State Library of Ohio Selects SOCHE

January 14, 2009 - Dayton, Ohio

State Library of Ohio Selects SOCHE Disability Access Collaborative as Exemplary Program

The State Library of Ohio selected the Southwestern Ohio Council for Higher Education’s College and University Disability Access Collaborative as an exemplary program for the Library Services and Technology Act 2008 Program Report to the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The Southwestern Ohio Council for Higher Education (SOCHE) College and University Disability Access Collaborative (CUDAC) was developed to increase access to digitized textbooks for qualified students with disabilities. SOCHE worked with OhioLINK, which agreed to create a virtual library repository for electronic textbooks that will allow any disability provider to access textbooks already converted by participant institutions.

SOCHE’s Disability Services Committee developed the concept a few years back. Sean Creighton, executive director of SOCHE, commented, “CUDAC is an excellent example of the collaborative nature of the consortium, and of colleges and universities working together with OhioLINK to improve student access to learning.”

Discussions are now underway among SOCHE, OhioLINK, and the Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission to secure funding to expand the project statewide to include all Ohio higher education institutions with OhioLINK membership.

Participating institutions in the pilot include: Cedarville University, Central State University, Clark State Community College, Kettering College of Medical Arts, Miami University–Hamilton and Middletown campuses, Sinclair Community College, Southern State Community College, University of Dayton, Urbana University, Wilmington College, Wittenberg University, and Wright State University.

Formed in 1967, SOCHE is a consortium of over 20 colleges and universities dedicated to advancing higher education in the region through active collaboration, resource and knowledge building, and effective professional development programs.