sight impaired. It has the potential to revolutionize services and eventually replace talking books on cassette tapes and cds. Social isolation is reduced, and quality of life enhanced. Lindy lin·dy or Lin·dy n. pl. lin·dies A lively swing dance for couples. Also called lindy hop. [From Lindynickname of Charles Augustus Lindbergh. Hillman Hillman was a famous British automobile marque, manufactured by the Rootes Group. It was based in Ryton-on-Dunsmore, near Coventry, England, from 1907 to 1976. Before 1907 the company had built bicycles. Manager and Kyla Poyner Team leader Customer and Information Services See Information Systems. City of Burnside Library South Australia Lindy Hillman BA Library Studies is the library manager at the City of Burnside Public Library in South Australia. Address: City of Burnside Library PO Box 9 Glenside SA 5065 Tel(08)83664143 lhillman@burnside. sa.gov.au Kyla Poyner BA Library and Information Management is the customer and information services team leader at the City of Burnside Library. Address: City of Burnside Library PO Box 9 Glenside SA 5065 Tel(08)83664280 kpoyner@burnside.sa.gov.au Both Lindy and Kyla welcome enquiries about Books in the Sky |
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