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Dear all,
Thank you very much to those who replied to my query about searchroom
announcements and deaf/hard of hearing users. The responses received were
very helpful and informative, and I've summarised them below:
---
"I am an archives assistant and I am profoundly deaf and rely on lipreading.
We are a small department of six, and have limited searchroom facilities.
Before a researcher comes, and while s/he is with us, s/he is given a list
of regulations which includes that "the Archives is open to readers, by
prior arrangement, from Monday to Friday betweeen the hours of 10am and
4pm"; also that "The latest time for requesting a document is 3.45pm".
These would alert the researcher, hearing, deaf, or hard of hearing, to the
timescales.
However, on a personal basis, if I were doing research in your colleague's
searchroom, and it was large/ I was not aware of the time/ I was engrossed
in my work, perhaps your colleague would alert me in person, or perhaps
flash the room lights, to warn me that there was an announcement. The above
would be in addition to being given a list of regulations. If spoken
communication was a barrier, and sign language unfamiliar, perhaps writing
down the announcements would be best? It would work for me!"
---
"The various reading rooms have always rung what are effectively old
fashioned domestic front door bells, a
quarter of an hour and five minutes before the end of the day to signal
packing up time. There are no special arrangements for the deaf. There
is a sign on the issue desk giving the time of last orders, and the
photocopy desk closes when the first bell is rung, so we have never had
to signal last orders, last calls etc. individually."
---
"As a hearing aid user, could I make a plea for induction loops?"
----
"1.It would be a good idea to have Hearing Loops placed in such a way that
they can operate all round the searchroom, (so several in effect) as from
personal experience she has found that ones near an entrance are not
always switched on.
2.For announcemnets - perhaps give the deaf person a pager that vibrates,
but this may not be cost effective.
3.Switch the lights 'on' and 'off' to get the deaf persons attention.
4.Finally, just tell individually."
---
"I am profoundly deaf myself and am also working as a searchroom assistant -
I also have a few suggestions which will hopefully give you some ideas....
- one way to alert them to last call for copies would be to fit in a loop
system that covers the area of the searchroom (a loop system that is wired
all around the room) rather than just at the enquires desk. Ideally this
means that people who can use the T switch on their hearing aids will be
able to hear the last calls being made wherever they are in the room, not
just if they are near the enquiries desk (as long as you turn on the
microphone and speak into it!)
- another way would be to hand out vibrating pagers to alert them. For
example if last calls for requests was being shouted, you could set off the
vibrating pagers... it could also alert them to fire alarms and so on.
However, this may not be very practical and I doubt if this would be cost
effective!!
- another way - quite simple but could be irriating! - would be to have a
flashing light of some kind or to turn them on and off (like some pubs do
when calling for last orders). Am not sure how practical this would be but
in my experience anything helps!
- another suggestion I have would be to go around teling each deaf and hard
of hearing person that last calls for copies have been called etc. Again, I
appreciate that this is not always practical as you may be too busy for that
and sometimes you are not aware that a certain person is deaf or hearing
impaired. "
---
Thank you again to all those who replied.
Best wishes
Catherine Redfern
Archive Inspection Officer
The National Archives
Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 4DU
Tel: 020 8392 5330 x.2354 http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/services
-----Original Message-----
From: Catherine Redfern [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 23 September 2004 09:05
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Searchroom announcements and deaf / hard of hearing users
Dear list members,
I am sending this message on behalf of a colleague who would like to know
whether any archive services have looked at the issue of searchroom
annoucements or public annoucements generally and how these can be
communicated to deaf of hard of hearing users.
My colleague is thinking mostly about announcements such as last orders for
documents, last call for copies, etc rather than evacuation procedures,
which are already covered. However any advice, comments or experiences would
be gratefully received.
Please reply to me at [log in to unmask] and I will
summarise responses to the list.
Many thanks,
Catherine
Catherine Redfern
Archive Inspection Officer
The National Archives
Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 4DU
Tel: 020 8392 5330 x.2354 http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/services
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