A KEYBOARD/VOICE INTERFACE FOR USE OF AN ON-LINE LIBRARY SYSTEM BY THE VISUALLY HANDICAPPED

TODAY BUSINESSES, EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS AND FAMILIES ARE MORE THAN EVER DEPENDENT ON ACCESS TO MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF INFORMATION. THE "INFORMATION EXPLOSION" HAS RESULTED IN WIDESPREAD IMPLEMENTATION OF LARGE DATA BASES SUCH AS THE VIRGINIA TECH LIBRARY SYSTEM (VTLS). ACCESS TO THESE SYSTEMS HAS BECOME A VIRTUAL NECESSITY FOR THE VISUALLY HANDICAPPED. DEVELOPMENT OF A CONVENIENT, EASILY LEARNED KEYBOARD/VOICE INTERFACE FOR COMPUTERIZED LIBRARY SYSTEMS WOULD MAKE THESE SYSTEMS MORE ACCESSIBLE TO THE VISUALLY HANDICAPPED. IN THE PROPOSED PROGRAM A NOVEL TERNARY CHORDING KEYBOARD (TCK) IS COMBINED WITH A VOICE SYNTHESIZER(VS) TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO VTLS FOR VISUALLY HANDICAPPED INDIVIDUALS. TESTS WILL SHOW HOW THIS COMBINATION FACILITATES SEARCHING IN THE LIBRARY SYSTEM DATA BASE.