Alternatives to Reading Print Presentation

On Monday March 28, John Majkut, director of the Iris Network’s Low Vision Clinic, and Steve Kelley, Vision Rehab Therapist met up with Paul Dostie, Reference Librarian from Curtis Memorial Library, to present to the support group that meets each month at Thornton Oaks, in Brunswick. Some 40 people were in attendance for the “Support Group for Those Who Don't See Well” hosted by Pat Hart and Anne Marchesse.

The focus of this presentation was alternative means of reading for consumers with vision loss, including Paul’s presentation and comparison of electronic readers such as the Kindle, Steve’s presentation on digital talking books and the National Library Service Talking Book Player, and John’s presentation on electronic video magnifiers and technology that will read the printed page out load.

After a brief introduction of the topic, attendees were encouraged to try the technology. Paul brought demonstration e-readers: Kindle; Nook; Sony Reader, Kobo, and the Apple iPad. Curtis Memorial Library is one of the first libraries in the state to offer e-readers to library patrons, on loan, with books installed. Many participants in the group found the e-readers easier to read with settings that allowed text size to be increased. For more information about the electronic readers, click here to download a copy of a comparison of E-readers  prepared by Curtis Memorial Library. For additional information on E-readers from Curtis Memorial Library download the following: Downloading borrowable ebooks; and Introduction to E-readers.

Participants had an opportunity to try some everyday tasks with hi-tech devices, such as completing a check using a video magnifier, reading a book, or looking at a picture on the wall with the Acrobat magnifier, and listening to the ABiSee Eye Pal read from a magazine page scanned only seconds before.

Pat Hart, support group host, reported this to be one of the largest turnouts to date for the group. If you wish to get more information about the “Support Group for Those Who Don't See Well”, please call Thornton Oaks at (207)729-8033 or (800) 729-8033. Paul Dostie, Reference Librarian from Curtis Memorial Library can be reached at 207-725-5242 x228. Steve Kelley and John Majkut can be reached at the Iris Network 207-774-6273.