Merlin machine magnifies media
SLIPPERY ROCK — Ella Maxwell used her fingertips to slide an old photograph while she turned a knob to magnetize the image on a screen.
“That has to be at the railroad at Grove City — out at the old Bessemer plant,” said Maxwell of Slippery Rock about the photographed location. “It's amazing this machine can do this. I've had cataract surgery, but still this is so clear to me.”
Maxwell, 81, whose family has lived in Slippery Rock for generations, looked through an old photo collection another patron left for people to find anyone they could recognize.
The Slippery Rock Community Library offer patrons no-cost access to its Merlin LCD, a full-color, autofocus video magnifier system by Enhanced Vision that lets people with low vision, macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa, glaucoma and cataracts read, write and regain their visual independence.
Maxwell uses the machine about two or three times a week to magnify items, including recipes and cookbooks, with smaller text, she said.
Although she is new user to the machine and not that familiar with computers, learning how to use Merlin was fairly simple, Maxwell said.
“It's so easy to learn how to work it,” she said. “You just turn it on and you can use pictures, cookbooks, books that you're reading ... it's so nice you can put anything under here.”
The viewing table swivels up and down and left to right. Color, black and white, or enhanced high-contrast positive or negative are included in its various viewing modes, said Karen Pierce, librarian.
“If someone wants to follow along on a map or they're looking at old photographs, they can follow along as they're looking,” Pierce said. “You can make it bigger, you can make it smaller.”
The variety of contrasts enable people who may have different eye conditions, such as color blindness, she said.The Merlin, valued at about $3,000, was given to the library by the Lions Club three years ago when the library was at its previous smaller location, Pierce said.“I just did not have the space to leave it in a dedicated space,” she said.However, the machine now has its own corner of the new library at 465 N. Main St., Pierce said.Users maintain their independence when they use the Merlin, she said.“They're able to say 'I can fill out my name,' and they're able to do that and still maintain their independence,” she said.People can use the screen to view a variety of items, including checkbooks, maps, bills, magazines and photos.“We had a woman tell us it was a blessing,” Pierce said. “It's been a real bonus.”Another user of the machine in the past was Sue Garton, a former Slippery Rock resident.Garton used the machine for about four months when the library loaned it to her when she experienced eyesight difficulties, said Garton, who now lives in Sewickley.Reading mail and letters and writing checks and paying bills are several items she would read in the machine, she said.“It's the only way I could read,” Garton said. “People will be impressed with it ... There's so many possibilities.”She said it is a wonderful service the library offers its patrons, Garton said.Maxwell planned to return to keep using the machine, she said.“I can't believe some of the pictures I have I could bring up on this ... I have so many of my mother's pictures, thousands of them, in black and white of course,” she said.
Reading- Make the type large enough to see it comfortably but not so large that it becomes tedious to scan across a page.- When reading a book or magazine that does not have a flat surface, use the provided Plexiglas to place on top of material and flatten reading surface.- New users should use two hands when moving the X-Y table for reading, until they become comfortable with one hand.Writing- Beginners should start at smaller magnification sizes, then increase magnification as they become more comfortable using Merlin LCD for writing.The smaller the magnification size, the bigger you tend to write; the higher the magnification size the smaller you'll write.- Use a pen that makes a bold line, such as heavy point pen, a felt-tip marker or a fine point marker, for easier visibility.- It might be easier to keep your place if you write a few words at a time then move the X-Y table and write again, rather than moving continuously as you write.SOURCE: Enhanced Vision
