ADRIAN — An electronic magnifier to help people with low vision is now available at the Adrian District Library.
The Zoomax Snow 12 electronic magnifier was donated by the Adrian Breakfast Lions Club. The money came partly from the club’s annual radio auction, which takes place every April. A grant from the Knight Foundation covered the rest of the cost.
Lions Club member Paul Williams was instrumental in acquiring the grant by writing and submitting the grant request to the Lenawee Community Foundation, which administers the Knight fund.
The device is a portable electronic video magnifier with a 12-inch screen. It can magnify text up to 19 times, allowing it to be more easily read by people with low vision.
In addition to magnifying text, users can scan printed pages for the device to read aloud in more than 20 languages.
A test was conducted by library director Jennifer Wrzesinski and assistant director Chelsey Boss to verify the device’s functionality in both English and Spanish. The accuracy of the Spanish reading was verified by Lizbeth Perez-Cazares, the bilingual library assistant.
Future plans for the device include allowing users to sign it out for home use after learning how to use it.
Promoting literacy and serving people with visual impairment are two of the Lions Club’s main focus areas.
The Adrian District Library is at 143 E. Maumee St. in downtown Adrian. For more information, call 517-265-2265.
Click here to read this story in Spanish.
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