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Can anyone use this service?
Yes, but if you are from outside Scotland, we may advise you of centres in your own area which can more appropriately help you.
Do I have to make a formal approach to CALL?
If you get in touch, CALL will ask you for your own name and address, and a few basic details about the clients on whose behalf you are enquiring (eg pre-school, school-age or adult) but basically discussion is very informal.
 How do I make an enquiry?
Advice and information asked for and given out will be mainly by telephone or mail, but may occasionally involve personal contact if the original enquiry leads to an equipment loan, assessment, technical modification, or in-service training session. If you're not sure exactly which CALL service you are ultimately wanting to use, just phone up and we'll discuss it.
Is there a charge for this service?
No, there is no charge for this service - unless you ask to be sent literature which amounts to more than several pages, in which case a small charge to cover the cost of photocopying, postage and packing may be required.
All enquiries are logged and stored in an electronic data-base. At some point in the future, users of the service may be mailed with a brief survey asking them about their level of satisfaction with the service they received from CALL.
Can I make a personal visit to the Centre?
By appointment, you may come into CALL to consult / browse the CALL library which contains specialised material (this literature is for reference only not for loan (although a photocopying service is available within CALL, at cost)). Visitors may also browse papers and books produced by CALL itself, and purchase any of these.
The library contains a number of videos which may be viewed on the CALL VCR, and software which may be evaluated on a CALL computer, if one is available at the time. Or these items may be borrowed for about a month through the CALL Loan Bank scheme.
 Can I get information and materials by post?
You may wish to ask for materials to be sent out to you, if you are unable to visit the CALL Centre. We can send you specially created bibliographies, on particular topics that you want to follow up; lists of titles of CALL occcasional papers or CALL Information Packs you may wish to buy.
More substantial specialist publications are also produced by CALL, from time to time - for example, the recently published books Accelerated Writing for People with Disabilities plainand Augmentative Communication in Practice: Scotland.
Can anyone use this service?
Is the CALL library open-access - can I drop in any time?
No, unfortunately we are not in a position to offer a completely open access service - simply because there are only a few staff members here, and it may occasionally happen that everyone is out simultaneously. Or the CALL Centre may be being used for an assessment, a course or a meeting on the day you wish to come. But usually it will be easy to agree a mutually convenient time.
 How do I make an arrangement to come?
Just phone us up first to ensure that the Centre is open at the time you intend to come, and make an appointment.
Will I be on my own, or will someone from CALL be available to help?
The CALL Centre Information Officer will help you use the library database to identify and find books on the shelves. Otherwise you will be more or less on your own, though someone should be around if you run into any difficulties.
If you want to talk to someone on the CALL team about a specific topic, you would have to make an appointment for this specifically. Unfortunately, however, our time for this is limited because of commitments to research projects.
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