CDNLAO Newsletter
No. 69, November/December 2010
The National Library of Australia aims to make its collections accessible to all Australians.
Over the last decade, the Library has implemented a series of building, service and policy improvements to facilitate access by people with a disability. These cover physical access to the building, devices to allow disabled users access to collection items, and improvements to the Library's website and remote access for users. The Library has also recently become a member of the Australian Network on Disability and is currently updating its Disability Action Plan.
Access to the Building
The Library provides dedicated parking facilities for people with a disability. Wheelchair access is available through all building entrances and courtesy wheelchairs are also available onsite. Wheelchair-accessible computers and desks are provided in each reading room and a wheelchair-accessible photocopier is available in the Library's Main Reading Room. Access to the information desk and the issues desk in the Main Reading Room are also designed for access by people in wheelchairs.
The Library's Theatre, where presentations and talks are often given on the Library's collection, is fitted with a hearing induction loop for improved sound quality for visitors with hearing aids.
Access to the Collection
- A number of visual and hearing aids are available for use in some of the reading rooms. In the Main Reading Room you can use:
- MyReader2 enlarger for magnifying images onto a computer screen
- JAWS screen-reading software
- computers with large screen and trackball mouse; and
- magnification aids, such as hand-held lenses.
- In the Newspapers and Microforms Reading Room you can use:
- computers with large screen and trackball mouse; and
- magnification aids.
Remote access and the Website
The Library's website is designed for access by people who cannot come to the Library. We regularly test our website for accessibility against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.0 (WCAG2.0) and continually introduce improvements as part of the Australian Government Web Accessibility National Transition Strategy.
Remote users who are not able to visit the National Library may search the Library's catalogue on our website to check details of the Library's holdings. Increasing numbers of collection items (including audio versions of some Oral History interviews) are available in digitised form for immediate online access.
The National Library also provides a toll-free Telephone Typewriter service (soon to be updated to the National Relay Service) for users with a hearing impairment, who wish to contact the Library.
National Braille Reserve Collection
The National Library of Australia also maintains the National Braille Reserve Collection. The books in this collection have been transferred to the National Library from braille libraries throughout Australia. It is a lending collection of infrequently used braille books which are perceived to have continuing value to braille readers because of their usefulness for education and reference. The material includes standard works, classics, and works whose content will remain useful over time.
It is possible for users to search the National Library's catalogue for a particular title to see whether the Library holds a Braille copy, or do a call number search for "Braille" to browse a listing of all titles in this Collection to date.
Normally not more than one copy of any title is retained. For example, earlier editions of a title are not retained when a later edition is deposited.
Readers visiting the Library can access books in the National Braille Reserve Collection by placing a request through the Library's e-callslip facility. The collection is held off-site, so retrieval may take a little longer than for onsite material. Material in the collection can also be requested on interlibrary loan.
Meredith Batten, Overseas Collection Development, and Elizabeth MacKenzie, Information Services, National Library of Australia
www.nla.gov.au
Copyright (C) 2010 National Library of Australia
