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Library Resources & Services for People with Disabilities

The University Library is committed to providing equal access to its resources and services to all SSU students, faculty and staff, regardless of ability. Library users with disabilities who wish to identify themselves as such may request services at any service desk. Extensive instruction or services may require an appointment.

Disability Services for Students (DSS) can provide additional support for users needing ongoing or extensive assistance accessing library materials.

Building Access

Campus Accessibility

  • The Campus Accessibility Map (pdf) shows locations of accessible paths, building entrances, and restrooms, as well as disabled parking areas and TTY telephones across campus.
  • See the Library map for locations within the Jean and Charles Schulz Information Center.

Parking

  • The closest disabled parking spaces to the library are in Lot C, located on the south side of the Information Center.  See map (pdf) for locations.
  • All vehicles using disabled parking spaces must also display a valid daily parking permit or semester parking decal. Contact Police and Parking Services for more information.

Entrances

  • From Lot C, the approach to the library with least change in incline is the path from the west end of lot C, which circles the building and reaches the first floor entrance.  From the Stevenson/Darwin quad, use the second floor ramp.
  • Both the first and second floor entrances have automatic doors, with ramps leading to both entrances.

Restrooms

  • All restrooms in the library are fully wheelchair accessible.
  • The first and second floor restrooms have door-assists.
  • See Library map for locations.

Elevators

  • The elevator in the north wing of the library serves floors 1-3.
  • The south wing elevator serves floors 2-3.

Telephones

  • A wheelchair-accessible public telephone and a campus phone are located across from the Circulation Desk on the second floor.
  • A TTY telephone is available on the second floor, near the Multimedia Center.
  • Additional campus phones are available on the 3rd and 1st floors.

Book stacks

  • The book stacks (areas where the books are shelved) have ADA-compliant widths to accommodate wheelchairs. Many are also counter-height.
  • Library staff at any service desk can assist users in obtaining materials on shelves that are not reachable.

Emergency procedures

  • Emergency alarms are both audible and visible. In the event of an emergency, users should proceed to the nearest exit and not use the elevators.
  • If someone is on the third floor and needs assistance, he or she should wait near the elevator for assistance. The library has an emergency evacuation chair mounted in the main stairwell. Library staff will check the elevator areas and call for assistance to help users safely exit the building.

Equipment

Assistive technology workstations - available to SSU students, staff and faculty only

  • The library has four workstations equipped with assistive technology:
    • First Floor - Schulz 1025 (Two Workstations)
    • Second Floor - Adjacent to Reference Desk (One Workstation)
    • Third Floor - Schulz 3046 (One Workstation)
  • Each accessible workstation in the University Library has the following assistive technology hardware and software:
    • Dragon Naturally Speaking (Speech Recognition Software)
    • Kurzweil 3000 (Text-to-Speech Software)
    • JAWS (Screen Reader Software)
    • Zoomtext (Screen Magnification Software)
    • Height-Adjustable Tables
    • Document Scanners
    • Large Monitors
  • A larger AsTech Lab is located in IT, on the 1st floor, south
  • These workstations and training in their use are supported by Disability Services for Students (DSS). Contact Scott Kupferman at 4-4361 to make an appointment.

Additional computing and equipment

  • All the computers in the library have basic ability to magnify screens.
  • Headphones are available to check out from the Multimedia Desk on the 2d floor.
  • Scanners with OCR software are available in the Digital Lab on the 2d floor. Instruction in the use of the scanning software is available by appointment. Contact Scott Kupferman from DSS.
  • A wireless network is available for laptop access, although if you are not a current SSU student, you will need to register with IT (M-F 8-5) for a temporary 1-week login.
  • The Reference Desk on the 2d floor has several magnifiers to loan.

Printing and photocopying

  • Printing and photocopying are available for ten cents per page.
  • Assistance with printing and/or photocopying can be provided at the Reference Desk, the Circulation Desk or the Regional Desk.
  • If more than 10 minutes is required for such assistance, (and depending how busy the desk is), the user may be referred to DSS or asked to make an appointment.

Furniture

  • The library offers a variety of seating, tables and study areas. 
  • Each of the instructional labs has several worktables that adjust in height.

Braille Maps

  • The library has braille maps of the the library available for borrowing at the Circulation Desk

Resources

  • We work closely with our vendors to provide eresources that are accessible, whenever possible.  Ask at the Reference Desk for assistance using these resources.
  • The Library subscribes to more than 100 different databases, including 30,000 or so e-journals, and 25,000 ebooks. Most can be used with screen readers, can be magnified, include alternate text for images, and captioned video.
  • Articles that are provided in PDF may or may not be readable by text readers, depending on how they were originally created.  You will need a PDF viewer such as Acrobat Reader or Preview to view PDFs
  • SSU students may access the Library’s catalog and the articles and databases from off-campus. You must have a current SSU ID and a Library PIN.

Website

  • The Library has been a leader for many years in providing accessible and 508-compliant web pages.  There are a few exceptions due to specialized services where the vendor does not provide accessible code.  In those cases we are evaluating alternatives, with the goal of having all library web services accessible.

Media

  • Media materials, such as DVDs, are purchased with closed captions whenever available.
  • You can browse a list of captioned DVDs and videos, or search our Snoopy Library catalog for a list of captioned DVDs and videos, by doing a keyword search for the phrase “Video recordings for the hearing impaired.”
  • If you are working on an assignment and need a film from our collection that is not captioned, contact xxxxxxxx for more options.

Printed materials

  • Magnifiers and scanners are available. If you need an entire book scanned, contact Scott Kupferman in DSS.

Special/Regional Materials

Reserves

  • Items that have been put on reserve for your class by your instructors are available in either print or electronic formats.
  • Print reserves should be requested at the Circulation Desk. They may be checked out for a short amount of time (often 2 hours) so that all members of the class have access. You may photocopy or scan them for your use.
  • eReserves are available in digital format. The documents are in PDF format, but they may not all be readable with a text reader.

Services

Research assistance

  • Come to the Reference Desk on the second floor for assistance in finding and accessing the information you need. If others are waiting, we may need to limit the initial consultation to ten minutes and make an appointment for more extended assistance.
  • To make an appointment, call 664-2161.
  • If you are online you can also send questions to our Ask a Librarian email service or 24/7 Chat service.
  • Subject-specific research guides are also available.

Workshops

  • See the Workshops schedule for the dates, times and locations.
  • Articles, Books and Beyond is a drop-in workshop offered several times a week that focuses on the basics of how to find a book or article and general information about the library.
  • The Library Channel offers one- to two-minute videos that walk you through the simple steps of finding a book or article, creating a Library PIN, choosing a database, finding movies, locating reserve materials, etc. These videos are captioned.
  • Additional workshops are offered in the Digital Lab (2d floor) on scanning, Photoshop, PowerPoint, Dreamweaver, iMovie and YouTube.
  • In collaboration with IT, we also offer workshops on creating accessible documents using Word and PowerPoint (including LecShare software).

Media & Microform

  • If you need assistance using media materials (DVDs, CDs, LPs, etc.) or microform, ask for assistance at the Multimedia Desk on the second floor.

Interlibrary Services

  • Staff will assist with identifying the best service to use, to make sure the Library does not already own the materials, and to fill out the forms. Ask for assistance at the Reference Desk.

Retrieving materials

  • Circulating materials (i.e., ones that can be checked out) may be requested and picked up at the Circulation Desk on the second floor. This service is generally available within 15 minutes, but that may vary depending on how busy it is.
  • Assistance with printing and/or photocopying can be provided at the Reference Desk, the Circulation Desk or the Regional Desk.
  • If more than 10 minutes is required for such assistance, (and depending how busy the desk is), the user may be referred to DSS or asked to make an appointment. Library staff may contact Disability Services for Students, if needed.

Referrals

Disability Services for Students (DSS)

  • DSS provides specific academic-related accommodations such as disability management, advising, note takers, alternate media, assistive technology, and other reasonable accommodations.

Information Technology

  • Contact the IT Help Desk (707) 664-HELP (664-4357) or helpdesk@sonoma.edu for assistance with your personal computing needs.

Accessible Technology Initiative

  • ATI is the CSU commitment to providing access to information resources and technologies for students and the university's public with disabilities (physical, sensory, cognitive, learning).

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