A university library in Surrey is among the first in Canada to have a braille printer available for school and community use.
Kwantlen Polytechnic University's Surrey campus library is home to a new braille embosser, which prints braille characters onto paper for tactile reading by readers with a visual disability, like sociology student Michael McClellan.
A lifelong braille user, McClellan says the new embosser will help improve access to class materials.
"I want to get the material at the same time as everyone else, and having the braille printer makes it accessible for everyone," he said.
“I need to have class materials such as slideshows in braille, otherwise I have no idea where we're at in class."
The self-serve embosser can be used by anyone for the fee of 25 cents per page, for personal documents or materials within the Canadian Copyright Act’s Fair Dealing guidelines. Use of the machine is free for KPU instructors printing documents to support their students.
Appointments can be booked online (kpu.ca/library/braille-printing), or call 604-599-3236.
Kelsey Chaban, KPU liaison librarian, believes that "this type of access to a braille embosser has not been done before, at least in Western Canada, in a library."
She said unless braille users have an embosser at home, they typically don't have an opportunity to print out materials on their own. “We’re hoping that it won’t just be students, but also community members outside of KPU, who will benefit from this service," Chaban added.