[OPLINLIST] Re: Need suggestions regarding need of a patron with low vision
Ed Rossman
erossman74 at yahoo.com
Thu Jan 24 08:12:19 EST 2008
Hi Carol,
Regarding your low vision patron, I contacted the
Cleveland Sight Center on your behalf. Theyâre a
great organization whoâve been helpful to me in the
past. Below is their response.
Their tech guy, Jason and I talked on the phone and he
suggested a very low-cost, low-tech solution of simply
taking the sheet music to a Kinkoâs or other print
shop and blowing it up to a readable size for her,
similar to what youâre thinking below but without
the capital expense. For .50 - .60 cents a sheet, that
may be a good solution, and after a while perhaps the
patron can then go to Kinkoâs on her own as long as
her interest lasts.
A later clarification post you sent which I just saw
now mentioned âlarge print sheet music is not
readable for this personâ. If so, I guess this is
not an option. Perhaps other libraries could keep it
as another tactic in a similar situation.
Hereâs the response from the Sight Center:
Hi Ed:
Thank you for contacting Cleveland Sight Center
regarding your low vision patron. I have requested
Jason Tawil, computer technician to contact you with
several ideas.
I would like to recommend several things. Maximizing
the helpful effects of lighting and magnification are
the first steps of assistance.
You can check products available at the CSC Eye'Dea
Shop by going to our website at
Clevelandsightcenter.org and scrolling to Eye'Dea
Shop.
Additionally, you might consider contacting the
Library of Congress -
National Library Service for the Blind and Physically
Handicapped in Washington DC. There hours are Monday
- Friday 8AM to 4:30 PM. Their number is
800-424-8567. Another number for research is
202-707-5100. You
will want to speak with the Music Department. In the
past that was #2. Another idea for a refresher for
your patron is getting the audio instructional tape,
"Piano By Ear" by Bill Brown. It is available from
the LBPH.
Good luck with your search. If you have an
opportunity to let me know about your success, I would
like to learn more.
Jeri Rask
Cleveland Sight Center
1909 East 101st Street
Cleveland, OH 44106-8696
216-791-8118, extension 226
JRask at ClevelandSightCenter.org
---
As Chad said in another post, I think thisâll be an
increasingly important area libraries will need to
become involved in. I personally have never considered
the challenges of reading music for low vision
patrons, but I know musical training is a great brain
exercise that I can see more retiring boomers getting
into.
Great question Carol!!!
Let us know the solution you work out.
Best regards,
Ed Rossman
Interim Branch Manager, Bertram Woods Branch
Shaker Heights Public Library
216-991-2421 x2250
Author, Castles Against Ignorance: How to make
libraries great educational environments
http://www.castles411.com
We have a mature patron with low vision who loves
playing piano. She
wishes to begin taking lessons again and learn new
music, but her
vision
limitation makes it highly difficult. We are trying
to find an
'elegant' solution for her. Considerations are: Buy
a scanner and
printer which can do larger paper so the music could
be scanned and
printed on larger sheets (what scanner, printer and
software is best)
OR get a scanner, software and flat panel--scan and
save the music,
then
put the panel on the piano and scroll the music with
remote mouse
(again
what can make this work). This patron is not the
techie type nor does
she have someone who can spend hours on the project,
so a "out of the
box" solution is best.
We are confident this has been done by others, so we
are not wishing to
redo good research. Please share with us your
knowledge on this or
send
this to someone you know who is current in the area of
low vision
accommodation. Local companies specializing in low
vision are
attempting to sell units which are unwieldy and not
easy to use.
Thanks in advance for any help!
Regards
Carol Pelz
Grandview Hts Public Library
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