Library seminar seeks better access for people with disabilities

31/10/00
Better ways for people with disabilities to use Western Australia's libraries will be examined at the first inter-agency library seminar being held today in Perth.
The Supporting People with Disabilities - Library Seminar, an innovative collaborative alliance of a number of agencies, was opened by Employment and Training Minister Mike Board.
Mr Board said the seminar was a joint initiative of the Department of Training and Employment, the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) and the Library and Information Service of Western Australia (LISWA).
The seminar, which is being run as part of the Department's Building Diversity Strategy, was designed for librarians and library staff from public libraries and for people working in vocational education training and employment, to explore how to better meet the needs of people with disabilities.
"People with disabilities have specific needs and the challenge for service providers is to find ways to address each one of these equitably, while reaching even more people with disabilities," Mr Board said.
"There has been a need to improve services offered to people with disabilities.
"However, libraries can now provide a valuable service to people with disabilities in the modern information age, in which print and electronic formats need to be accessible to all Western Australians.
"There are a number of initiatives which have been introduced, such as providing books with large print, talking books, videos, and captioned videos.
"Last year a text scanner and video enlarger were installed in the Alexander Library building to enable blind and vision impaired people to access printed resources."
Mr Board said the State Government had also undertaken a number of initiatives to improve access to vocational education and training for people with disabilities.
"The State Government has committed about $2.5 million to a comprehensive range of programs to improve access to vocational education and training and increase the participation of people with disabilities," he said.
"Some of the key initiatives involve allocating $1.6 million, under the Department of Training and Employment's Industry Specific Program, to train students with disabilities to work in areas of high skill shortages.
"In addition to this, $600,000 has been allocated to TAFE Colleges to improve services for people with disabilities. This money will fund research student needs and purchase equipment to provide career advice and train staff."
Media contact: Diana Callander 9222 9699