Ulaanbaatar, April 10, 2023 /MONTSAME/. Ulaanbaatar Public Library (UPL) has a hall, equipped specially for people with visual impairments. In 2004, the hall began offering a service to its readers to listen to audiobooks that are recorded on CDs and cassettes. Since it takes much time to record the reading of large books, the audio recor­dings used to be divided into sepa­rate files that last 10 minutes.

To improve the accessibility of its services the Library in collaboration with the Mongolian National Federation of the Blind (MNFB) applied to the Global Public Libraries initiative of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foun­dation for the grant in 2010. The Library’s project proposal was selected as one of the 12 qualified projects among more than 300 projects. The UPL project was implemented for a year, from August 2010 to August 2011, installing a digi­tal recording studio and starting to record books into DAISY format. The Library also distributed Digital Talking Books to school #116 and some libraries in the countryside, where such service could be offered.

Digital Talking Books go far beyond the limits imposed on analog audio books because they can include not just the audio rendition of the work, but also the full textual content and images. It enables the reader, for example, to jump from 23rd page to 55th page or search by titles. The technology gives visually impaired people the same feeling as reading a printed book.

There are many other solutions to receive information and im­prove knowledge including spea­king apps as well as techno­logy to write in Brail letters on computer and mobile devices. The UPL has introduced such tech­nologies and offers its readers various services. UPL librarian Oyunbayar, said that students and readers bring regular printed books, they want to read and get the books copied in Brail letters using special software and equipment. At present, this service is avai­lable only at UPL, a unique fea­ture of the library.

The special hall has 20 seats and computers with internet, CCTV screens that magnify letters for visually impaired people, and braille bookshelves. The hall stocks over 6000 braille and digital talking books in more than 300 categories of science and literature. MNFB used to hold the one and only braille printing machine that’s available in Mon­golia. One page of a regular book is equivalent to four pages of a Braille book which means a high cost is expected to print in Braille. The UPL hall has been transformed into a place where visually impaired people learn new tech­nologies besides reading books.

Mr M. Tsengel, DAISY Ex­pert at the Library, said, “We provide training at the Library. Visually impaired people come to the accessible technology room to have software installed on their phones. We give instructions and advice upon the requests of customers and carry out training based on the readers’ needs, using six computers available here.” Mr. Tsengel is visually impaired. He graduated from a special school and learned English and com­puter skills by himself. After his attendance in a computer and technology training for capacity building of people with visual impairments in Asia and Pa­cific in Malaysia in 2007, he star­ted working at MNFB as a computer teacher. He is a skilled professional, who also took part in the “Daisy” international standard training 2009 in Thailand.

Currently, there are two special equipment that transform books into braille and eight DAISY readers at the library, where people can read braille books and listen to audiobooks. People with visual impairments are able to receive information through their senses of touching and hearing. The public library provides a comprehensive service for visually impaired people and assists them to receive information and get educated. Across the country, there are more than 11 thousand people with visual impairment. 3000 of them live in Ulaanbaatar. The public library is here to serve them.