Event Accessibility
St. Mary’s County Library makes every effort to make events and programs accessible and inclusive.
When possible, we will do the following to make events and programs accessible and inclusive:
- Use microphones for presenters when group sizes are larger than 15.
- If taking questions or comments from the audience, provide a handheld microphone or have a presenter with a microphone repeat what was said.
- When showing video or other media which includes audio content, use captions, subtitles, or auto transcription if at all possible.
- At the beginning of an event or program, set expectations and state the expected order of events, verbally and/or visually.
- Provide warning before anticipated loud noises or other potential triggers for sensory sensitivity.
- Always use pre-packaged or commercially-prepared food. Information about any food and drink will be provided upon advanced request.
In-Library Accessibility
Each branch has one workstation that provides assistive technology to citizens of Maryland protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). 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. Funding for these workstations was provided through a Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).
Online Accessibility
St. Mary’s County Library is committed to making this website usable and accessible by everyone. We have made several improvements to our website to accomplish this goal and we are continually striving to improve the experience for our visitors. Every reasonable effort will be made to ensure that the pages of the library’s website are accessible and will continue to be accessible in accordance with the requirements of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998.
Recite Me Web Accessibility and Language Toolbar
We’ve added the Recite Me web accessibility and language toolbar to our website to make it accessible and inclusive for as many people as possible. It helps one in four people in the US who have a disability, including those with common conditions like sight loss and dyslexia, access our website in the way that suits them best. It also meets the needs of one in five people in the US who speak a language other than English at home, by translating our web content into over 100 different languages. The toolbar can be accessed by clicking “Accessibility Tools” in the header menu of any page of this website.
Comments on the accessibility of the website should be sent to our webmaster.
