MONOMOUSE is a hand-held device that allows visually impaired individuals to turn their television into a large screen magnifier/reading machine available from Bierley Assoicates. Contact: David Chan (david@bierley.com) 408.365.8170 (San Jose, CA). Bierley is offering libraries the free loan of the equipment for three months, and a 10% discount on the purchase of the units ($198 retail).
We asked the librarians from the Bay Area Disability Librarians (BADSL) group to give Califa and its membership comments on this device. Here’s the comments we received from them:
Reviewer #1:
Monomouse, a black and white text enlarger, is a personal assistive device that a person would use in their home. It's a cool little mouse-like, hand-held gadget. In simplest terms, it is a very small closed circuit TV camera in a mouse that plugs into a television. The user runs the mouse across whatever they want to read - anything from a pill bottle or a can to a book - and sees the text enlarged on the TV screen. The libraries that would be most interested in it are those that lend other assistive devices for people to try out at home before purchasing them, and I don't know of any collections like that in California. Bierley logically sees libraries as a place where readers with low vision / potential buyers can test-drive their product.
Reviewer #2:
The mouse is very good - for what it is, but it isn't for reading books. It would be a great tool for looking at stamps or coins - for collectors. I also think the price point ($198.00) is too high (even with the 10% discount) to get our library into lending this device, and too high for casual users to purchase. Would be great for looking at stamps or coins - for collectors use.. While we have lent cameras and engravers in the past, currently we do not and haven't the space to add something more to store behind the desk for loaning (we'd need a good number to make worthwhile if we were doing....at least a dozen). For anyone already loaning equipment, then this might be worth a try.
Reviewer #3:
The "eye" is so very easy to hook up even to my very old TV (It must be 10 years old). Worked like a charm; really nothing to do but plug it in. Would be great for the pill bottle, recipe box and those little irritants. But seemed difficult to actually read a book with it as it has to be manipulated down from one line to the next. Really breaks up the train of thought. Hard to see it for library application at least at this stage of development. I think if someone wanted one, he or she they would want it all the time.
For in-library use, BADSL recommends that libraries look at conventional Closed-Captioned TV (with camera magnifier). Califa will be working with BADSL libraries to recommend such a product to our members. If you have a recommendation, please forward it to resteves@califa.org.
