• 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.44 no.4
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• pp.71-92
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to identify the service factors of university libraries which aim to improve the educational welfare of the disabled, and to develop an evaluation indicator to evaluate these vital service factors. To proceed with this study, guidelines of public library services for people with disabilities, and previous research and job description of academy library analysed and developed indicators suited for evaluating academic library services for people with disabilities. A pilot survey and main survey about the evaluation factors and indicators conducted with librarians who work for university libraries, and the questions were refined by exploratory factor analysis of the data collected from the survey. As a result, through the process of identifying reliability and validity, it turned out that the evaluation factor and subordinate index of university library services for the disabled consisted of 8 factors and 33 indicators.

• 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.41 no.4
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• pp.69-91
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• 2007

This research focuses library services for people with disabilities in public libraries and draws many issues and the difficulties faced by the libraries. Data are collected and analyzed based on a survey conducted by the National Library Support Center for the Disabled. As a further research users with disabilities study is recommended. Apart from the visually impaired, people with hearing impairment and physical impairment should be included.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Library and Information Science
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• v.53 no.3
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• pp.63-82
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• 2019

Libraries are recently emerging as the core institutions designed to resolve the information equality that is forecasted to further deepen with the arrival of the fourth industry revolution era. This study thus analyzed the trends of studies on the library services offered to people suffering information inequality in Korea, and proposed measures for the activation of the research and future studies so as to strengthen the domestic library services targeting the people suffering information equality and to promote the research. As a result, proposed as measures for the activation of research were (1) Policy support and project expansion at the national level, (2) Various approaches and research environment creation at the academic level, (3) Strengthening of services for the various levels of people suffering information inequality and deployment of professional librarians at the level of libraries, and (4) Encouraging librarians to enroll with graduate schools and to conduct research. Further, proposed were the future studies that can be approached according to the various levels of people suffering information inequality, such as disabled people, multicultural family members, elderly people, children, youth, agricultural and fishing areas, low-income people, and refugees(North Korea defectors).

• 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 Korean Library and Information Science Society
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.295-312
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• 2010

Nowadays, librarians try to provide equal services and effective facilities to people with disabilities. According to this context, the current and prospective librarians should have a wide range of knowledges and skills that can identify and understand their patron's needs and information seeking behaviors through disability issues education. This study aims at presenting the advanced directions of the LIS education in order to enhance a librarian's experience and strengthen his/her hand on library services for people with disabilities. The result of the study suggests some directions on disability issues in LIS education in the future.

• Journal of the Korean Society for information Management
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.169-188
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• 2013

In spite of various efforts to resolve digital divide of people with disabilities, it still has a long way to go because there lack of identifying information needs of people with disabilities and potential users including their family and the related, and integrated information channels such as a portal, and so on. In this context, this study aims at analyzing the users' unique information behavior and evaluating usability of domestic web information services for people with disabilities which are currently serviced. Increasingly, we suggest new functional requirements of building a library portal for people with disabilities.

• 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.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Library and Information Science
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.193-214
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• 2016

The aim of this study was to investigate and analyze the changes in inputs and outputs for information-poor in public libraries to eliminate the digital divide. The survey and analysis was utilized indicators for the information-poor shown in library statistics. And through the analysis of statistical indicators, it examined the changing patterns of the elements that each library are inputted to eliminating the digital divide. As a result, it revealed problems such as regression of facilities for the aged and disabled, continuous decrease in the number of special materials for disabled person, and reduction of service users and budget for information-poor. In order to solve this problem and to achieve the desired performance for eliminating the digital divide. it's required the budget increase and strong policies for information-poor.