Changanassery: Saint Berchmans' College here has introduced a project titled ‘Dhwani’ by which text books and learning materials in audio format are provided for visually challenged students.

The free audio library has been prepared by the Library and Information Sciences department as part of the centenary celebrations of the college.

Three visually challenged students are studying in various departments at the SB College as it is widely known.

How does it work?
The project aims to provide audio recordings of all the text books that are prescribed for the courses in the college. From the title that is printed on the outer cover of a book to the lines on the last page, everything is read and recorded. The students of the Library Science department are reading the books for the free audio library. For this, a special ‘audio’ room has been arranged in the campus.

First audio book
The students find time to record the audio during the break between their classes. The first audio book to be completed is ‘Kavyalochanam, a poetry collection that is included in the syllabus for the under-graduate courses. It took 3 students 24 days to read and record the entire book. The two-hour long audio of the poetry collection has been uploaded on YouTube.

“It is an amazing initiative to provide audio recordings of the text books and learning materials. It might be difficult for others to always read everything for us. We could listen to the audio whenever we want and play it repeatedly, if required,” Anugrah Philip, a visually challenged student pursuing MA English at the college said.

“In the initial stage, the text books of all the courses would be recorded for the audio library. We wish to make audio recordings of the entire syllabus of the Mahatma Gandhi University in the future. Besides, we would also like to make audio recordings of other books and materials that could help not just visually challenged students but people who work in other areas too. Moreover, all the students, and not just visually challenged students, can make use of these audio books. It would be easier for them to listen to the audio, using head sets, while they are traveling,” says PB Yamuna, Head of the Department of Library and Information Sciences, SB College.