Some day-to-day tasks like carrying grocery bags, holding a key to open a door and twisting off small lids or bottle caps are now a whole lot easier thanks to the library’s Assistive Tools Kit, a collection of seven small devices selected for their functionality and ease to create using the library’s 3D printers. The tools can be used by people of all ages and include a bottle opener, key turner, pen ball, palm pen, tube opener, signature guard and bag carrier. View the kit and learn more about each tool here.
Borrow an already assembled Assistive Tools Kit from our Library of Things to learn which tools may be most useful and work best for you.
You can also create your own custom kit and request to have one, or all seven, of the assistive tools 3D printed by library staff for a nominal cost of materials. View details on this new service and order assistive tools here.
The Assistive Tools Kit is offered as a collaboration between the library’s Senior and Accessible Services and Makerplace staff from designs created by Neil Squire / Makers Making Change.
“We are always seeking ways to connect customers to resources,” said Katie Myers, the library's certified ADA coordinator and Senior and Accessible Services Supervisor. “So often it starts with a single question about something and the more we investigate and dig deeper, it starts to grow. We learn about resources, and in this case technology that would help people with disabilities. The library is helping to create those connections to resources.”
The Assistive Tools Kit was introduced in October of 2022 as part of Inclusion Awareness Month at the Arlington Heights Memorial Library.