Services

:: Help with Special Needs

Staff of the Santa Barbara Public Library System is committed to making services and collections available to all. For those with special needs, the following information may be helpful:

• Wheelchair access is provided at the Central Library, Bookmobile, Carpinteria, Eastside, Goleta, Montecito and Solvang branches.

• Large-print books are available at all Library locations. Newly published material in large-print is added to collections on a regular basis, and items in large-print are rotated to different branches throughout the Library system to provide convenient access.

• Audiotapes, books on tape and books on CDs are available at most Library locations and may be requested for delivery to a Library nearest you.

• An Arkenstone “Reading Machine” is available at the Central Library. The “Reading Machine,” a gift of the William P. Neil Foundation, is a computer with a scanner attached that can scan text and read it aloud to the user. Library staff is on hand to explain the use of the software program and computer.

• ZoomText, installed on all Santa Barbara Public Library System computers at all branches, enables screen magnification from 1.25 times up to 36 times, and allows lower vision readers to see and hear what they are doing in all applications. The new 'xFont' advanced text magnification displays high-definition text that can be recognized at all magnification levels.

• JAWS is a screen reader software program. Its purpose is to make personal computers using Microsoft Windows accessible to blind and visually impaired users. It accomplishes this by providing the user with access to the information displayed on the screen via text-to-speech. It allows for more comprehensive keyboard interaction with the computer, which provides access to software applications and the Internet.

• If assistance is needed to participate and enjoy Library programs and events, please contact Library Administration at (805) 564-5608. With advance notice, staff will make every attempt to provide appropriate accommodations.