Library News. Newyddion y Llyfrgell

Have you taken part in our Better Read challenges? They are a great way to diversify your reading and discover new authors and genres. We’re launching a new one this week!

Read a book that matches each of the categories below.

• A book in translation

• An audio book

• A book you started but never finished

• A short story

• Poetry

• A book set in a country you’ve never visited

We’ve gathered together some suggestions for each prompt. Suggestions include ebooks and audio books that you can access for free.

Or find your own books and share your ideas using #suBetterRead.

Let us know how you get on @SwanseaUniLib on Twitter and Instagram.

The challenge runs until 22^nd September 2023.

Ydych chi wedi cymryd rhan yn ein heriau Darllen yn Well? Maent yn ffordd wych o amrywio eich darllen a dod o hyd i awduron a genres newydd. Rydyn ni’n lansio un newydd yr wythnos hon!

Darllenwch lyfr sy’n cyd-fynd â phob category isod.

• Llyfr sy’n cael ei gyfieithu

• Llyfr sain

• Llyfr rydych wedi dechrau arno ond byth wedi’i orffen

• Stori fer

• Barddoniaeth

• Llyfr a osodwyd mewn gwlad and ydych chi erioed wedi ymweld â hi

Rydym wedi casglu rhai awgrymiadau ynghyd ar gyfer pob awgrym. Mae awgrymiadau'n cynnwys e-lyfrau a llyfrau clyweled y gallwch gael mynediad atynt am ddim.

Neu awgrymwch eich llyfrau chi eich hun a rhannu eich syniadau drwy ddefnyddio  #paDarllenYnWell.

Rhowch wybod i ni sut mae’n mynd ar @SwanseaUniLib ar Twitter a Instagram.

Cynhelir yr her tan 22 Medi 2023.

"Working in accessibility is one of the most rewarding and interesting jobs you could wish for. I learn something new every day" – Neil Milliken, Accessibility Lead at ATOS.

It’s GAAD – Global Accessibility Awareness Day 2023! A day to encourage people to talk, think and learn more about accessibility and inclusion, and the more than one billion people with disabilities/impairments.

As part of the Swansea University Libraries marking of GAAD, we thought it would be a good opportunity to present a history of the Swansea University Transcription Centre (SUTC). During Swansea University’s Centenary year in 2020, former SUTC team member, Alison Sandy, delved into the SUTC archive books and the Richard Burton Archives and pieced together the history of SUTC. The result was the essay in the link below, ‘The history of Swansea University Transcription Centre.’

What does the Transcription Centre do?

At SUTC, we produce accessible learning resources for students with print-disabilities at Swansea University. The term ‘print-disability’ covers a learning, physical or visual disability which prevents a person from reading conventional print. Under the Equality Act 2010, higher education institutions have a legal duty to make reasonable adjustments, which include the provision of alternative, accessible formats. Recently, we were asked to write a ‘Mission Statement’ which reflects our service aims:

“Our mission is to support and enable print disabled students to maximise their academic potential by removing barriers and providing accessible resources.”

A Brief History of SUTC

SUTC, formerly known as the Recording Centre for the Blind, officially opened on 2^nd of November 1995 in the Taliesin Annexe, but support for visually impaired students at Swansea University dates back much further than this, as the essay explains (link below).

The earliest form of the service in the 1970s was located in the basement of the Engineering Building. Students and staff would voluntarily give their time to record books and articles onto tapes, an aspect which continued at the Centre for decades with our community volunteers (or ‘Readers’ as we would call them) recording for an hour each, each week. The University’s commitment to supporting VI students continued and with this the service developed. In 1993, it was recorded in the University’s Annual Report by the Principal, Professor Brian Clarkson that: “Swansea now has more such students [visually impaired students] than any other Welsh institution and ranks among the top six institutions in the UK in terms of its provision in this field.” And this still rings true to this day, Swansea University is the only Welsh university which has a Transcription Centre, and is one of only seven UK universities with a service of this kind. We have established strong links with the RNC (Royal National College for the Blind) in Hereford and New College Worcester, the RNIB and other institutions, organisations and individuals across the sector.

In 2004 the service moved to the purpose-built Amy Dillwyn building, where you can still find us and in 2009 changed to its current name ‘Swansea University Transcription Centre’. In 2014, in an important development for widening access, the SUTC service became free for students with a medically attested print-disability at Swansea University. Fast forward to 2023 and the team support around 20 students studying a variety of subjects and who need a range of accessible formats – some of whom we have supported from Undergraduate to PhD level!

To find out more, you can visit our web page: https://www.swansea.ac.uk/library/student-support/transcription-centre/

You can contact us on braille@swansea.ac.uk, follow us on Twitter: @SUTranscription, and you can find us in the Amy Dillwyn Building (number 15 on the Singleton Campus map).

[From left to right: Tina Webber (Transcription Centre Manager), Angharad Brown, Naomi Steele and Sofie O’Shea (Transcription Co-ordinators).]

Link to essay

"Gweithio mewn hygyrchedd yw un o'r swyddi mwyaf buddiol a diddorol y gallech ei ddymuno. Rwy'n dysgu rhywbeth newydd bob dydd" – Neil Milliken, Arweinydd Hygyrchedd gydag ATOS.

Mae'n GAAD – Diwrnod Ymwybyddiaeth Hygyrchedd Byd-eang 2023! Diwrnod i annog pobl i siarad, meddwl a dysgu mwy am hygyrchedd a chynhwysiant, a'r mwy na biliwn o bobl ag anableddau/namau.

Fel rhan o Lyfrgelloedd Prifysgol Abertawe yn nodi GAAD, dyma gyfle da i gyflwyno hanes Canolfan Drawsgrifio Prifysgol Abertawe (SUTC). Yn ystod blwyddyn Canmlwyddiant Prifysgol Abertawe yn 2020 fe ymchwiliodd cyn-aelod o dîm SUTC, Alison Sandy, i lyfrau archif SUTC ac Archifau Richard Burton, gan wau hanes SUTC gyda'i gilydd. Canlyniad hyn yw’r traethawd yn y ddolen isod, 'Hanes Canolfan Drawsgrifio Prifysgol Abertawe’.

Beth mae'r Ganolfan Drawsgrifio yn ei wneud?

Yn SUTC, rydym yn cynhyrchu adnoddau dysgu hygyrch ar gyfer myfyrwyr sydd ag anableddau print ym Mhrifysgol Abertawe. Mae'r term 'anabledd print' yn cwmpasu anabledd dysgu, corfforol neu weledol sy'n rhwystro person rhag darllen print confensiynol. O dan Ddeddf Cydraddoldeb 2010, mae gan sefydliadau addysg uwch ddyletswydd gyfreithiol i wneud addasiadau rhesymol, sy'n cynnwys darparu fformatau amgen, hygyrch. Yn ddiweddar, gofynnwyd i ni ysgrifennu 'Datganiad Cenhadaeth' sy'n adlewyrchu nod ein gwasanaeth:

“Ein cenhadaeth yw cefnogi a galluogi myfyrwyr ag anabledd darllen print i wneud y gorau o'u potensial academaidd drwy gael gwared ar rwystrau a darparu adnoddau hygyrch."

Hanes Byr y Ganolfan Drawsgrifio

Agorodd SUTC, a elwid yn wreiddiol yn Ganolfan Recordio'r Deillion, yn swyddogol ar 2^il o Dachwedd 1995 yn Anecs Taliesin, ond mae cefnogaeth i fyfyrwyr â nam ar eu golwg ym Mhrifysgol Abertawe yn dyddio'n ôl llawer pellach na hyn, fel y dengys y traethawd yn y ddolen isod.

Lleolwyd ffurf gynharaf y gwasanaeth yn yr 1970au yng ngwaelod yr Adeilad Peirianneg. Byddai myfyrwyr a staff yn rhoi yn wirfoddol o’u hamser i recordio llyfrau ac erthyglau ar dâp; gweithgaredd a barhaodd yn y Ganolfan am ddegawdau gyda'n gwirfoddolwyr cymunedol (neu 'Ddarllenwyr' fel y’u gelwid) yn recordio am awr yr un bob wythnos. Parhaodd ymrwymiad y Brifysgol i gefnogi myfyrwyr VI a chyda hyn datblygodd y gwasanaeth. Fel y cofnodir yn Adroddiad Blynyddol y Brifysgol 1993 gan y Prifathro, yr Athro Brian Clarkson: "Erbyn hyn mae gan Abertawe fwy o fyfyrwyr o'r fath [myfyrwyr â nam ar eu golwg] nag unrhyw sefydliad Cymreig arall, gan fod ymhlith y chwe sefydliad gorau yn y DU o ran ei darpariaeth yn y maes hwn." Ac mae hyn yn dal i daro deuddeg hyd heddiw: Prifysgol Abertawe yw'r unig brifysgol yng Nghymru sydd â Chanolfan Drawsgrifio, ac mae'n un o saith prifysgol yn unig yn y DU sydd â gwasanaeth o'r fath. Rydym wedi sefydlu cysylltiadau cryf â'r RNC (Coleg Cenedlaethol Brenhinol y Deillion) yn Henffordd a Choleg Newydd Caerwrangon, yr RNIB a sefydliadau ac unigolion eraill ar draws y sector.

Yn 2004, symudodd y gwasanaeth i adeilad pwrpasol Amy Dillwyn, lle y gallwch ddod o hyd i ni heddiw, ac yn 2009 cafodd ei ailenwi'n 'Ganolfan Drawsgrifio Prifysgol Abertawe'. Yn 2014, mewn datblygiad pwysig ar gyfer ehangu mynediad, newidiodd gwasanaeth SUTC i fod yn rhad ac am ddim i fyfyrwyr Prifysgol Abertawe ag anabledd print wedi'i dystio'n feddygol. Ymlaen â ni i 2023 ac mae'r tîm yn cefnogi tua 20 o fyfyrwyr sy’n astudio amrywiaeth o bynciau a sydd arnynt angen amrywiaeth o fformatau hygyrch – rydym wedi eu cefnogi rhai ohonynt o lefel Israddedig i lefel PhD!

I gael gwybod mwy, ewch i’n tudalen we: https://www.swansea.ac.uk/cy/llyfrgelloedd/cymorth-llyfrgell-estynedig/canolfan-drawsgrifio/

Cysylltwch â ni ar braille@swansea.ac.uk, dilynwch ni ar Twitter: @SUTranscription, a gallwch ddod o hyd i ni yn Adeilad Amy Dillwyn (rhif 15 ar fap Campws Parc Singleton).

[O'r chwith i'r dde: Tina Webber (Rheolwr y Ganolfan Drawsgrifio), Angharad Brown, Naomi Steele a Sofie O'Shea (Cydlynwyr Trawsgrifio).]

Dolen i'r traethawd