This section provides definitions of key terms and concepts used in the study; these are libraries, academic libraries, library services, disabilities, impairment, and visual impairment, person with low vision, wheelchair users and information and communication technology
1.10.1 Academic libraries
Reitz (2007:5) defines an academic library as “an integral part of a college, university, or other institution of post-secondary education, administered to meet the information and research needs of its students, faculty, and staff.” Academic libraries are those of universities, polytechnics, colleges and all other institutions forming part of, or associated with educational institutions (Prytherch 1995:3) that is, apart from school libraries. An academic library is a part of the university or other higher education institution where books and non-book materials are kept for users. It is a building containing reading materials that staff and students can consult. It can also be considered to be an organized collection of published books and journals and other reading materials and includes the services of staff able to provide and interpret research, educational, recreational and cultural needs of its users (Igun 2006:18).
17 1.10.2 Disabilities
Carson (2009:7) defines a disability as “any restriction or lack, resulting from impairment of ability to perform any activity in the manner or within the range considered normal for a human being.” According to Ochoggia (2003a:307) disability is a physical sensory, mental or any other impairment including visual, hearing or physical disability, with a substantial long-term adverse effect on a person’s ability to carry out day-to-day activities. Oliver (1996:22) defines disability as “the disadvantages or restriction of activity caused by contemporary social organization which takes no or little account of people who have physical impairments and thus excludes their participation in the mainstream of social activities.” In this study disability means restriction which denies or hinders access to the services provided by the library or to the information housed in the library.
1.10.3 Impairments
According to Oliver (1996:22) impairment is the condition of lacking part or all of a limb, or having a defective limb, organ or mechanism of the body. Deines-Jones (2007:2) defines impairment as a deviation from the generally accepted norm of the body function and structure as a result of loss or abnormality. “Body function” refers to both the physiological and psychological functions of the body and “body structure” includes limbs and organs. In this study impairment is the state of deviation from the generally accepted norm of bodily function as a result of loss or abnormality.
1.10.4 Information and communication technology (ICT)
Yu and Li-Hua (2010:1) define ICT as any communication device or application, including radio, television, cellular phones, computer and network hardware and software, satellite systems and so on, as well as the various associated services and applications. According to Nwachukwa (2007) information and communication technology is the application of computers and other technologies to the acquisition, organization, storage, retrieval and dissemination of information. ICT include electronic networks which embody complex hardware and software linked by a vast array of technical protocols (Adeya 2001:1). Gutlerman, Rahman, Supelano, Thies
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and Yang (2009:34) and World Bank (2002) define ICT as hardware, software, networks and media for the collection, storage, processing, transmission and presentation of information (voice, data, text, and images) as well as related services.
Osakwe (2012:39) states that ICT is an electronic device for managing and processing information with the use of soft and hardware to convert, store, manipulate, protect, transmit, manage, control and retrieve information for enhancement and productivity of personal and organizational activities.
1.10.5 Libraries
A library is a building or room containing a collection of books, records, photographs and so on, organized to facilitate consultation or borrowing by private individuals or the public (Crystal 2004:894). According to Prytherch (1995:377) a library is a collection of books and other literary material kept for reading, study and consultation. A place, building, room or rooms set apart for the keeping and use of a collection of books and so on. A library is a place in which books, manuscripts, musical scores or other literary and artistic materials are kept for use but not for sale.
It is an institution oriented towards collections and their custody, where people may make use of the facilities (Sharma and Vishwanathan 2001:10).
Atkinson and Dhiensa (2007:1) define a library as a collection of books and journals.
They elaborate further that the ready availability of books, journals papers, maps, artwork and other formats in libraries today allows the user to access a vast amount of information. This is further increased by electronic technologies that enable information to be stored in a range of formats.
1.10.6 Library services
Library services are the facilities provided by a library for the use of books and the dissemination of information (Prytherch 1995:387). For the purposes of this study the term refers to the facilities provided by the library to all users including people with visual impairments and in wheelchairs. These facilities include information resources which are in Braille and large print, assistive technology devices and a library design that includes lifts and ramps which allow people with visual
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impairments and in wheelchairs to obtain access to the information resources housed in the library.
1.10.7 Visual impairments and persons with low vision
Visual impairment or blindness means people with vision less than 3/60 (0.05) or corresponding to visual field loss in the better eye with the best possible correction.
Low vision in a person corresponds to vision less than 6/18 (0.3) but equal to or better than 3/60 (0.05) in the better eye with the best possible correction (World Health Organization 1997). In this study the term visual impairment is applied to the people who cannot read normal print or ink print (World Health Organization 1997).
In the library context according to Kinnell, Yu and Creaser (2000:5) the term visual impairment refers to anyone who has difficulty in reading an ordinary font size on paper or on screen. For the purpose of this study the researcher adopts the definition of Kinnell, Yu and Creaser (2000). Visual impairment is the term used for people who have some degree of sight, but who have, for example, a limited range of sight and focus that cannot be easily corrected with spectacles, who are squint, who need special lighting to be able to see, who have blurred vision sometimes as a result of cataracts, or who have tunnel vision (Howell and Lazarus 2003).
The World Health Organization (WHO 1997) adds more detail and defines a person with low vision as one who has an impairment of visual functioning even after treatment, and/or standard refractive correction, and has a visual acuity of less than 6/18 to light perception or a visual field of less than 10 degrees from the point of fixation, but who uses, or is potentially able to use, vision for the planning and/or execution of a task. In this study a person with low vision refers to as one who cannot read materials which are not in large print and therefore he /she needs equipment like magnifiers or Closed Circuit Television to enlarge so he/she can read.
The difference between visual impairment and low vision in the context of this study is that the former cannot read normal print information resources except information resources which are in Braille while the latter needs a magnifier or Closed Circuit Television to enlarge the normal print information resources so that he/she can read.
20 1.10.8 Wheelchairs and wheelchair users
The World Health Organization (2008:11) defines a wheelchair as a device providing wheeled mobility and seating support for a person with difficulty in walking or moving around. The wheelchair has been the primary method of mobility for the majority of persons with physical or mobility impairments (Wisniewski and Sedlak 1992:306), that is a person who has difficulty in walking or moving around and uses a wheelchair for mobility (WHO 2008:11). User refers to people who already use a wheelchair or who benefit from using a wheelchair because their ability to walk is limited (WHO 2008:21). According to Moseid (2006) a wheelchair user is a person who is unable to walk because of a spinal injury for instance.