New Tech for Reading Difficulties

Anne Arundel County Public Library is excited to announce a new addition to our accessibility technology.

The C•Pen reader is a handheld scanner that uses optical character recognition (OCR) to help the user read. These pens are a game-changer for people with reading difficulties such as dyslexia or those that might be struggling to read in a new language.

It's portable and easy to use. After turning the device on, you select the text reader function, scan the line of text you are trying to read, and the C•Pen will read out loud to you. Unlike most of our other accessibility technology, these readers can be checked out by individuals and taken home.

Some important things to know about these devices:

  • C•Pens can be placed on hold in our online catalog and can be picked up/returned to any branch.
  • The checkout time is one week.
  • The device can operate in three different languages (English, Spanish, and French).
  • In addition to the text reader function, C•Pens also have a dictionary function that can be used to look up words you don't understand.

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