[WEB4LIB] Input sought for updating Accessible Web Workstation

[Cathy Cox]

We are in the middle of setting up the computers in our new (open as of 
5/1!) library, and will be configuring four workstations for students with 
various types of needs.  In our old building, the only accessibility 
software we had was ZoomText level 2; the new stations will 
include  ZoomText, JAWS, Dragon Dictate Naturally (which allows 
voice-control of the computer) and a Kurzweil read & scan station (in the 
future).  Things you may want to consider in setting up your station:

1.  Not all software packages will work together.  From what I've been 
told, JAWS is particularly touchy about being loaded on machines with other 
packages.  It also requires fairly significant training to use 
properly.  On a college campus such as ours, students are trained in the 
use of the software by the Disabled Instructional Support Center and the 
library is not required to teach the users, but in a public library setting 
you might find yourself needing to do much more instruction on a fairly 
complicated program.  However, it does things that no other program I know 
of does as well, such as allowing a non-sighted user to access information 
in databases or spreadsheets.   If your users ONLY browse the web, you 
might not need all the features of JAWS and might do better with Home Page 
Reader (although I haven't heard as much about it and have no personal 
experience with it).

2.  ZoomText is wonderful, easy to use, and includes a document reader that 
allows users to hear what they're reading as well.  If you can only get one 
software package, this would be the one I'd recommend.

3.  Pointing devices are relatively cheap.  Why limit your users to either 
a trackball OR a mouse, when you can hook up both and let them use 
whichever works best for them?  If you use a splitter such as the one from 
Ymouse <http://www.ymouse.com/> you can accomodate users' needs more easily.


************************************************************
Catherine Cox
Electronic Resources Librarian
Mission College Library
cathy_cox at wvmccd.cc.ca.us

This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly.
It should  be thrown with great force.
                         - Dorothy Parker
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At 11:31 AM 5/3/01 -0700, you wrote:
>Last October, with significant input from colleagues, I put together a
>budget for an Accessible Web Workstation.  I am pleased to say that when a
>local bank unexpectedly gave us a gift of $1,000, our director immediately
>thought of this project and told me to use the $1,000 toward making it
>happen.
>
>The current version of this budget is at
>http://www.shenpublib.org/accessibility
>
>If you have updated information (feedback on a software product, a new
>product to list, a version change to be aware of, etc.), please get back to
>me by Friday, May 11, 2001.  I will send out a message when I have
>incorporated all of the changes.
>
>I'm going to match the $1,000 by tweezing money from our own tech budget,
>but we aren't going to be able to get everything on the list.  We are
>beginning this project by targeting visually-challenged but sighted users
>(typical of our older users who attend our computer classes) and focusing on
>the workstation and extra-large monitor, the large-print keyboard overlays,
>the oversized trackball, and the very bright task light.  (We have a
>workstation table we can use.) If you have experience with Jaws, Zoomtext or
>IBM Home Page Reader, I'd be curious to hear what you had to say about usage
>and whether you would make any one of these a priority for our purchase.
>
>Karen G. Schneider kgs at bluehighways.com
>Assistant Director for Technology
>Shenendehowa Public Library www.shenpublib.org