Submitted by San Juan Island Library

In addition to patrons being able to borrow their favorite books, DVDs and magazines, the library is pleased to announce that colorblind corrective glasses will soon be available to borrow. The glasses can fit over prescription glasses so they will work for a variety of people.

Did you know one in 12 men and 1 in 200 women are color vision deficient? Red-green color blindness happens because of an excessive overlap in the signals from red- and green-sensitive retinal cone cells in the eye, which causes colors that are normally seen as distinct and different to appear similar and confusing. Color corrective glasses have special optical filters to decrease this overlap and increase the contrast between the red and green color signals allowing colors to be seen more vibrantly, clearly and distinctly.

It is estimated that people with color vision deficiency see about 10 percent of the one million shades a person with normal color vision can see.

Common color confusions include green and yellow, gray and pink, and purple and blue.

About EnChroma

Based in Berkeley, California, EnChroma makes cutting-edge lens technology and eyewear for color blindness. Established in 2010 by a Ph.D. glass scientist and a mathematician, EnChroma’s glasses combine the latest in color perception neuroscience and lens innovation to improve the lives of people with color vision deficiency around the world.

Patrons will be able to borrow the EnChroma Glasses in January 2020 for a 7-day loan period.

For more information, contact the library at 360-378-2798 or visit www.sjlib.org.