eQuality: The struggle for web accessibility by persons with cognitive disabilities

eQuality: The struggle for web accessibility by persons with cognitive disabilities "is about the lived struggle for disability rights, with a focus on Web equality for people with cognitive disabilities, such as intellectual disabilities, autism, and print-related disabilities. The principles derived from the right to the Web - freedom of speech and individual dignity - are bound to lead toward full and meaningful involvement in society for persons with cognitive and other disabilities."

Want to check it out? Email us at cedir@indiana.edu or use worldcat.org to find it in a library near you.

Bloomington Council for Community Accessibility: Meeting Tonight!

The regular monthly meeting of the City of Bloomington Council for Community Accessibility (CCA) will be held today from 4:00 – 5:30 pm at City Hall in the McCloskey Conference Room (#135). The CCA is a volunteer group made up of persons with disabilities, family members, or other local citizens, that advocates for the interests of people with disabilities. The group promotes awareness of the challenges faced by people with disabilities, and works to develop solutions to problems of accessibility in the community.

The meeting is open to all who are interested in making Bloomington a more accessible city. For more information, contact Craig Brenner at brennerc@bloomington.in.gov. For more information about the CCA and their objectives, visit their webpage at http://bloomington.in.gov/documents/viewDocument.php?document_id=4246.

Free Workshops: Making Businesses Accessible

The City of Bloomington has received $1,276 in funding from ADA-Indiana and the Indiana Governor’s Council for People with Disabilities to provide two workshops aimed at educating inspectors, builders, contractors and architects on new federal and state regulations regarding people with disabilities.

Workshops will target those who approve plans and inspect construction, and those who design, build and renovate buildings. The City’s goal is to help businesses and organizations understand how to be fully accessible early on, even as they design and construct their buildings.

The City’s Council for Community Accessibility applied for the funding for its project entitled “Making Businesses Accessible: If We Build It Right, They Will Come!”

Workshops will be offered on Tue., July 28, for government building inspectors, and on Wed., Aug. 19, for architects, builders and contractors. Both workshops begin at 8:30 a.m. at City Hall, 401 N. Morton Street, Bloomington, and will include free lunch.

Presenting will be representatives from the Great Lakes ADA Center, a program of the Department of Disability and Human Development at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and from the U.S. Access Board. The Great Lakes ADA Center provides information, materials, technical assistance and training on the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). The Great Lakes ADA Center's service area is designated as Region 5 and is one of 10 regional centers funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), a division of the U.S. Department of Education. The U.S. Access Board is an independent Federal agency devoted to accessibility for people with disabilities. It provides technical assistance and training on accessible design criteria and enforces accessibility standards that cover federally funded facilities.

For further information about the workshops, contact Craig Brenner, Special Projects Coordinator, City of Bloomington Community and Family Resources Department, at 349-3471 or brennerc@bloomington.in.gov, or Barbara McKinney, Human Rights Director, City of Bloomington Legal Department, at 349-3429 or mckinneb@bloomington.in.gov.

Accessible workstation!

Thanks in part to a grant funded by the National Network of Libraries of Medicine-Greater Midwest Region, CeDIR has a new accessible workstation! Our workstation starts with a motorized table that can be raised or lowered to accommodate both standing and sitting positions. We also have two different pointer devices: a large trackball for people who have difficulty with fine motor skills and a traditional mouse. Both mice are plugged in and ready at all times for anyone to use them.

Our accessible workstation has all the right tools with software such as Jaws, ZoomText, Kurzweil 3000, and Boardmaker Plus! to help ensure that everyone can use it. Jaws is a screen reader which allows access to information for people with low or no vision as well as anyone who has difficulty reading. ZoomText is an advanced screen magnification program that enlarges and enhances everything on the computer screen, up to 36 times! Kurzweil 3000 helps users with a variety of learning disabilities access information by manipulating electronic texts into an individualized accessible format. Boardmaker Plus! allows users to create personalized symbol-based print and interactive materials. This is particularly important for patrons using alternative communication devices, children with Autism as well as pre-reader and beginning readers.

Want to check it out? Stop by and see us, Monday through Friday 8:00-5:00 pm. We look forward to seeing you!

"This project has been funded in whole or in part with Federal Funds from the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, under Contract No. N01-LM-6-3503 with the University of Illinois at Chicago."