VENDORS ON STATE
CONTRACTS
USING AUXILLIARY AIDS AND SERVICES
WEB SITE LANGUAGE TRANSLATION
The State of Minnesota has contracted with vendors to provide interpreter services.
Contracts for foreign languages include Amharic, Arabic, Cambodian, Chinese, Croatian, French, German, Hmong, Japanese, Laotian, Oromo, Russian, Somali, Spanish, and Vietnamese,
USING AUXILLIARY AIDS AND SERVICES
Braille or Audio Tape
Translation of written material into Braille or onto audio tape is available through the Communication Center of the State Services for the Blind. For conversion into Braille, it's preferable to submit the document on a computer disk. In the Twin Cities metro area, call (651) 642-0852; Greater Minnesota, call 1-800-652-9000.
Costs charged to the those parties that have a responsibility to make their materials accessible for blind and visually impaired persons are $1.75 per Braille page (non-textbook), or $56.45 per cassette tape. Requests by individuals for their personal needs are free of charge. Call ahead to determine current charges, if any, and to make final arrangements. The contact person for Braille is Mary Archer, 651/642-0852, and for recorded cassette tape, Phyllis DeLisi, 651/642-0424; for Greater Minnesota, call 1-800-652-9000.
Large Print
Large print is usually a "do it yourself" endeavor. The United States Postal Service, for purposes of free matter for the blind mailing, defines 14 point font as "large print." However, many people prefer a larger font. Be aware that contrast and spacing between characters and/or lines may be as important to some individuals as font size. Generally, 18 point font is sufficient. Use a plain font. The document may need to be reformatted if logos and graphics are used. The individual who created the original document should be able to supply a disk version so that the enlargements can be easily made. Some photocopy machines also have the ability to enlarge a document.
Computer Disk
Provide the individual with a computer disk containing the written material. Many people have the necessary assistive technology on their own computer so the material can be understood. It is best to provide the material as an ASCII text file, as this format can be universally accessed. Some customers prefer Microsoft Word or WordPerfect file, but check with the customer. You may want to eliminate any graphics (use text-only) to enhance readability for the visually impaired.
http://babelfish.altavista.com/ or www.freetranslation.com/ are two web sites that can translate text or other web sites from English to French, German, Italian, Portuguese or Spanish. They are not perfect but may come in handy for some customers.