At Ondokuz Mayıs University’s (OMU) Central Library, books are being digitized to make them accessible for visually impaired individuals.

The library’s disability services unit provides unlimited access to information for disabled individuals while offering technological consultancy as well.

The disability unit provides various facilities tailored to the specific needs of visually impaired users. Digitized books can be provided as audio recordings or printed using Braille printers upon request.

Audio recordings are produced using computer software, and upon request, books can also be read aloud by volunteers in the unit’s recording studio, creating audiobooks.

Ensuring Equal Access to Information Resources

İbrahim Ethem Olukcuoğlu, an instructor at OMU’s Library and Documentation Department, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that the primary aim of the disability unit is to ensure equal opportunities for disabled individuals to access information and information sources.

Highlighting that the disability unit at the library is open not only to university students but also to all citizens, Olukcuoğlu stated, "In the disability unit, we primarily provide consultancy services. We convert books into audiobooks, digitized text, or printed Braille formats that visually impaired individuals can easily access."

Fatma Satılmış, a visually impaired staff member at the disability unit, noted that visually impaired individuals could apply to the disability unit with their disability health board report.

Satılmış explained, "We convert books into PDF formats to be used with screen readers. If they prefer human-voiced audiobooks, we distribute the books to volunteers for recording and then send the audiobooks via email."

Abdullah Yiğit, a third-year student at OMU’s Department of Physical Education Teaching, said he learned about the library’s disability unit during his first year at the university. Yiğit stated, "Whenever I need resources such as textbooks or test books, I come to the library and can receive them in PDF or audio formats. For example, recently, I had an exam; I brought my textbook, and within the same day, they scanned it and provided it to me in PDF form."

Burak Yıldız, a second-year student at the Faculty of Theology, mentioned that he could read scanned books by enlarging their fonts, adding, "In class, while everyone else is taking notes from their books, without this service, I would have had to sit empty-handed, relying solely on memory. Now, I can access PDF versions of textbooks, take notes directly, and create my study materials. This service is invaluable, and I thank the disability unit for their excellent support."