The Office for Persons with Disabilities provides the following services of this kind:

Recording of ordered materials  is performed by volunteers, and sound is stored in a digital system enabling a reader - contrary to audio tapes - to choose specified chapters, pages or notes. In order to listen back to books recorded in this standard a computer equipped with a sound card is indispensable. 
Requests for recordings should be filed in the  Digital Book Library. When a requested document is not accessible in the collection of the University Library, one should provide one's own item of the book. Time of waiting for a request to be fulfilled depends on a volume of an item and usually is about two weeks.

The Digital Book Library constitutes a part of the University Library, not only UW students and staff are eligible to make use of it. However, only the UW students and employees registered at the OPD, and having a vision disability can file requests for preparing in alternative forms materials still not present in the  collection of the Digital Book Library.

In order to prepare a Braille printout, one can use an electronic version of a document. If a person who makes an order possesses a material in this form, he or she should deliver  it to the OPD, or send via e-mail at an address: wydruki@cnin.uw.edu.pl. Preparation of materials delivered as black-print ones requires more time, because they should be scanned or manually copied out into a computer file. 

This service is addressed not only to the blind students, but also  academic teachers, who  in their groups have students using the Braille script.

Because of wide accessibility of computers preparation of printouts suitable for the needs of  impaired in vision students  is possible for anybody, who has skills  in using text editors. An indispensable condition is to have a required document  in a form  of a computer file.

If a document has been created using standard text editors,  it is easy to achieve and enlargement. It is recommended to use fonts with simple typefaces, for example Arial, Tahoma or Verdana. It is assumed that at an text enlargement, an optimal font size is 16-18 pt. However, because of  individual differences and conditions, it is recommended to discuss a scale of enlargement with a person impaired in vision, for whom a given text  is dedicated. At the enlargement greater than 18 pt, single words occupy more and more space - often  in a row fit only 2-3 words - this may cause difficulties  in understanding a sense of a document as well as compromise orientation in a text. Use of a bold font, may increase legibility and clarity of a text.

Examples, presented below, illustrate a difference between a standard and enlarged print:

 

• Standard print (Times New Roman, 11 pt):

Education should encompass a real life, and not an abstract science. (Nikolai Gogol)

• Enlarged print (Tahoma, 18 pt):

Education should comprise of a real life, and not of abstract science. (Nikolai Gogol)

 

• Enlarged print (Arial, 18 pkt, bold):

Education should comprise of a real life, and not of abstract science. (Nikolai Gogol)

 If a required material is not accessible  in a form  of a  computer file, sometimes for  its enlargement one can use a xerox-copier. However, it should be remembered will also mean use of an A3 format  of paper, work with such a document  is very uncomfortable. The Office for Persons with Disabilities is engaged in preparation of materials in enlarged print, with a changed font size - on request of impaired in vision students, as well as academic teachers who have such students in their groups.

At the Computer Center for Students with Disabilities, impaired in vision students may use a xerox-copier enabling them to create copies in enlargement. They can also read using enlargers.