La Trobe University

Library

Special needs equipment - Equity & Access Room

Specialised equipment is available in a dedicated room in Audiovisual, which is located at the end of Level 2. Staff can provide advice and training on the use of this equipment.  Users must make a booking to use the room and equipment and should allocate an hour for the first session in order to fully familiarise themselves, with the assistance of Library staff. The room can be booked by ringing 9479 2936 or emailing avbook@latrobe.edu.au.

There is a designated information workstation for users with special needs to enable users to:
  • Convert scanned documents to audio files
  • Read documents via JAWS Text to Speech software
  • Scan and read printed documents via Omnipage Professional
  • Search the Library catalogue and browse the internet
  • Smart View Machine

The workstation has the following capabilities:

  • JAWS Text to Speech - The JAWS program translates written text into speech which can be listened to via headphones or a speaker.  A variety of 'voices', pitches and word rates are available to suit each individual user.
  • Optical Character Recognition - The workstation is connected to a scanner which has OCR software.  This software will scan a printed page and convert it to text  The scanned text can then be read via the speech synthesiser.  The text can be saved in a number of word processing formats and to audio formats that can be saved to CD or USB media.
  • Smart View Machine - This system magnifies books, documents etc. onto a LCD viewing screen for easier reading.
  • Laser Printing - The PC is connected to a laser printer, which is connected to a card unit.   The cost is 12 cents per page using a La Trobe card.

Additional Equipment:

  • Talking Calculators - There are two Sharp EL640 Talking Calculators available for loan. A voice synthesiser can be heard as each number or function is pressed.
  • Caption Coding Decoder - This decoder will display the normally hidden coded text on a number of the Library's videodiscs. The coded text will appear on screen as subtitles.