Availability And Use of Adaptive Technology For Supporting Persons With Disability in Selected Public Academic Libraries in Ghana

ABSTRACT

This study was to examine the available adaptive technologies and the role they play in supporting PWDs in public academic libraries in Ghana. University of Cape Coast library and University of Ghana library were purposively selected for the study since these institutions were known public universities that practice inclusive education. Interview guides were used as data collection tool. A total of 20 respondents were selected and the interviews targeted 16 students with disabilities, the 2 librarians and the 2 heads of the unit in the library that catered for the needs of the students with special needs. The library environment and services were assessed considering the adaptive technologies that are present in the selected cases to support PWDs to be independent users of the library. The thematic content analysis was used in analysing the data. On the constructive side, the study revealed that the two selected cases had some form of adaptive technologies that aided PWDs to access some services in the library, there was a special unit dedicated to serving the needs of PWDs and there were dedicated staff that served their needs. Nonetheless, the adaptive technologies that were needed to access the libraries built environment as well as library services were woefully inadequate to afford the students with disabilities independent life in the library environment. Elevators and ramps were missing, computers were often faulty, alternative format of information were in most cases not available, internet connectivity were often poor, and all these together with the financial challenge faced by the libraries and the lack of formal library policy that targeted service provision for PWDs made it difficult for the libraries to serve the students with disability. In view of these recommendations to improve on the provision of adaptive technologies included: changing some of the disabling factors in the built environment like providing ramps and elevators, increasing the number of adaptive technologies like computers with all the necessary software and ensuring that the available adaptive technologies are in a good working condition.