Reading studios
A reading studio is a resource room equipped with technical aids for students with reading impairments such as dyslexia, visual impairment or other disabilities.
How to book reading studios
Access to the reading studios
Reading studios may be used by students and staff at the University of Gothenburg. To get access to the reading studio you will need a certificate from the University's coordinators.
Contact information to the University's coordinators
The reading studios are intended for individual studies. For group studies, you can use our group study rooms instead. All computers in the group study rooms are equipped with support programs.
Booking a reading studio
You can book a reading studio two weeks in advance and book up to two sessions per day. A session is a minimum of 30 minutes and a maximum of six hours. In total, you can book six hours per day, and a maximum of twelve hours at the same time.
Our reading studios are in high demand, so you may only book one room/study place at a time. If you have booked a studio but are not using it within 30 minutes after the start of the session, the studio may be used by someone else.
How to book:
- Log in to the booking service with your GU account.
- Choose the desired library and day in the calendar.
- Choose a studio and a time, enter a signature and confirm your booking.
- Done! You do not need to confirm your booking in any other way.
Book a reading studio by phone
If you don't want to book the reading studio online, you are welcome to call us instead:
- Art Library, phone 031-786 61 85
- Biomedical Library, phone 031-786 30 02
- Economics Library, phone 031-786 14 31
- Education Library, phone 031-786 23 41
- Humanities Library, phone 031-786 17 45
- Hälsovetarbacken Library, phone 031-786 68 80
- Social Sciences Library, phone 031-786 27 20
Cancel your booking if you cannot use it
There are many who would like to use the libraries' reading studios. Please cancel your booking if you no longer need to use the studio.
Bookings cannot be cancelled after the session has started.
Reading studios at the libraries
Art library
The reading studio is located on the entrance level near the library. Collect the key to the studio at the information desk.
Biomedical Library
The reading studio is located to the left on floor 3. The studio has one work station equipped with Jaws screen reading software. Collect the key for the studio at the information desk on the entrance floor, floor 5.
Economics Library - support for Braille
The reading studio is located on balcony 1. The computer has Braille display, Braille printer and Jaws screen reading software. That work station does not have SuperNova. Collect the key for the studio at the information desk.
Education Library
The reading studio is placed near the group study rooms. The reading studio is a shared room, with two study spaces. One study place has a PC computer and one study place has a Mac computer. Collect the key for the studio at the information desk.
Humanities Library
The reading studio is placed on floor 6. Collect the key for the studio at the information desk in the entrance hall.
Hälsovetarbacken Library
The reading studio is located on the entrance floor. Collect the key for the studio at the information desk.
Social Sciences Library
Two reading studios are placed near the group study rooms. Reading studio 1 has a special book scanner. Collect the studio keys at the information desk on the entrance floor.
Software on public computers
Most of the libraries' public computers have support programs such as EasyReader, TorTalk, Supernova and StavaRex. These programs are also available for download to your own computer from the University's download service (requires login).
Equipment and software in reading studios
You can use the computers in the reading studios to work with your own document and files, but in order to save a document you must use either a USB stick or e-mail the file to your own e-mail address.
Equipment in the reading studios
The following equipment are available in the studios:
- Printer
- Scanner
- CD burner
- CD reader
- Index Everest Braille printer. Only available on one computer at the Economics Library.
- Basic Braille 64. Only available on one computer at the Economics Library.
- Magnifying camera. Missing on one of the computers at the Economics Library, Hälsovetarbacken Library and the Art Library.
- C-Pen for scanning for scanning of smaller paragraphs, such as single sentences.
Software on the computers
The following software are available on the computers in the reading studios:
- Windows 7 or Windows 10
- Supernova screen reading software
- Jaws screen reading software. Only available at the Biomedical Library and Economics Library (one computer)
- Infovox speech synthesis in both Swedish and English FineReader
- TorTalk speech synthesis in both Swedish and English
- FineReader, OCR program for scanning
- EasyReader for listening to DAISY discs
- EasyProducer. Reads text in Word documents with synthetic voice (in Swedish and English) and creates audio books of text in Daisy format (mp3)
- ClaroRead: Reads text from the web with synthesised voice
- Saida word prediction software
- SpellRight: Spelling and grammar programs for English text
- Stava Rex: Spelling and grammar programs for Swedish text
- Word Finder: Dictionaries and control of the style and grammar of English text
- Gustavas Ordböcker digital dictionary
Contact us about reading studios
Contact us if you need help using the libraries' reading studios.