New York Public Library Closes Digital Divide for Blind and Visually Impaired Patrons

All Library Computers Now Accessible with Installation of JAWS and MAGIC Enlargement and Voice Synthesis Software

New York, NY, February 23, 2005 -- Beginning on March 1, all 2,675 PCs in New York Public Library branches in the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island will offer JAWS 5.0 and MAGIC 9.0 software to assist computer users who are blind or have low-vision. This new software, developed by Freedom Scientific, provides screen magnification and speech synthesis to assist library patrons who are blind or have low-vision with standard computer applications like Microsoft Word, Excel, e-mail, and searching the Internet.

"As communication becomes increasingly digitized and reliance on computers and the Internet increases, it is essential that people with disabilities not be left behind," said Susan Kent, Director and Chief Executive of The Branch Libraries. "The installation of JAWS and MAGIC software on every library computer will ensure that all patrons will have equal access to free information."

MAGIC software, designed for those who have low-vision, helps library patrons view information on computer screens through state-of-the-art magnification features, while hearing it through a speech synthesizer. The software magnifies screen information, from one to 16 times its normal size. It is combined with a voice synthesizer which reads information from the PC screen and enlarges and highlights the text as users move the mouse across the screen. It gives the patron the ability to choose the information they want read from the screen as they navigate various PC applications.

JAWS software features a multilingual speech synthesizer and is designed for blind users. The software makes it possible to get started and navigate a PC screen without sighted assistance. Languages included in the JAWS software are: American English, British English, Castilian Spanish, Latin American Spanish, French, French Canadian, German, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, and Finnish.

Headphones are necessary when using JAWS and MAGIC and are available to blind and visually impaired patrons who use the assistive software at no charge.

Freedom Scientific
Freedom Scientific is the world’s leading manufacturer of assistive technology products for the blind and products for the special education and learning disability markets. Additional information about JAWS and MAGIC software may be found at the Freedom Scientific web site: www.freedomscientific.com.

Additional NYPL Services for Blind and/or Low-Vision Library Patrons
The Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library, located at 40 West 20th Street, serves a broad population in New York City and Long Island, including children or teens with learning disabilities, older adults with low vision, people physically unable to hold a book due to a stroke or other disability, as well as the blind. In addition to such typical library resources as reference materials, magazines and newspapers, and access to the Library's many informational databases, the Andrew Heiskell Library offers:

• A huge selection of Audio Books, delivered door-to-door, for free
• A comprehensive Braille book library
• Large-print books, as well as standard-print books that may be borrowed on site
• Descriptive videos: commercial videos with an added track of audio narration
• Kurzweil machines that convert printed text into synthetic speech
• Public computers equipped with Braille printers and Braille translation software
• TV magnifiers that enlarge type up to 60 times
• Computer classes on how to use adaptive software
• Accessible, networked computers linked to the Internet and Library resources
• Meeting rooms for special programs, as well as class visits for children and teens

The Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library is a fully automated, architecturally barrier-free facility. A full description of the Library's services and a Web catalog of talking books may be found at: http://talkingbooks.nypl.org. The National Library Service, a division of the Library of Congress, provides the Andrew Heiskell Library with Braille and recorded collections, audio playback equipment, and free postage. The Andrew Heiskell Library operates an extensive mailing program that in the course of a year delivers some 350,000 of these Braille and recorded books by postage-free mail to eligible patrons. A number of the books are recorded on site, in the newly digitized Audio Book Studio.

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Contact: Jennifer Bertrand, 212-704-8645