Library Assistive Technology: Predictions and Trends

Citation

Deines-Jones, C. (1999), "Library Assistive Technology: Predictions and Trends", Library Hi Tech News, Vol. 16 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/lhtn.1999.23916dad.001

Library Assistive Technology: Predictions and Trends

Courtney Deines-Jones, Column Editor

Library Assistive Technology: Predictions and Trends

Farewell, Hello, and Some Predictions

This column will be my last with Library Hi Tech News. During the time I have been writing this column, I have moved from a public library to a special library serving the disability research community, to a managerial position supervising special libraries, clearinghouses, and other information technology operations for several government agencies. Some of these efforts have been directly related to serving people with disabilities; others have not. No matter what the primary focus, however, my professional library career always has involved services to people with disabilities and, as a consequence, the implications of assistive technology (AT).

Throughout my tenure at Library Hi Tech News I have found Ken Wachsberger to be a tireless champion of AT and universal library access. Ken was the impetus behind starting what remains the only monthly AT column for librarians in the literature. As Library Hi Tech News makes the transition to a new publisher, Ken plans to expand the column, providing even better AT information to the library community.

To continue this important work, David Johnson (author of the March 1999 column on digital talking books) has agreed to take over as editor of the column. I have worked closely with David, the abstractor at the National Rehabilitation Information Center (NARIC), for over a year, and am excited about this transition. David brings to this work an extensive familiarity with disability literature, knowledge of AT, and a commitment to excellence in library services. I wish him well, and look forward to watching the column under his guidance.

Going out on a Limb Before I Go

Before I go, I join the ranks of other millennium-prediction gurus, assessing where I see the library world and where I think it is going.

So-called AT applications will continue to migrate to mainstream computing, including "sticky key" settings, ergonomic input devices, and alternate font and screen settings. Voice recognition software, already widely available in office supply stores, will improve and become a standard office tool for people with and without disabilities. Librarians will be more wary about this technology because of the need to keep noise levels down; desperate for respite in an increasingly noisy world, patrons will increasingly insist on restoring the library's traditional role as a quiet oasis for study. Talking book popularity will continue to grow as aging baby boomers find it less convenient to use regular print and commuters become even more pressed for time and eager to find alternative means of keeping up with their reading in the car or on public transportation.

Eye gaze technology, with which the user simply looks at a point on the screen to manipulate the cursor, and blinks to click a mouse, will also become more robust and popular among a widespread audience. Used now by people with severe mobility limitations, eye gaze inputs will expand initially among game developers, who in turn will introduce it to a mass audience. As the technology becomes more robust and calibration becomes easier, people will consider eye gaze pointers on kiosks and menu-driven systems. Library applications for eye gaze systems will include interactive maps, educational software, and on-line navigation.

Optical Character Recognition (OCR) scanners will continue to be important to libraries as more than devices to allow people with visual disabilities to "read" print matter. Archival and copyright implications of scanning will be "hot topics" for some time. OCR will be among the biggest technology-driven challenges to librarians. They will be faced not only with deciding what to make available electronically, but also how to ensure equitable access, even to those people who do not have access to computers or the Internet. The notion that making information available electronically is less labor-intensive than making it available in print will persist, and many library administrators will have to justify staffing levels as their collections are digitized.

Closed-circuit televisions (CCTVs) will be used by library patrons who are not low vision, both as magnifiers and as input devices to translate graphical material into computer files; text telephones will become widely adapted to Internet use and will allow patrons to "call" the library directly from their computers, and which will offer the option of voice and/or text communications; FM transmitters/receivers will see increased use in larger public and academic library settings and will be used by people without disabilities to navigate through the library and to obtain information about events, art displays, or library programs; and alternative, text-only interfaces will continue to be used by mainstream Internet users who are dissatisfied with load times associated with graphics or who are annoyed by flashing icons, glaring ad banners, or other similar "enhancements." This mainstream market will drive further improvement in Web site design.

The crest of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance wave is no more. A drop in the perceived need to proactively anticipate ADA concerns will continue to make AT a back burner issue in most libraries. Vendors will respond by not exhibiting at ALA or other library conferences; the exception will be school library conferences, which will have more emphasis on AT because of educational mainstreaming. A second exception will be vendors of large-print books and magnifiers used by genealogists; these technologies will be in greater demand by aging library users. Librarians still will have to make a conscious effort to keep abreast of advances in AT and how they can be used to improve services not only to those with disabilities but also to those without.

Financial concerns will cause library administrators to focus on providing alternative access to programs and services, rather than on purchasing equipment or software. Cost constraints will remain troublesome for libraries, even if the economic boom continues, as people react by attempting to lower tax rates rather than by volunteering to increase services. AT will still be perceived as an "extra" except when directly challenged or in the presence of consumer activism; even then it will be seen as driven by "special interest" groups. Internet access will be used as a panacea for alternate access, and provision of services and even library programs through electronic means will be seen as a means of compliance with the ADA, continuing to limit consumers' participation in the real-life library community.

Improving literacy among children who are blind will become a real challenge as Braille use continues to decline. Talking books and voice interfaces, combined with "mainstreaming" children at a very early age, will limit children's access to Braille and Braille instruction. Librarians serving children, especially in school settings, will have to be careful that they do not recommend reading technologies that ultimately limit, rather than extend, a child's learning capabilities.

Not all is gloom and doom, however. Developers and end-users will continue to promote standards for Web sites and electronic interfaces, helping solve some of the compatibility problems associated with AT. Cross-platform applications such as Java and Adobe's Portable Document Format (.pdf) files will continue to grow in popularity and will be key to the workings of many AT applications.

People with disabilities will make greater gains in terms of educational status, job participation, and socioeconomic level; as this happens, consumers will demand access to information and libraries in an inclusive community setting. Their impetus will counteract the trend to provide service remotely and will drive technological improvements, not only in library research tools but also in meeting space technologies (e.g. FM loops and other assistive listening devices).

Aging baby boomers who are already library users will have a large impact on public libraries. They will demand magnifiers, large-print and audio books, and amplifiers. Outreach services to retirement centers and assisted living facilities will also be in high demand, requiring remote circulation capabilities. For academic libraries, technologies will be used to assist students with both physical and learning disabilities as they pursue advanced degrees in higher numbers. School libraries will continue to work on a case-by-case basis, to accommodate individual students; similarly, special and corporate libraries will tailor AT solutions to each unique clientele.

And through all changes, the one consistent piece will be the people providing service. Librarians will be the ones to make or break the success of any AT effort. We will be the ones to champion universal access to information, by a combination of low- and hi-tech strategies. We will be the ones to determine whether AT is advertised and used, or sits dusty in the corner. The technology, it is certain, will change. The challenge for us is to evolve along with it.

Deines-Jones is a program manager at KRA Corporation, director of the National Information Center on Developmental Disabilities, and technical advisor to the National Rehabilitation and Information Center. She may be reached at cdeinesj@ kra.com