AN ASSESSMENT OF THE AVAILABILITY AND USE OF ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGIES TOWARDS CREATING ACCESS TO ELECTRONIC LIBRARY RESOURCES FOR STUDENTS WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENT IN FEDERAL UNIVERSITY LAFIA, NASSARAWA STATE, NIGERIA.

Abstract

The study seeks to assess the availability and use of assistive technologies towards creating access to electronic library resources for students with visual impairment in Federal University Lafia, Nassarawa State, Nigeria. Guided by four objectives translated into four research questions, the research adopted the descriptive survey design with a total population of 19 respondents who were all included in the study as such, no sample and sampling technique was required. Two instruments were used to gather data for the study, the electronic library resources questionnaire (DEIAELR) and an electronic resources and assistive technology observation checklist (EATOC). The Findings of the study reveals that majority of the electronic resources are available, However most of the electronic resource are not accessible by the visually impaired students. Study further shows that there are few available assistive technologies that are available to aid the visually impaired students. However, the assistive technology available assist visually impaired students in accessing electronic resources. It was recommended that institutions should put effort to acquire sufficient assistive technologies to support access to electronic resources. It was also suggested that library staff be trained on the use of these assistive technologies in order to provide the adequate support to these category of users. This will promote equity and inclusiveness in access to digital resources.