Anna Library to introduce app to aid visually impaired

CHENNAI: Anna Centenary Library, which has been an abode for book lovers, is now adding more value to the visually impaired. A visit to the sprawling multi-storey structure by DT Next revealed new state-of-the-art facilities that are coming up to assist visually impaired people.

A new initiative at the library includes a soon-to-be-launched app consisting of 100 competitive books uploaded in DAISY format, EPUB format, and audio format. The library is also equipped with a recording studio, which has been in operation for more than a year. The app facility, however, is available only for registered users as the content available is copyrighted.

The Copyright Act reserves such content for print-disabled or visually challenged people. “People who fall under this category can use their national ID card and register to get access,” said sources at the library.

An assistive device called an ‘Orbit Reader’ is used to convert text content into braille format. Hence, this device is more handy than an imposed braille device. Orbit Reader works like a braille display and e-content reader.

Visually impaired people can use the general audio format or the DAISY format, which is a combination of audio, editable text format, and e-text for screen reading software.

NVDA (Non-Visual Desktop Access) format, which is an open-source software, is used for those needing braille. A collection of audio data (2 TB in volume) that could be used for study purposes is provided to the members of the library who are visual impared and all the facilities are provided free.

Mostly those who use these facilities are competitive exam aspirants, and more than 100 registered students at ACL are in government services.

D Gunasundari, a volunteer in ACL, said, “Along with preparing for the TNPSC myself, I do teach the visually impaired. Learning becomes easier when I teach others.”

Volunteers from Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) visit the library or take part in online sessions every Saturday to help the students. Highlight is that all the librarians are trained to be helpful to the students depending braille to prepare for competitive exams and academic careers. Another highlight is that that the library boasts is apart from Daccessibility, it is wheel-chair friendly.

There is also a scanner device called a standalone OCR, which can read and convert texts it into audio or accessible words.

As far as service aspect is concerned, there is an email forum where both Tamil and English e-content are provided. Through this group, important information alerts and their activities are also shared.

“English and Tamil newspapers are converted through HTML so that they become part of the braille-enabled content. It has been accessible throughout India since the library was inaugurated in 2010. Some volunteers record and it will be converted into audio content and given to the visually impaired people. Full assistance is given to the students who prepare for the competitive exams,” said S Kamatchi, chief librarian and information officer of the library.