Academic
A 1976 study at Ohio State University of visually impaired students population 38; surveyed, i.e., who could be reached: 26 including 6 blind students and 20 partially sighted students) concerning their special equipment needs showed that4 of the blind students reported a need for a braille writer; 1 blind student reported a need for an Optacon; 4 of the partially sighted students reported a need for a television-type magnifier; and 16 of both blind and partially sighted groups reported a need for a tape recorder. 7 of the partially sighted students reported no need for any of the equipment. (Source)
Ibid…. showed that 9 (45.0%) of the partially sighted students and 1 (16.7%) of the blind students reported using none of the available library equipment for the visually impaired. (Source)
Public
A 1971 survey of Canadian public libraries serving communities with populations of more than 8,000 people conducted by the Adult Services Section of the Canadian Library Association concerning service to the physically handicapped (survey size: 222; responding: 111 or 50%) showed thatthe number of libraries providing various special materials was as follows:
large print books 90 (81.1%) libraries
films 64 (57.7%) libraries
cassettes 23 (20.7%) libraries
cassette players 16 (14.4%) libraries
opaque projectors 9 (8.1%) libraries
overhead projectors 7 (6.3%) libraries
talking books 4 (3.6%) libraries
talking book machines 3 (2.7%) libraries (Source)
Ibid…. showed thatthe following number of libraries provided the following types of services or facilities for handicapped patrons:
home delivery service 46 (41.4%) libraries
wheel chair ramps, elevators 31 (27.9%) libraries
books or other material by mail 24 (21.6%) libraries
programs for the handicapped 13 (11.7%) libraries
television/radio programs 3 (2.7%) libraries
deposit collections:
senior citizen homes 60 (54.1%) libraries
nursing homes 32 (28.8%) libraries
hospitals 28 (25.2%) libraries
senior citizen centers 22 (19.8%) libraries
drop-in centers 4 (3.6%) libraries