Poughkeepsie Public Library District
Client Case Study
Poughkeepsie Public Library District
www.poklib.orgLocated in the Hudson Valley in New York State, the Library District serves both the City of Poughkeepsie and Town of Poughkeepsie that has a population of over 75,000 between two Library branch locations. In addition to book lending, the library provides programming such as early literacy programs, adult learning programs, job search assistance, computer classes, and access to online services for free movies, research of databases and more. The Library District discovered Recite Me through Dutchess County’s Think Differently website. The Library District partners with the county on its Dutchess Reads Campaign, an initiative designed to promote reading at all age levels.
Our Brief
As part of a website redesign last year, Poughkeepsie Library began looking at ways in which to make their online content more accessible. Specifically, the library was interested in translation capabilities due to Poughkeepsie’s large Spanish-speaking population. In the 2012-2016 American Community Survey, 16.25% of the City and Town of Poughkeepsie Residents were born outside of the United States and are most likely to use a foreign language in their homes. Just over 14% of the population identify as having some form of disability. That is, therefore, a significant portion of Poughkeepsie Library’s prospective patrons who need accessible information through convenient online options.
Our Solution
By incorporating Recite Me’s technology onto their website, Poughkeepsie Library now has a multitude of translation options. In addition to Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Arabic, French and Korean are also offered, all of which are common non-English languages spoken at home throughout the United States. Moreover, the library’s website also offers helpful accessibility functionalities for a range of different needs. These include audio narration, screen masks, color themes and font changes.
