All Contra Costa County Library locations have the following:
Video Magnifiers
Uses a camera and a screen or monitor to magnify images and text. These machines will magnify small print that you find on newspapers, pill bottles, food items, and will also magnify photos, three-dimensional objects, and more. The magnification of images is up to 70 times their original size, making even the smallest items easy to see.
Video magnifiers are located at the following libraries: Clayton, Hercules, Lafayette, Martinez, Pittsburg, Pleasant Hill, Walnut Creek, Ygnacio Valley.
Hearing Assistive Technology (HAT) - induction loop systems are available at the Antioch, Brentwood, Clayton, Concord, Danville, Dougherty Station, El Sobrante, Hercules, Kensington, Lafayette, Martinez, Moraga, Orinda (coming soon), Pinole, Pittsburg, Pleasant Hill, and Walnut Creek, Ygnacio Valley (coming soon) libraries. These devices may be used with the t-coil in your hearing aid or we have receivers that may be used with a headset.
Kurzweil software is available at the Antioch, Dougherty Station, El Cerrito, Hercules, Kensington, Pittsburg (coming soon), and Pleasant Hill, and San Pablo libraries.
Rollators (Rolling walkers) are available at the Antioch, Brentwood, Clayton, Concord, Danville, Dougherty Station, Hercules, Lafayette, Moraga, Oakley, Pinole, Pittsburg, Pleasant Hill, San Pablo, San Ramon, Ygnacio Valley and Walnut Creek community libraries.
Contra Costa County Library considers the needs of users with disabilities in the planning and layout of public programming and meeting spaces and facilities. The Library makes every effort to provide reasonable accommodations as requested by individuals with special needs with 72 hours notice.
To request an accommodation for any of the Library’s programs, services, or activities, please inform the community library manager of your accommodation request.
Insiders Programs
Contra Costa County's first Insiders Program began at Antioch Library in 2007. The Insiders Program was developed to encourage adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities to feel comfortable navigating the library, using available resources, and communicating with Library staff. As a result of the success and necessity of the program, the Insiders Program has spread to other Contra Costa County library locations.
More Programs
Project Second Chance: The Library's Adult Literacy Program, Serving Adults with Reading Disabilities
Many of our community libraries are using pictograms to help library users, including those with learning differences, those for whom English is not their native language, and those who are adult learners, navigate the Dewey Decimal System.
The pictograms are excellent examples of universal access. Read more about pictograms here.