Building Accessibility | Research & Materials Accessibility | Adaptive Technology
The Miller Nichols Library is committed to providing services and assistance to all members of the UMKC community. If you have questions about our services, please contact:
Rebecca Power
Coordinator of Disability Services
(816) 235-1508
or the Library's Reference Desk at (816) 235-1534
The Library accepts calls through the National Relay Service (711) and the Missouri Relay Service (800-735-2966).
The Miller Nichols Library partners with the campus Office of Services for Students with Disabilities (OSSD). For questions about overall campus services or to arrange for reader services or adaptive technology training, please contact:
Scott Laurent
Coordinator of Student Disabilities Services
Office of Services for Students with Disabilities
(816) 235-5696
Parking
Accessible parking including a van accessible spot is available in the parking lot north of the Miller Nichols Library.
Building Entrance
The entrance to Miller Nichols Library is on the north side of the building near the parking lot. A power-operated door is located on the west side of this entrance (to the right as you enter the library) and is accessed by a ramp beginning at the sidewalk near the west corner of the building.
Due to construction, the south entrance of the library has been closed. When coming to the library from the south or west of campus, patrons using wheelchairs can best reach the library by going through the Fine Arts Building. Call (816) 235-1534 for more details.
Elevators
Two elevators are available for all floors of the library. They are located in the central core of the building.
Restrooms
Restrooms are located in the central area of each floor. The second floor restroom has a low energy power-operated door and a large accessible toilet stall. Bathrooms on the other floors have smaller accessible stalls and may not meet all needs.
Emergency Evacuation
Emergency stairwells are located on the east and west walls of the Miller Nichols Library. These stairwells are fire proof and act as tornado shelters. The landings on each floor of these stairwells are accessible.
Research and Materials Accessibility
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Book Retrieval
The stacks in most areas of the Miller Nichols Library are not wheelchair accessible. Library personnel can retrieve materials upon request. If requesting many items, advanced notice is preferable. Books from UMKC requested directly through the MERLIN library catalog are usually ready for pick up by the next afternoon (excluding weekends). For additional information, call the Access Services Desk at (816) 235-1526.
Printing and Photocopying
Students can print from the Information Commons computers using their student print quota (150 pages per week). If the quota has been met, students can print to IKON Copy Services on the first floor of the Library. Photocopying and color printing are also available through IKON Copy Services. A copy card, available for purchase on site, is needed to activate the copier/printers. Library personnel will assist people with disabilities in photocopying materials from the Library's collections or releasing print jobs sent from the Information Commons. Any questions or special arrangements can be addressed by calling IKON Copy Services at (816) 235-1433.
Study Areas
The Miller Nichols Library has study rooms in the Information Commons that can be reserved for use by two or more people. Call the Access Services Desk at (816) 235-1526 to reserve one of these rooms. In addtion, study tables, carrels, and lounge areas are available on all floors of the library.
Research Assistance
You can get help using the library from the Reference Desk in person, or via phone or email. Reference staff assist patrons in using the MERLIN online catalog, online databases, the Internet, and other research materials. Basic reference assistance is available whenever the library is open; however, in-depth research questions may require a longer consultation that will be provided by appointment. To schedule an appointment for in-depth research assistance, please call the Reference Desk at (816) 235-1534.
Examples of Basic Reference Questions:
- Does the Miller Nichols Library own these two books?
- I need to identify two or three scholarly articles in the field of social work.
Examples of In-Depth Research Questions:
- I need to compile a legislative history of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
- I am doing a paper about whether there are long term psychological effects for women who had abortions. I want to know what the current research says about this topic.
Online Databases and Catalog
The University Libraries' databases and catalog, like some websites, do not always work well with screen readers and adaptive technology. Although we urge companies to increase the accessibility of these products, we don't have control of their usability. If you are unable to or unsure of how to use the databases or catalog, we can assist you in your research. Such assistance could include:
- Instruction in how to use a database or catalog.
- A research consultation in which we facilitate your use of the database.
- Librarians searching the databases and providing results and articles for your review.
- Training in which we describe the database/catalog interface and how a screen reader interacts with it.
To make an appointment for this kind of assistance, please call the Reference Desk at (816) 235-1534.
Large Print Materials
The Miller Nichols Library has a collection of large print reference books located in the Information Commons. This collection includes three standard dictionaries, a medical dictionary, a thesaurus, and the MLA Handbook.
Library Instruction Sessions
In addition to individual instruction and research consultations, the Library offers instruction sessions to entire classes. The Library's classroom, Room 121, has a workstation with an adjustable table to accommodate students who use wheelchairs. If you are coming to the library with your class and have specific needs, please feel free to contact the library or ask your instructor to contact us: Library Instruction Coordinator, Brent Husher (816-235-1281); Coordinator of Disability Services, Rebecca Power (816-235-1508).
The Miller Nichols Library has two workstations and a laptop computer located in the Information Commons on the first floor that are reserved for priority use by students, faculty, or staff with disabilities. These computers log on with the single sign-on account, providing access to a student's personal network drives, library resources, the Internet, and productivity software. The two workstations allow printing from students' weekly campus print quota. A variety of adaptive software and hardware is provided on these computers including screen readers, screen magnifiers, and braille embossers (further detail below). For training on the use of this software, please call the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities (OSSD) at (816) 235-5696. To use the laptop computer, request it at the Reference Desk.
Software
- JAWS (Version 9.0): screen reader (available on workstation UA01 only) JAWS User Guide
- Window Eyes: screen reader (availalbe on workstation UA02 only)
- ZoomText: screen magnifier
- Open Book Unbound: talking software for scanning, reading, editing, printing, and downloading text
- Duxbury Braille Translation (DBT): text-to-braille translater for braille embossing
- WYNN Read Software: screen reader that highlights text as it reads
- HP PrecisionScan Pro: scanning software
- OmniPage Pro: OCR software that converts scanned text into computer-editable text.
- Dragon Naturally Speaking Professional: speech recognition software to allow dictation for entering and revising text. (This program requires 3 to 4 hours of training and licensing before it can be used. Please contact the OSSD at (816) 235-5696, to inquire about this training.)
Laptop (To use the laptop computer, request it at the Reference Desk.)
- SUPERNOVA (Version 7.0): combined screen reader and magnifier (earlier version is used in UMKC computer labs).
- Dragon Naturally Speaking Professional: speech recognition software to allow dictation for entering and revising text. (This program requires 3 to 4 hours of training and licensing before it can be used. Please contact the OSSD at (816) 235-5696, to inquire about this training.)
Hardware
- 22 inch widescreen monitors
- ScanJet ADF Scanners
- Juliet Pro Braille Embossors: Assistance with embossing braille is available from the Reference Desk. To transcribe more than 10 pages of print text to braille, please contact the OSSD at (816) 235-5696. The Library's equipment has limited image embossing capabilities. Those needing a tactile version of an image, table, map, or other non-text information should contact the OSSD which can arrange access to a Tactile Graphics Embosser.
- Height adjustable table (available on workstation UA02 only)
- IntelliKey Keyboard (available for use on either station)
- Mini Trackball Mouse (available for use on either station)
Stand-alone Equipment
- Aladdin Ambassador Pro Scanner Reader: Located to the left of the adaptive technology workstations, this unit scans, reads and saves to disk almost any text item. It cannot scan images. To use or to be trained to use this reader, please make an appointment with Rebecca Power at (816) 235-1508 or via the Reference Desk at (816) 235-1534.
- CCTV (Closed Circuit Television): Located to the right of the adaptive technology workstations, these two units magnify printed text enabling comfortable viewing of books, papers, and three-dimensional objects for a wide variety of users with vision impairment. Features include adjustable magnification, high-contrast display, multiple background/foreground color combinations, and horizontal line markers.
- TDD (Telecommunications Device for the Deaf): Located at the Reference Desk, this typewriter-like machine permits users with hearing or speech impairment to communicate by typing messages back and forth over telephone lines. Students may use this device during the libary's open hours. The Library accepts calls through the National Relay Service (711) and the Missouri Relay Service (800-735-2966).
