Located in northern Queensland, the Thuringowa Library has introduced new technology for sight impaired residents. The Audio Navigator is a hand held device, similar in size to a remote control. It allows users to listen to recordings of books and daily news services. The device operates similarly to an MP3 player and its portability allows people to use it whenever or wherever they like.
The Audio Navigator has an edge over other forms of audio books and recorded texts as users can bookmark their place or move between paragraphs, pages and even chapters. More than 800 book titles are available for download from the library. Newspaper articles can also be received via daily email, and using synthesised speech technology people are able to listen to the articles.
Thuringowa Mayor, Councillor Les Tyrell, helped launch the new service in March. He said it was an exciting day for members of Thuringowa’s sight impaired community.
“Thuringowa Library was one of a select group of libraries in Australia to offer the Audio Navigator system for its users,” Mayor Tyrell said. “It is user friendly and highly valued by the blind community for the independence that it offers.”
The Audio Navigator is a revolutionary Australian invention. Inventor, Tony Blackwood, featured on the ABC’s New Inventors program in 2004 with the device.
With the assistance of State Library of Queensland funding, Council initially purchased 15 of the devices to loan to individuals, retirement villages and nursing homes.
