OREANDA-NEWS. August 14, 2013. Olga Einasto, Head of the Service Department of UT Library, will be given the IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions) International Marketing Award. The project “Talking Textbooks” won the award. The aim of the project is to help blind and visually impaired students use the study materials and prepare for the exams. The project focused on reading the books out loud and saving them in audio files as well as digitizing the study materials.

According to Olga Einasto, leader of the project, the new services have been very warmly welcomed by the target group. “The project “Talking Textbooks” is a new type of marketing, which has potential future especially for university libraries, and which is based on very deep research into the needs of the target group, on personal approach and active communication with the clients.” With this project, the library has taken a step closer to helping the students with special educational needs successfully cope with studying.

Blind students receive audio or digitized files on the basis of the list of literature. The students can listen to the digitized study materials and lecture notes with a special programme JAWS, which transforms the text into speech.

The project “Talking Textbooks” is supported by the project “Library without Walls or Home Service”. “Library without Walls or Home Service” is intended for readers for whom visiting the library is difficult due to their physical or sensory disabilities. Thus, they can borrow and return books at their home with the help of volunteers. Cooperation partners of the project are Office for Academic Affairs and Counselling Centre of University of Tartu.

The leader of the project “Talking Textbooks” is Olga Einasto, Head of the Service Department of UT Library. The project was initiated with the help of volunteers. The project is supported by programme Primus implemented by Archimedes Foundation. The implementation of the programme is supported by the European Social Fund.

University of Tartu Library was awarded the IFLA International Marketing Award also in year 2007.