Thanks to CU project, L-VIS is in the library

At the unveiling of the L-VIS (low-vision) workstation, Jan. 29, at Tompkins County Public Library, Ithacan Richard Farruggio, center, who is blind, works at the keyboard, while, from left, Jennifer Schlossberg, adult reference librarian; Rachel Davidson, Cornell assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering; James Ferwerda, research associate with the Cornell Program of Computer Graphics; and Sherry Thurston, a counselor at the Finger Lakes Independence Center, look on. Frank DiMeo/University Photography

L-VIS stands for "low vision," but everyone calls the new low-vision workstation at Tompkins County Public Library "Elvis." The result of a joint project between Cornell Engineers Without Frontiers, the Cornell Program of Computer Graphics, the Tompkins County Public Library and the Finger Lakes Independence Center, L-VIS enables people with visual disabilities to have better access to the range of library services, including print materials, electronic databases and the Internet.

The new workstation was unveiled at the county library in downtown Ithaca Jan. 29.

L-VIS can display text in enlarged form or read the text out loud. It can be used in conjunction with the World Wide Web or any other text that already is computer-readable, and it includes an OCR enabled scanner that allows users to read the pages of printed books.

A team of students in Cornell Assistant Professor Rachel Davidson's Engineers Without Frontiers course contributed to the project by researching the needs of potential users and selecting the hardware and software to be used. The team consisted of Catherine Cannon, Frank Fu, Marianne Herbst, Magdalena Preciado Lopez, Denise Yusuff, James Smithmeyer, Manuel Hernandez and Stephanie Kwan. James Ferwerda, research associate with the Cornell Program of Computer Graphics, worked as the project supervisor.

Students in Davidson's course work on community service projects through the national Engineers Without Frontiers organization, founded and based at Cornell. The students also have been studying the physical structure of the county library to find other ways of making it more accessible to all users, Davidson said, and have recommended changes in signage and the installation of a tactile map.