- Hunter Library
- Services
- Accessibility
Accessibility
In accordance with the American Library Association’s advocacy statement, Hunter Library seeks to “serve all community members, including people of color, immigrants, people with disabilities, and the most vulnerable in our communities, offering services and educational resources that transform communities, open minds and promote inclusion and diversity.” While many services and devices are available, Hunter Library has prioritized technology devices that assist in the use of the library’s physical collections
Our Facilities and Services
Hunter Library offers patrons a variety of accessible facilities and services.
Parking
There are two designated parking spaces are available in front of the library, several by the church across the street, and one on the hill above the library. An official, state-issued disability designation is required.
Accessible Entrance
The main entrance to Hunter Library has a button-operated accessible door. A wheelchair is also available to use within the library.
Contact the Circulation Desk at 828.227.7485 for assistance.
Elevators
Hunter Library has two publicly accessible elevators that go to all floors.
Restrooms
Wheelchair-accessible restrooms are located on the first floor beside the elevator.
Library Webpage
Hunter library’s webpages strive to maintain WCAG 2.1 accessibility standards. If you encounter any issues navigating these pages, please report the issues to the library suggestion page.
Personal Assistance
Personal assistance is available throughout the library.
- Reference and research assistance
Services include assistance using the library catalog, finding/retrieving print reference materials, providing print and electronic subject guides; tours of the library, photocopying, scanning/OCRing, and individualized instruction. Contact the Reference Desk via phone, email, chat, or make an appointment.
- Circulation or accessing physical items
Books and other physical materials can be retrieved and held at the Circulation Desk for pickup. Home delivery of library items is also available.
Simply search the library catalog and use the Request link. You will receive an email when the item is ready for pickup or being delivered.
WCU Campus Resources
Western Carolina University has additional accessibility services.
The Office of Accessibility Resources may be contacted at 828.227.3886 or accessibility@wcu.edu.
University Policy 83: Accommodation of Faculty, Employees, and Applicants with Disabilities.
North Carolina Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
The North Carolina Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NCLBPH) is a special public library that circulates books and magazines especially made for persons who cannot use regular printed material because of a visual or physical disability. The library is located in Raleigh, but mails materials throughout the state.
Assistive Technologies
Hunter Library has a variety of assistive technologies (devices, software and other equipment) available to patrons.
The Pearl/OpenBook workstation (ADA station) Located near the Reference Desk, this public area computer is equipped with the Pearl Portable Reading Camera and the OpenBook scanning/reading software, a high contrast – large letter keyboard and trackball mouse. This station can scan printed material and read it to you via the attached headphones. Students will need to check out a set of headphones from the Circulation Desk. The software captures an image of the page(s) and allows the user to follow along (using a variety of highlighting, enlarging, and font features) with the most comfortable voice option.
This video magnifier device can enlarge the view of a single page of print material. A control panel at the station allows the user to control the magnification level, as well as scroll around the text.
The KIC Bookeye Scanner is in the Scholar Studio area. Using this device, print documents can be scanned as PDFs or converted to MP4 audio files from OCRed documents. The scanner bed is17 x 24 inches and can scan in black and white, grayscale, or color from 100 to 600 dpi resolution. It can convert color documents to black and white or grayscale for color blindness. Documents can be saved to USB flash drive, which is necessary for very large documents that can’t be sent via email. Scanned documents can also be saved to Google Drive or transmitted to a smart device.
This software offers a variety of assistive features that.support a wide range of students with disabilities. Any student can obtain software access by contacting WCU’s Office of Accessibility Resources. After creating an account, students can download the Kurzweil 3000 software onto their computer with custom portal for document storage. Features include a screen-reader, reading, writing, test-taking, and study-skill tools as well as a web plugin that allows screen-reading with popular browsers. The portal can store items that need to be read, edited, or referenced frequently for courses, including test-taking accommodations. Hunter Library has installed Firefly, a “read-the-web” extension /plugin, on its public area computers. Students with a Kurzweil account may use it to read, download, and store documents in their cloud drive.
The magnifying glass is available at the Assistive Technology Desk.
This desk is located to the left of the Reference Desk towards the CD/DVD area by the High-End Editing Stations.
Several sets are available for checkout at the Circulation Desk
