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Assistive technology at State Library Victoria
State Library Victoria offers assistive technology from two zones:
The Quad the study-space nearest to the Swanston Street entrance.
Redmond Barry Reading Room, the study-space nearest to the Russell Street entrance.
See also our Access & Inclusion page on our website.
Read and Write
This is software to assist with reading or manipulating text.
To use it, click on the icon and open the toolbar.
Learn more about the Read and Write toolbar.
This software is available on all 4 assistive technology computers
Zoom text
This software allows computer users with low vision to see, hear and use everything on Windows desktops, laptops and tablet devices.
The ZoomText frequently asked questions are very helpful. There is more information at the ZoomText Help Centre.
To use this software onsite at State Library Victoria, put on headphones and click on the ZoomText icon. This software is available on all 4 assistive technology computers
NVDA (Non-Visual Desktop Access)
NVDA is a free and open-source, portable screen-reader for Microsoft Windows.
It was created by a registered charity and software development company called NV Access. Read what they say about NVDA. The NVDA site has more information, and very good help pages.
This software is available on all 4 assistive technology computers
Dragon Dictation Software
Dragon is a 'word to text' speech recognition software.
It is available on computer number 2 in the Quad.
You need to use the headphones to use Dragon. You need to speak clearly and in full sentences.
If you view the tutorial and run the software you can create a basic document on Word. You can save this to your own USB.
If you want to develop more skills with Dragon, you can subscribe to the software, or buy it yourself to use at home.
For a tutorial on how to use Dragon, created by Phizz Telford, Digital Resources Graduate Librarian, click on the document below:
Pearl reader
Pearl is a text reader.
The unit has a camera and headphones.
It sits on the left, next to computer #4 in the Redmond Barry reading room and computer #1 in the Information Centre.
To use the Pearl reader, put a book or text under the camera lens. There is nothing to turn on. It does not have a light.
Put on the headphones that come with the Pearl camera.
Instructions:
1. Place item against bottom frame of Pearl Reader.
2. Double click to launch 'Open Book' software. A blank window will appear.
3. Press 'space bar' to capture image of book page or text under Peal Reader.
4. Wait for camera sound, the document will be read out loud immediately after.
Keyboard Shortcuts:
'Space Bar' for image capture.
'Ctrl' for pause reading.
'Ins+down arrow' to resume reading.
'Alt+F4' to close program, option to save will also appear.
How to find medical information
a guide to medical and health resources at the Library
School and education history in Victoria
a guide to help research into education in Victoria
Photograph of the Information Centre
Photograph of the Pearl reader and an assistive technology computer
Photograph of the Redmond Barry Reading Room
Desktop icon |
Resource name |
What it does |
More help |
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Dragon Naturally Speaking |
Dragon is dictation software. You speak into it to dictate text and create documents. (!) Only available on Assistive Technology Computer #2 in the Information Centre. |
Watch Dragon NaturallySpeaking Tutorial 1: Getting Started [Video, 9 mins] for a detailed introduction. Read this Quick Start Guide [PDF, 8 pages] for Dragon 13 by Nuance (software creator). Read this Command Cheat Sheet [PDF, 3 pages] by Nuance (software creator). |
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FSReader | Use it to read all types of DAISY format books i.e., audio only, text only or full-text and full-audio. |
Read this FSReader Getting Started Guide [webpage] by the DAISY Consortium. Watch JAWS FSReader Overview [Video, 7 mins] for an introduction. |
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Fusion | Use Fusion to access both ZoomText® and JAWS® programs for screen reading functionality. |
Read this Getting Started with Fusion Guide [webpage] by Freedom Scientific (software creator). For video-based guides, visit the Fusion Videos YouTube playlist. For more help, visit this website of Fusion training by Freedom Scientific (software creator). |
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JAWS |
JAWS stands for Job Access With Speech. Software that helps computer users with low vision. It reads the screen to you. |
Watch JAWS Windows 10 Desktop Overview [Video, 5 mins] by Freedom Scientifica (software creator). For more video-based guides, visit the JAWS Videos YouTube playlist. |
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NVDA |
NVDA stands for Non Visual Digital Access. Software that helps computer users with low vision use Microsoft products. It reads the screen to you. |
Watch Screen Reader Basics: NVDA [Video, 9 mins] for a detailed overview. |
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OpenBook (software), which works with the PEARL Reader (hardware) |
OpenBook works with PEARL Reader to convert printed documents into an electronic text format on your computer where text-to-speech and magnification can be applied. PEARL has a camera and headphones. (!) Only available on Assistive Technology Computers #1 in the Information Centre and #4 in the Redmond Barry Reading Room. |
Watch PEARL Reading Solution from Freedom Scientific [Video, 4 mins] for a quick overview on how to use both OpenBook and PEARL. Read the OpenBook Quick Start Guide [PDF, 42 pages] for a detailed overview. For desktop instructions, refer to pages 17-27. Read the PEARL Quick Start Guide [PDF, 31 pages] for a detailed overview and troubleshooting help. |
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Read&Write |
Software to assist with reading or manipulating text. |
Watch Read&Write [Video, 2 mins] for a quick introduction. For an introduction to using Read&Write in Chrome for teachers, watch Read&Write for Google Chrome - Tutorial (2016) [Video, 8 mins]. For more video-based guides, visit the texthelp channel. For other help, visit the Useful Resources section of this texthelp webpage. |
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Zoomtext |
Software that helps computer users with low vision to see, hear and use everything on windows desktops, laptops and tablet devices. |
Watch ZoomText Reader / Voice [Video, 4 mins] for a quick introduction. Watch ZoomText Demo: App Reader [Video, 13 mins] for a detailed overview. For more video-based guides, visit the Zoomtext videos YouTube playlist by Freedom Scientific Training (software creator). |