Upgrades make reading easy, accessible
The mental image the phrase “public library” frequently evokes involves metal shelving filled with worn bindings, with a severe-looking librarian perched behind the counter, index finger primed for shushing. Certainly, those shelving units and librarians are real, but the Broward County Public Library delivers so much more, and right to where you need it.
Take the Northwest Regional Library’s collection of eBooks (electronic books) and audiobooks (recordings of books read aloud.) For the full-time busybody, both options provide opportunities to enjoy stories without the hassle of trying to get to the library twice. The offerings simply disappear from your device after the loan period concludes, thus erasing the need to keep track of a book for longer than the day or two you need to read it. eBooks and audiobooks checked out through the Broward system don’t have late fees! Audiobooks are a nifty companion for the daily commute and road trips, often playable through your car’s sound system.
What’s that? You don’t have a device to download eBooks or play audiobooks? Worry you’re your local library shall provide. Digital tablets can be checked out for three months and renewed for another three months — that’s half a year. That might get a person a sixth of the way through their reading backlog!
For kids on summer break, Northwest Regional has child-friendly tablets that come with educational games, no internet required. These Launchpad Learning Tablets can be checked out for 21 days with two 7-day renewals.
It helps, too, that these kinds of technological upgrades make reading more accessible for the dyslexic, the visually impaired, and the otherwise disabled. While Broward Library has made plenty of impressive high-tech upgrades to its community services (virtual reality devices, portable wi-fi hotspots, amateur robotics labs, and more) throughout the region, what stands out is its dedication to making its services available to every resident, regardless of mobility or income level.
Impressive examples include accessible computer software that turns websites into braille for the blind, which is offered at several library locations; as are assistive listening devices that amplify sound but minimize background noise, aiding those with hearing loss. West Regional Library has a sign-language story time for children who have speaking and hearing difficulties. The county library even distributes specialized phones for people with any hearing, seeing, or speaking disability — at no charge. According to the 2017 census, 22.5 percent of Broward’s population is composed of seniors and just under 7 percent of non-seniors have a disability, so these additions to the library’s offerings have come at a time of need. They will join the dearly loved but more analogue Books-By-Mail program in offering as many options to as many residents as possible.