Available for the Asking
We would like to thank all of the people who have donated items to make this program possible.
I’m sorry, but these items are not sorted in any particular order. They are just listed. The first number for each item tells how many we have in total. If they are currently out on loan, this is indicated by the second number.
So far, many people have taken advantage of this program. Here are a few. Just click the picture to advance.
Victor Reader Classic
2
2 On Loan
The old standby. It just works, but the rechargeable batteries are hard to get. Just use it plugged in.
Humanware Victor Reader Stream
2
2 On Loan
This one is small and portable with a rechargeable battery. You need a computer to load the data card.
1
This is a talking GPS. It comes with a power supply and a USB cable.
Humanware Victor Reader VIBE
1
They’ve been around forever, but some people still swear by them. They look like an old CD player but they do much more. With this device you can listen to CD’s and Audiobooks, but you can also browse and listen to Daisy discs (such as the magazine service disc distributed by CNIB / CELA). This one comes with a power supply and a headset, but the rechargeable batteries are missing. You will need two AA batteries.
Humanware Victor Reader WAVE
6
1 On Loan
This is very similar to the Victor Reader VIBE, but is a slightly newer version. It comes with a power supply and rechargeable batteries, but can also use two AA batteries.
Transformer USB or VGA
12
5 On Loan
This is a compact document camera which folds up quite small. When plugged in, it captures a video image of any page placed below it. The image is the transferred to a small monitor which sits in front of you. The image can be in colour or in enhanced black, white, blue, etc. You can zoom in quite close and you can freeze an image. You can turn the camera forward to magnify something in the distance. The manual seems to say that you can connect the camera to a lapTop computer, which may make it even more convenient. Two power bricks are used when you are at your desk, but rechargeable batteries can give you more freedom. The whole package can easily be fit into the included backpack.
Transformer USB
3
This is identical to the Transformer USB and VGA (above), but it does not have a VGA output. This means it can only be used with a PC. When it is plugged into a computer, a window opens to allow you to install viewing software. You have to have your own PC. It comes in a convenient carry bag.
8
4 On Loan
This document camera is very compact. You actually place it right on a page and it rolls on the paper. On the display panel, you have several colour choices, including full colour The camera can be turned to view something in the distance. The panel can be plugged in, but if the battery is charged, then it becomes even more portable. It packs very nicely into a convenient bag.
Optelec Clearnote
2
This has a thin flat base with a rectangular post plugged into it. The camera is mounted onto the post. It is perhaps the easiest to set up of them all. There is no monitor but it does have a USB cable that is meant to plug into a computer. There is also VGA port so I just plugged it into a little TV. It worked like a charm.
Optelec Traveller
3
2 On Loan
This is a tabletop magnifier that sits directly on top of the page you want to read. It rolls across the page and the image is displayed on a built-in screen. If you stand it on end, you can use it to help with writing tasks (like signing on the line). It has a power pack which will charge the rechargeable batteries. It comes with a handy carrying case.
Scene Eye Series 410
2
To be honest, this seems like an amazing and very portable little camera. It looks to be new and unused. It has a distance mode and a closeup mode tor reading. It is meant to connect directly to a Windows laptop. It is rechargeable and fits into a bag about the size of a small camera bag. It has a USB output and a 15 pin VGA output. It works with a small monitor or TV. I found it a little awkward to use when it was connected to a small TV.
E-Bot Pro By HIMS
1
On Loan
This is a Hi Tech Document camera with many extra features. It stands on your desk with its own stand and it is operated by a wireless remote. It zooms. It has many different colour modes. With the push of a button it captures and reads the text from the page. There is a complex menu that allows many different settings. Once you place a paper on the base, you can move around the page using a joystick. It can be connected to an iPad or a computer or an android device, or just about anything. Unfortunately there is no software in the package and I could not find a download. The rechargeable battery does not charge, so I ended up just taking the battery out. The E-bot Pro might be fun for someone with a technical bent and wants to play.
1
The PEARL, combined with JAWS, Fusion, or OpenBook scanning and reading software, brings blind and low vision users instant portable access to printed material with an array of human-sounding voices. The folding camera deploys in seconds to connect to your PC and snap a picture of your reading material and begins reading it aloud instantly.
1
Plug it into your computer and you can instantly take a picture of any document. It worked on my Mac, but I would think there would be more flexibility on a PC.
Mimio Studio Virtual Ink
2
This is actually a teaching tool. The system is called Boxlight and it integrates with a whiteboard. I couldn’t try it out because I don’t have a whiteboard. It looks wonderful and is a very specialized tool. If I were still teaching I would love one.
Sony IPELA Security Camera
SNC-RZ-25N
6
1 On Loan
This is literally a security camera. It is wireless and networked. When it is set up it is assigned a URL so that it can be accessed from any browser. It may be mounted and accessed remotely or it can be carried with you and act as a CCTV. Setting it up will require a PC and some technical expertise.
Acrobat Camera
2
This camera clamps to a desk. It is not very portable. It has no monitor, but I connected it to a little TV using a VGA cable.
CD-R Discs
7 boxes
Each box has 20 discs packaged in individual cases. There are seven boxes. If your computer still has an optical drive, they can be used for data storage.
Receiver for Wireless Mic
1
With this and a mic, you can broadcast sound to your favourite speaker.
Receiver & Mic
1
This is a complete “Performance Gear” system (clip-on microphone and receiver. It comes in a hard plastic case.
1
On Loan
This is a pen. It works on special paper. You write or draw or chart…… Then you connect to your computer to upload your work. It converts writing to text, creates charts, draws pictures, completes actions, etc. The software is for Windows only. You don’t need to take your computer. It stores hundred of pages. The box includes software, pads, post-it notes, extra refills and a cradle which you can later connect to your computer.
Clipboard Easel
1
Purely mechanical
Braille Labeller
1
On Loan
Magnifiers
1
On Loan
Quite Large - Clamps onto a desk
1
On Loan
It is half of a sphere and sits directly on your page.
1
On Loan
Carson Near focus monocular telescope- tiny
1
On Loan
Glasses for TV. Second set of lenses is adjustable for distance
1
On Loan
Set of glasses with multiple lenses with different focal lengthsWhite with light
1
On Loan
White with light
1
On Loan
Black Hand-held with lighty
1
On Loan
Clear Crystal
Desk Lamp
2
Very heavy base. It certainly would be difficult to knock it over.
Folding Desk Lamp
DayClox Digital Clock
1
Large, Clear readout.
Hello Reminder Rosie Talking Clock
1
On Loan
It plugs in but it also can run on 2 AA batteries (the cover of the battery compartment is missing). You interact using your voice and it tells you what you need to know. The numbers are also quite large.
1
On Loan
Handheld digital magnifier in crushproof case.
Optelec Compact+
3
Handheld digital magnifier. Adjustable magnification level. Several colour modes. For some reason, the rechargeable battery will not recharge. A new battery is available on Amazon for $20.00 (US), but if the difficulty is with the charger, that won’t help. It will work with 2 AA batteries.
Airturn BT-105
1
This little device sits on the floor under your desk. It connects to your computer via Bluetooth. When you tap a peddle it will scroll your screen up or down This might be useful if you need to work hands-free.
Audio Books on CD
We have just received a collection of approximately 70 audiobooks.
Books on CD
Fiction:
*Harlan Coben: “Hold Tight” and “Fool Me Once”
*Robert Ludlum: “The Bancroft Strategy”
*Jan Karon: “A New Song”
Non-Fiction:
*Simon Winchester: “Krakatoa”
*Simon Winchester: “The Man Who Loved China”
*Simon Winchester: “The Meaning of Everything”
*Simon Winchester: “Outposts”
*Winston Churchill: “The Island Race”
Historical Non-Fiction:
*Edward Gibbon: ”The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Part 1”
*Edward Gibbon: ”The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Part 2”
Classical Authors – For Children:
*Hans Christian Andersen: “Andersen’s Fairy Tales”
*Aesop’s Fables
Classical Authors – For Adults
*Anton Chekhov: “Three Sisters”
*Bernard Shaw: “You Never Can Tell”
*Dante: “Paradise,” from “The Divine Comedy”
*Dante: “The Inferno,” from “The Divine Comedy”
*Dylan Thomas: “The Caedmon Collection”
*Geoffrey Chaucer: “The Canterbury Tales”
*James Joyce: Selections from his books
*James Joyce: “Dubliners”
*James Joyce: “Ulysses”
*John Milton: “Paradise Lost”
*Marcel Proust: “Swann’s Way”
*Mark Twain Audio Collection
*Sir Richard Burton: “The Arabian Nights”
*Virginia Woolf: “To the Lighthouse”
*William Shakespeare: All the World’s a Stage
*William Shakespeare: “The Winter’s Tale”
*William Shakespeare: “Much Ado About Nothing”
*William Shakespeare: “Julius Caesar” BBC Radio Full-Cast Production
*William Shakespeare: “King Lear”
*William Shakespeare: “Romeo and Juliet”
*William Shakespeare: “Romeo and Juliet” BBC Radio Full-Cast Production
*William Shakespeare: “The Tempest” BBC Radio Full-Cast Production
*William Shakespeare: Great Historical Shakespeare Recordings
Poetry:
*Children’s Poems: The Nation’s Favourite
*Great Poets of the Romantic Age
*Great Narrative Poems of the Romantic Age
*Poets of the Great War
*The Voice of Poetry: Sir John Gielgud and Dame Edith Evans
*”Howl” and other poems by Allen Ginsberg
*Selections from “The Faerie Queene,” by Edmund Spenser
*W.B. Yeats: Poems
*”Tales from Ovid,” read by Ted Hughes
Religion:
*The Revelation of St. John the Divine
*Pastor Bryan Swash: “Change or Chains”
*Pastor Bryan Swash: “Christmas and Gift Giving”
*Pastor Bryan Swash: “Christmas: It’s Intensely Personal”
*Pastor Bryan Swash: “The Gift Beyond Words”
*Pastor Bryan Swash: “Letting Go, Letting God be God”
*Pastor Bryan Swash: “Self-Identify or Self-Destruct”
*Pastor Bryan Swash: “What Child Is This?”
Olympia Telesensory Magnifier
1
This device sits directly on a piece of paper and rolls from side to side to read. There are three colour modes available and two text sizes. If you sit it on the included stand and change the focal length, you can poke your hand under it to see when you sign a cheque.
1
This is a newer version of the Victor Reader Stream. It will connect to WiFi so you can download books directly from the Library
2
It takes one 9 volt battery. Touch the head to any item and it will tell you the colour of that item.
1 on loan
This little device requires a sticky label. Hold the tip of the Penfriend on the label and speak to identify any item. The next time you only need to touch the label and the machine will speak the name of the item.
Folding Braille Ruler
1
Measure accurately by touch.
1 on loan
It takes a little while to warm up. When you then push the Scan button, it takes a picture of a page. It works away for a moment and then it reads the page aloud.