Library infrastructure
Persons with reduced mobility or disabilities can access the library (Radastų g. 2) via the 1st floor entrance under the stairs. The door opens by itself. A lift is available to all accessible areas of the library.
Lithuanian Audiosensory Library services at the Oak Grove Library
You can connect to the ELVIS virtual library on your own or a member of the library staff (Radastų g. 2, 1st floor, Information) will help you to register, download and transfer the publication to the media you have brought. You can borrow a listening device from the library.
ELVIS (Electronic Publication Management Information System) is a virtual library for all those who cannot read regular printed text. ELVIS is developed and managed by the Lithuanian Audiosensory Library and contains:
- thousands of popular audio-recorded fiction books;
- audio books for children (including recommended literature for schoolchildren);
- audio-recorded magazines;
- publications for self-learning and study in digital formats (PDF, DAISY);
- digital publications in Braille;
- films and performances with audio representation;
- audio plays and podcasts.
ELVIS is available to:
- Children or adults with a reading disability (dyslexia)
- Children with a learning or developmental disability that prevents them from reading normally
- People with visual impairments
- People who cannot sit, hold a book in their hands or turn the pages because of a physical disability or illness
- People whose eyesight is impaired by age or illness and who find it difficult to read ordinary printed text
- People who are visually impaired or blind
To listen to or download ELVIS publications, you need a certificate to prove it – an official document stating your condition or recording the reason why you cannot read normally.
The following specialists can certify the condition that prevents you from reading regular printed books:
- An optometrist (an optician who fits the right glasses)
- A family doctor
- An eye doctor
- Speech therapist
- Educational psychological service
The form of the certificate is not important, but it must be an official document indicating the impairment that prevents normal reading or a recommendation to use audiobooks. Facilities in the library for people with visual and reading disabilities:
- Braille printer (with laminating device and page stapler) (K. Donelaičio str. 8, 1st floor foyer)
- A computer with the JAWS screen-reading software installed, which reads the requested text aloud (K. Donelaičio g. 8, 1st floor foyer).
- BRUNO reading device – a scanner that sounds the scanned text (e.g. book, magazine or document). (K. Donelaičio g. 8, 1st floor foyer)
Stories in sign language
People with hearing disability are encouraged to take an interest in fairy tales and develop their imagination from an early age. Click on the links below to access the Oak Grove Library’s Youtube playlists, which contain a wide range of sign language stories.
Sign Language Tales Project (2015)
Sign Language Tales Project (2018)
Sign Language Tales Project (2019)
We have prepared the following for the visitors of the Oak Grove Library:
A social story to help you get acquainted with the library’s spaces, rules and the staff who will greet you before you arrive.
Social posters. We want you to feel safe in the library, so you can get to know the staff, see short introductions and get to know each other better when you visit the library.
A sensory map of the Oakwood Library. Some areas of the library are quieter and less crowded. Other spaces are more crowded and noisier. Some areas may be dark. These spaces are marked in different colours on the map, so you can plan your visit in advance.
See the informative map of the Oakwood Library. This information map is designed to help you get acquainted with the different areas of the library and to prepare you for your visit. On the map you will find different icons indicating what you can expect to find in certain areas of the library. See the informative map of the Oakwood Library.
“Sensory Fire Extinguisher Kits” – If the child or teenager you are accompanying has a sensory or panic attack in a space that is unusual for him or her, the Sensory Fire Extinguisher Kit in the library will help you with a variety of sensory items and tools to help calm down faster. For the “Sensory Fire Extinguisher”, please contact the Children’s Literature Department at the library (Radastų str. 2, 1st floor), email vaikai@azuolynobiblioteka.lt or tel. +370 37 32 42 25.
The Library for All: Heroes Unleashed
In cooperation with professionals interested in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and families of children with speech and communication disorders, the library has produced an informative video film that presents the experiences of ASD and the families dealing with it to the general public, gives advice on how to behave in one case or another, and on what to pay attention to when dealing with people with autism spectrum disorders and speech and communication disorders – both children and adults.
The educational film is part of the project “Implementing a network of friendly libraries for people with autism spectrum disorders and other speech, communication and behavioural disorders”. The film “A library for all: heroes set free”
Methodological tool “Heroes Unleashed: Sensory Reading in Libraries”
Methodological tool “Heroes Unleashed: Sensory Reading in Libraries”
This publication aims to share good practices of the ‘Sensory Reading’ programme and sensory reading in libraries, enabling children with autism spectrum disorder to better understand and experience the text they are reading. The e-version of the publication is produced by the Povilas Višinskis Library of Šiauliai County.
Methodological tool “Heroes Unleashed: Sensory Reading in Libraries”
Communication cards service
Lithuanian public libraries, continuing the “Library for All” initiative, are expanding their range of services for people with various disabilities and, from 1 December 2021, will offer a new service – the creation of specialised communication cards using the Boardmaker software.
For who and what is Boardmaker? Communicating with a person with communication, behavioural or other impairments can sometimes require special skills and tools to supplement or even replace spoken language. The graphic symbols and drawings on the communication cards help to communicate simple life situations (e.g. a drawn glass can mean “I want a drink” or the question “Do you want a drink?”), making it easier to communicate. The cards are used by parents, educators, speech and language therapists and other professionals working with people with speech, behavioural and emotional disorders, cerebral palsy, intellectual disabilities, multiple developmental disorders, autism spectrum disorders and others. The Boardmaker software, installed in Lithuanian county public libraries and the Lithuanian Library for the Blind, facilitates the preparation of these communication cards and offers an archive of as many as 50,000 dedicated drawings, divided into different themes of everyday communication. How to benefit? There are two ways to use the Boardmaker software to create communication cards:
1. Register for an individual contact consultation/training session with the Boardmaker software in the public libraries of Vilnius, Kaunas, Panevėžys, Klaipėda, Šiauliai districts or in the Lithuanian Library for the Blind, and create communication cards on the spot according to your individual needs (the service is provided only for persons with a passport of opportunity);
More information:
Oak Tree Library (Radastų str. 2, 1st floor).
Ieva Birmantaitė
E-mail: i.birmantaite@azuolynobiblioteka.lt
Tel. No. (+370 37) 32 42 25
2. Order a remote card production service from your nearest public library. In this case, the customer will receive a set of communication cards according to the individual requirements and can print them out. It is also possible to receive the printed (and laminated if required) set by post. Is there a cost? Contact advice, independent use of the equipment in the library and/or the production of an electronic version of the communication cards are completely free of charge. The printing and lamination of the cards is provided at the rates set by the library where the service is requested:
Colour printing € 0,18 (A4 sheet)
Lamination 1,00 € (A4 sheet)
In the case of home delivery, the cost of delivery will also be borne by the customer.
The library is there to help you solve problems. If you find it difficult to talk in words, use the language of images!
Website “Library for All”
The Library for All website contains the manifesto, all library news, social stories, a media library and other useful information for library professionals and patrons with various disabilities. www.bibliotekavisiems.lt
