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Alternative print formats (audiotape, Braille, electronic, and
large print) allow individuals with vision impairments and other
disabilities to have access to standard print materials Disability
Services/Student Support Services provides document conversion services,
which are described below, free of charge to the university community.
- Audiotape - Many textbooks, novels, and periodicals
are available on audiotape and can be obtained from public libraries,
the Library of Congress, and Recordings for the Blind and Dyslexic.
If determined appropriate by Disability Services, Student Support
Services will investigate these resources for students requesting
taped materials. Documents that are not available on audiotape
may be submitted to Student Support Services for recording. Audiotape
recording takes a significant amount of time, depending on the
size of the print document. Requests should be made at least two
weeks in advance of when the material is needed.
- Braille - Original documents may be submitted to Disability
Services preferably two weeks in advance. Documents in electronic
format can be transcribed quickly; print materials require more
time because they must be scanned or entered by hand.
- Electronic - Many people have access to computers with
synthesized voice or Braille output devices and may request an
electronic version of material. Anyone can provide an electronic
version of a document simply by copying the document onto a computer
disk for the person making the request. Documents can also be
made available by placing them on Internet (in an accessible format)
thereby benefiting all students who have access to a computer
network.
- Large Print - Anyone with access to a computer or copy
machine can create large print documents by following one of the
procedures below (ask the person making the request how much enlargement
is needed).
With a computer:
If a document has been created using a standard word processing
program (either IBM or Macintosh), it can easily be enlarged before
printing. Geneva or Helvetica fonts are the clearest. An eighteen-point
type is generally the best. When the type is larger than eighteen
points, fewer words appear on each page, making it difficult for
a person to make sense of the document. Bold characters also make
the print clearer. The following example illustrates the difference
between standard and large bold print.
Standard print
Reasonable accommodation leads to equal access.
Large print (Times, 18 point, bold)
Reasonable accommodation leads to equal access.
With a copy machine:
Documents can also be enlarged by duplicating them on a copy machine
that can print on eleven-by-seventeen inch paper. This is a useful
procedure for course packets or articles in periodicals or books.
The quality of the enlarged version will depend on the clarity and
condition of the original document.
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