• Journal of the Korean Society for Library and Information Science
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.177-199
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• 2004

Information technology and internet became necessities of life facilitating communication and information access. Physically handicapped people, who cannot access to new Information easily due to economic, technical and physical handicaps, are likely to live with severe disadvantage in the high-speed information society in which information access right is considered as one of the basic human rights. Therefore, It is highly desirable to develop and improve library service programs for visually imparied at public libraries. In this study, the analyse of service activities for the visually unpaired at Hanbat Public Library and the investigation of user's needs and provider's points of view of staff members through individual Interviews were followed by the propositions gor the Improvement of services at local public libraries. And the consrtuction of cooperative networks with proper role-shares among service rooms for visually Imparired In public libraries, special libranes, social welfare organigations and government offices was confrimed to be the most urgent task.

• Journal of Information Management
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.97-126
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• 2010

Many visually handicapped people face difficulties with using libraries. Public libraries are thus required to meet the need of visually handicapped people. Public libraries should guarantee the visually handicapped the right to use appropriate services. If so, the visually handicapped can improve their life quality by decreasing information gap and increasing information comprehension or accessibility. This study is designed to analyze how visually handicapped people can use public libraries. Based on the analysis, this study can provide actual suggestions to improve opportunities for the visually handicapped to use libraries. Data are collected from visually handicapped people who are the members of Suseong Public Library, Daegu, Korea. In specific, this study can analyze various characteristics(i.e., information needs, selection and use behavior of information sources, difficulties and gaps to access information, use behavior and service satisfaction of public library) regarding their library use by telephone interviews.

• International Journal of Knowledge Content Development & Technology
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.35-50
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• 2023

Assistive technologies are necessary for ensuring independent living and equal participation in an information-based society for people living with disabilities (PLWD). This study investigated the assistive technology preference of students with visual disabilities, and the approach academic libraries should adopt in procuring assistive technologies. The study adopted a quantitative research method, with a survey as the research design. The study was conducted among visually disabled students in four public universities in Nigeria. Using the total enumeration method, an online questionnaire was used to obtain information from 151 students who voluntarily agreed to partake in the survey. The study found that access to electronic resources, scanning/conversion of print resources to electronic formats and access to information on the Web were among the technology-based services provided to visually disabled students. COBRA, ZoomText, Supernova and Dragon Naturally Speaking are the most preferred assistive technologies (software). At the same time, handheld scanners ($\bar{x}=4.40$) and braille keyboards ($\bar{x}=4.60$) are the most preferred assistive technologies in the hardware category by visually challenged students. The study further revealed that the library management should consult with students living with a visual disability before procuring assistive technology. Findings from this study thus provide further evidence of the need for librarians to fulfil their moral and legal obligation in advocating the provision of assistive technologies. Library administrators and university stakeholders should expedite actions on meeting the assistive technology needs of people living with visual disabilities. These actions should transcend mere policy formulation on the provision of assistive technologies to restructuring their services and spaces to accommodate assistive technologies as information service delivery tools for people with visual disabilities.

• Journal of Korean Library and Information Science Society
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.1-23
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• 2022

Access to knowledge and information is a universal human right. However, even after the Marrakesh Treaty was adopted on June 27, 2013, only 1-7% of standard printed materials are accessible to people with reading disabilities, including the visually impaired, and library services are very weak. As a result, the book famine of people with reading disabilities continues. This study, focusing on such severe access gaps and inequalities, analyzes Learning Ally and Bookshare in the US, the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) in the UK, Bibliothèque Numérique Francophone Accessible (BNFA) in France, and SAPIE in Japan, which are considered private organizations leading library services for the disabled in major developed countries. And based on the derived implications and the Marrakesh Treaty, a strategic plan was proposed to strengthen the services of the disabled in domestic libraries. It is urgent to enact the 'Act to Resolve Reading Barriers', amend the provisions related to the Copyright Act that restrict library services, strengthen the organizational capacity of the National Library for the Disabled, raise the service index for the disabled in library evaluation, and establish a library cooperation system centered on regional representative libraries and expand services, etc.

• Journal of Korean Library and Information Science Society
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.1-25
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• 2020

The World Health Organization estimated that more than a billion people (or 15% of the world's population) lives with disabilities. They have the same information needs as non-disabled people. Nevertheless, as the World Blind Union estimated, less than 10% of published books are ever made into accessible formats in developed countries. The role of the national library should be very important to improve the information accessibility for the disabled. Based on this perspective, this study analyzed and compared the history and development, legal basis and organization, main functions and tasks, and service features for the disabled for the Library of Congress of the United States, MTM(Myndigheten för Tillgängliga Medier) of Sweden, National Diet Library of Japan, and SALB (South African Library for the Blind) of Republic of South Africa representing the nationwide disability services by continent. And based on the results of the analysis, this study suggested ways to strengthen the capacity of the National Library for the Disabled of Korea.

• Journal of Korean Library and Information Science Society
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.173-191
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• 2018

Over the past decade, the environment around libraries for the disabled has been greatly improved. Related legislation was established, facilities and facilities expanded, and the number of related collections and programs increased. In order to solve this problem, a survey of users' needs in accordance with the changing environment needs to be completed. In this study, we studied the existing research and analyzed the core needs of each type of disability employing user interviews and expert Delphi research. Users demanded quantitative and qualitative expansion of resources as well. Users needed personalized services and programs, convenience in using facility, accessibility of web and applications, and professional staff.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Library and Information Science
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.73-91
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• 2022

For everyone, books are not only a passage to break down temporal and spatial barriers, but also a passport to the world. However, books are neither a passage nor a passport for persons with print disabilities. They are suffering from a severe book famine, with only 1-7% of alternative materials in accessible formats. The Marrakesh Treaty is an international agreement promoted by the WBU and WIPO to reduce such access gaps and inequalities. Accordingly, this study intensively analyzed and linked the global book famine and the Marrakesh Treaty for the persons with print disabilities including the blind and visually impaired, and suggested strategic tasks and implementation plans to strengthen the services of the disabled in domestic libraries. The government and libraries should concentrate all their competencies on improving awareness, inducing standardization of alternative materials in the publishing industry, amending and supplementing the copyright act and related laws, strengthening the digital file collection and service of the National Library for the disabled, and developing and applying library guidelines to implement the Marrakesh Treaty. This is because if food supports the body of the disabled, reading fosters their spirit. In order to solve the global book famine for persons with print disabilities, it is necessary to improve the publishing industry's cartels, copyright holders' barricades, and the weak platform of the library industry. All copyright holders, publishers, and libraries should participate in reducing the 95% gap in access between non-disabled and disabled people. That is the mantra of the book famine.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Library and Information Science
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.35-55
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• 2012

This study aims to serve as the basis for the librarian training curriculum model for the disability services. To achieve this, a theoretical study was carried out through literature and investigated and analyzed on the disability services of Public Libraries in Seoul and on the status of Library and Information Science curriculum for the disability services in Korea. The research results are summarized as follows: First, only one university and one graduate school in Korea offers a curriculum for training librarians for the disability services. Second, since 2010 a continuing education program for librarians in charge of the disability service has been offered every year by the National Library of Korea, Librarians who completed this course have been surveyed for their opinions and the results have been reflected in the following course. Third, currently among the disabled users in public library the users with mental retardation, emotional and behavioral disorders, and autism are more than the visually impaired users. Most of the disability service has been a lending for general materials. According to telephone interviews, librarians who actively carry out the disability service need to understand the disability and, more information about operations and planning of cultural program for the disabled users.