Countywide : Public Libraries Offer Telecaption Machines

Telecaption machines for the hearing-impaired are now available for home use at many public libraries in Orange County. The electronic video accessories allow television viewers to see captions that are encoded on many television programs and home video movies.

The Telecaption II adapter machines receive 181 channels and can access a special channel that provides program listings, news, sports and medical information.

“Telecaptioning machines have opened up a whole new world to the hearing-impaired,” said Patricia Tarin, executive director of the Santiago Library System.

In addition to Telecaption machines, telephone decoders for the deaf and a Teletype device that hooks up to the phone are also available for checkout at many of the libraries.