mission

The Regional Library Karlovy Vary can be treated as a multifunctional information centre providing modern library and information services and having been a vital community centre. It is open to everybody and that is why the effort of the staff in past years was focused on the people who are handicapped in any way. They are just the people who must be helped to join the community.

The Library has been working since 1945 in different ways and forms. In 2002 it became the regional library and since 2005 it has been situated in a new modern building. The Library provides wide range of services truly for all. The services consist not only of books lending, information access and online services, the Library offers also different programmes tailored on different groups of society (children, young adults, seniors, students, handicapped).
The Library also attends to a rare historical balneological literature collection (unique collection of books focused on spa treatment and connected branches).

In 2009 the Library was awarded for services focused on handicapped people, to be specific on blind and deaf. The project called “Visually and Hearing Impaired People – Come and Join Us”  corresponds well to the long-running programme, started in 1995 (department for blind and visually impaired people was established in the Library this year). The activity started with sound books lending. Today there is a wide range of services offered to handicapped people.

let´s  have a look at these activities

for blind and visually impaired visitors               

• sound books lending – the Library offers ca 2,600 titles (i.e. 13,130 media, most of them are cassettes, last two years CDs and now people come and download books into their flash-discs); in addition the visitors can also borrow an MP3 player (the users are mostly seniors, they used to use cassette - recorder  and they must learn how to manage the MP3 - player)

• large print periodicals
  
  
• SW to enlarge the text – special magnifier Zoom -Text and special equipment to transfer printed materials into the PC screen (Recognita Plus 5.0) accompanied by a voice (OutSpoken)
  
  
• the users of this department are mostly people who are not blind from their birth and that is why most of them are not able to read in Braille; the Library prefers to buy sound books instead of books in Braille, but there is also a modest display of books in Braille and also a Picht´s typewriter (which can type in Braille system) in the Library
  
  
• different kinds of physical aids (e.g. a simple thing which allows to recognize a banknote according to the size, an instrument which can recognise a colour, many things like chess, cubes, clock, cards, watches etc. which have haptic signs, sound weighing-machine – the weigh which has a sound output etc.)
  
  
• haptic collection of natural products is very popular, everybody can touch e.g. different kinds of nuts, shells, horn, spike of a porcupine etc., the most popular is a tiger´s beard
  
  
  
• porcelain haptic plastic  “Tracks and Balls”
  
  
• once a year the Library arranges a “joint meeting” where blind and visually impaired people meet students and other people, talk together, hear lectures or drama, watch exhibition etc.;  this meeting is organized on the occasion of White Cane Day; year 2009 was 16^th year of  these meetings at the Library; such meetings are very important because “healthy” people meet handicapped and they get to know what the problems are, they can also try to walk with eyepatch using a white cane or dog-assistant; and when they know, they can help
  
  
• blind-friendly web; http://www.knihovna.kvary.cz/cs/pro-navstevniky/pro-nevidome/
  
  
• the new building of the Library is equipped by the signalling navigation, while the blind person has “a distant driver”, the system navigates him/her - it tells him/her aloud which way to go to the department, where is a stairway, where to turn  etc.

for deaf and hearing impaired visitors

• co-operation with deaf people started only few years ago; starts were not so easy and that is why the results are valuable all the more
  
  
• in the beginning a questionnaire was created in order to discover how it is possible to help deaf people in the library; almost each of them reply that they don´t  expect any help
  
  
• first of all we started with the Czech sign-language courses for people in public services, librarians included; so the library staff is able to communicate with deaf people
  
  
• the Library started to offer excursions for deaf and hearing impaired people; step by step the Library has acquired the confidence of deaf people; different kinds of courses are organized for them – e.g. computer courses, memory training courses
  

• deaf and hearing impaired people became accustomed to visiting Library to attend lectures; the lectures are interpreted into the Czech sign-language; these lectures are regularly organized for public and thanks to interpreting they are open to deaf; the lectures are focused on different topics, the most popular are connected with the Karlovy Vary Region or ecology
  
  
• website: http://www.knihovna.kvary.cz/cs/pro-navstevniky/pro-neslysici55/

for visitors with mental disorders and parents looking for disabled children

• the Library provides regular activities, monthly meetings – in co-operation with the Institute of Social Care for Mentally Handicapped in Mariánská; people with different disorders meet pupils from basic schools and Grammar school and make performances for them
  
  
• artheterapy courses for handicapped and seniors was offered last year
  
  
• computer courses for parents looking for disabled children was organized last year for the first time; the courses were very appreciated and there is a hope the Library will be able to offer their continuation

space

In 2005 the Regional Library Karlovy Vary gained a new building. Library management was invited to participate in the project preparation. That is why librarians had space to discuss the lay-out of the building and were able to tailor departments on the demand of specific groups of users. Of course, the needs of disabled were taken into account. The building is well equipped in this way and makes people with disorders comfortable.

It is equipped with:

• access for wheelchairs users
• automatic doors
• lift to upper level
• accessible toilets
• induction loops
• car park disabled space

Photos from the library can be found on the following address: http://www.knihovna.kvary.cz/cs/o-knihovne/virtualni-prohlidka-knihovny/

funding 

Staff enthusiasm is - of course - the beginning of all. Funding is - of course - the second most important stuff. Almost all these activities (we can say almost 99% of the costs which arise through these activities) are financed from external funds (including the new building which was built/reconstructed - from the European Funds in 2005). It would not be possible to bring into effect activities for the disabled in such an extent without projects, without funding. The regular Library budget is not big enough to cover costs of these activities.

All services are free of charge.

figures in the year 2009

vision

All the activities for handicapped people are based on discussion and communication with these people. The Library co-operates with non-profit organisations focused on problems of blind, deaf people or people with different disorders. Created programmes are actively consulted. If an event appeals to them and proves good, there is an effort to raise money to be able to continue. We can say that the Library listens to disabled people actively and makes efforts to offer interesting and useful services.

One project is coming to an end but the life goes on. The Library is going to improve the services for disabled people, extend them or introduce entirely new ones - according to the demand of the disabled and financial means.