Services for users with disabilities and SLD

What it is

This initiative aims to enhance the existing lending service by creating a new one for those students of our University who are unable to physically visit the university libraries. It is possible to borrow library-owned items directly from home.

How it works

Students with physical disabilities can borrow books directly from home without going to the library:

• To find out in which library the volume is located, you need to consult OneSearch
• If the book are available for loan, you can call the library directly to arrange the loan
• In every library there are staff to assist in searching and placing a hold on the books needed
• The materials will be delivered by courier to the address indicated by the student
• At the end of the loan term the student will call the library either to renew the loan or to arrange for pick up of the borrowed items

Who can use it

All users with a long-term or temporary physical disability, can use the service. Those who have not already submitted to the University their disability certificate can use this self-declaration form and send it to the library of choice.

It is possible to request a copy in a digitally accessible format of the books belonging to the University of Florence. This service is possible thanks to the accreditation as an authorized entity by the Ministry of Culture and thanks to the agreement with the Biblioteca Italiana per i Ciechi "Regina Margherita"- ONLUS which converts texts in other formats (braille and enlarged characters)

The service is available for users who are blind, visually impaired, with perceptual or reading disabilities, or with certain physical disabilities (see Law 633/1941, art. 71bis, paragraph 2 ter.)

To access the service and learn about its terms and conditions:

• write to:  sbainclusione-group(AT)unifi.it
• visit Unifi include page.

You can also borrow LIA (Libri Italiani accessibili-Accessible italian books) certified ebooks in accessible format for blind and visually impaired, through MLOL - Media Library OnLine - Unifi and through Pandoracampus, multi-publisher digital lending platforms.

It is possible to borrow books by delegating another person.

The delegated person needs to have with them: 

• the written delegation of the delegator;
• a photocopy of the student's ID or academic record booklet (libretto universitario);
• their own ID.

All tools listed below can be used free of charge by the students during the opening hours of the libraries.

Text-to-speech programs (Jaws for Windows and NVDA)

The University libraries have 11 workstations with computers equipped with text-to-speech programs (Jaws for Windows or NVDA), aimed specifically at visually impaired, blind, and dyslexic users. These workstations allow users to consult online catalogs, access electronic resources (e-journals, full-text publications, databases), and browse the Internet during library opening hours.

Basic knowledge of the keyboard and the Windows environment is required to use the workstations.

A contact person is available for each library to help with its use.

The workstations are active in the libraries indicated in the table below.

Leggilibri (Read-aloud book readers)

Two 'leggilibri' are available, in the Biomedical and Prato Campus libraries. This reading system consists of a scanner that reproduces the text in the book using a human voice and also allows it to be saved electronically.

'Large keyboard'

Some University libraries offer workstations equipped with a 'large keyboard'. This is a set of adhesive labels that reproduce, in enlarged format, every graphical symbol on a computer keyboard, from letters to punctuation, from numbers to commands.

It is an effective tool, provided by the Municipality of Venice as part of the "Lettura Agevolata (Facilitated Reading) Project" (from which the 'Lettura Agevolata Onlus Association' was founded in 2010), for all those who have visual or perceptual difficulties or even simply need more marked reference points to be able to type on the computer.

Due to its characteristics, it can also prove useful when, due to reduced motor skills or the use of only one hand, it is not possible to write without using, at least in part, the eyes, or when it is necessary to use a keyboard different from the one you are used to and for which you are well trained.

Videoenlarger

Six color videoenlargers are available (two at the Biomedical Library, one at the Sciences Library-Sciences Campus of Sesto Fiorentino, one at the Technology Library- Engineering branch, one at the Social Sciences Library and one at the Humanities Library- Liberal Arts branch) that enlarge texts and images up to 43 times their normal size and display them on a 17-inch monitor, as well as two laptops, available at the Biomedical Library and the Social Sciences Library.

Tools for visually impaired, blind, and dyslexic users in the libraries