Services for Individuals with Disabilities

Some of the accommodations available at Cook Library are:

• Wheelchair accessible entrances.
• Braille numbering and lettering designating bathrooms, elevators, and rooms.
• Printable floor maps:
  • Cook, First Floor
  • Cook, Second Floor
  • Cook, Floors 3-5
  • McCain, Third Floor
• Eagle Express Holds - Students registered with ODA may submit Eagle Express Hold Requests to have items pulled and held at Cook Library. These items will be checked out to the patron at the time of pickup. USM ID is required when picking up holds at the appropriate service desk. For after-hours pickup, please notify the service desk and the item will be checked out and placed at the Circulation desk for pick up.
• Large lettered signs designating each collection.
• Text and microfiche magnifying machines in the Reading Room of the second floor.
• Wheelchair accessible study tables on each floor.
• Wheelchair accessible computer terminals (Internet connection) available in Cook Information Services and Reading Room areas.
• Personal instruction in learning to find information resources using assistive technology.

Adaptive Technology
The following list of adaptive technology has been made available through the Office of Technology and Institute for Disability Studies and is available in the iTech computer lab, room 105A, on the first floor of Cook Library:

• Closed circuit television systems to magnify material from 4 to 25 times its normal size.
• Visability software to magnify and read information scanned into a computer.
• Jaws screen reader with voice synthesizer.
• Dragon Naturally Speaking Professional software which allows natural voice dictation to the computer.
• Open Book software which reads print aloud. Includes a speech synthesizer and scanner.
• Duxbury software for translating and formatting text to a VersaPoint Duo braille printer.
• Reading Advantage software to convert text from books, magazines, and other documents into speech.
• Reading Edge machine with Bookedge scanner, speech synthesizer and optical character recognition. Scans and reads text of all types either immediately or to tape for later use.
• Omni 3000 computer based reading system which improves reading speed and comprehension through an auditory and visual presentation of scanned text and images (located in the SRS lab, Nursing, Harkins Hall Rm. 117-D.)
• Inspiration software to aid in developing ideas and organizing thinking through graphics for visualizing concepts.
• Personal, computerized, written, and taped tutorials in the use of each assistive technological device (see lab monitor or contact Office for Disability Accomodations at 266.5024).
• Student available to scan books and papers to tape recordings.