La Plata, January 27, 2017 – The Charles County Public Library (CCPL) is proud to announce that we now have workstations that provide assistive technology to users protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). CCPL is a part of the state-wide effort to provide ADA Compliant workstations for disabled citizens.

“Maryland Libraries are very excited to provide this service to Maryland’s disabled citizens, especially as we celebrate the 26th anniversary of the signing of ADA. Local libraries welcome patrons with special needs to visit and use this equipment,” said Irene Padilla, Assistant State Superintendent of the Division of Library Development and Services (DLDS), Maryland State Department of Education.

These workstations have electric height-adjustable tables with computers, 27 inch monitors, special keyboards, JAWS® screen reader software, MAGic® screen enlarging software, and an Optelec® CCTV that has Optical Character Reading (OCR) capabilities that will read aloud any print text. The workstations allow citizens to access information over the internet or in print that they would not normally be able to read or reach. One ADA work station can now be found at each of the four CCPL branches.

Funding for this project was provided through a Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).

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About Charles County Public Library

Charles County Library System has four physical buildings. The Waldorf West and P.B. Brown Memorial branches are both located in Waldorf. The La Plata branch serves as the headquarters and in located in the town of La Plata. The western side of the county is served by the Potomac Branch located in Ruth B. Swann Park. A mobile library unit will be launching in the spring of 2017.