Biblioteczne zasoby cyfrowe jako niezbędny element współczesnego środowiska edukacyjnego studentów z niepełnosprawnością wzroku

Higher education allows people with disabilities to build self-realization and self-esteem. It prevents social exclusion, redeems deficiencies and increases the chances to find a job. For over 10 years the number of students with disabilities has been increasing in Poland. Students with visual impairment (blind and partially sighted) are included in this group. One of the barriers they face in the academic environment is difficulty of reaching the accessible form of educational materials. Rapidly developing assistive technologies allow them to overcome this barrier. Collections of digital documents addressed to students with visual impairment are helpful in this context. The aim of the article is to give a description of Polish digital libraries addressed to visually impaired students and their role in higher education. To collect necessary data websites of all (96) Polish public higher schools subordinated to the Ministry of Science and Higher Education were analysed. Important information the author acquired also came from individuals involved in building digital resources targeted at students with visual impairment. The methods of literature analysis and criticism were also used. Study has shown that only a few public higher schools participate in projects on establishing digital collections accessible for students with disabilities. These collections are getting richer every year.