Randy Litwin of Parkesburg is color blind, which causes difficulties with everyday tasks like coordinating clothing, judging the color of a traffic light, playing board games and even cooking.

Litwin, 41, a graduate of Twin Valley High School, along with other volunteers, recently got to experience seeing colors for the first time thanks to special glasses developed by EnChroma, a company based out of Berkeley, Calif., that produces eyewear for color blindness and low vision. Eight pairs of the glasses are now available to borrow through Berks County Public Libraries (BCPL). The glasses were unveiled during a ceremony held at the Village Library of Morgantown on June 26.

In addition to Litwin, other volunteers who took part in the reveal event were Shawn Fies, 39, of Fleetwood, an elementary music teacher; Daren Ernfield, 41, of Richland, a probation officer; Tyler Steele, 15, a student in the Lampeter-Strasburg School District; and Stephen Macready of Boyertown, 33, an audio/visual technician.

Amy Resh, BCPL administrator, was the host of the program, which was attended by Berks County Commissioners Christian Leinbach, Kevin Barnhardt and Michael Rivera.

Leinbach said he was surprised to learn statistics about color blindness. "One in 12 males are color blind. One in 200 females are color blind," he said. "I did not know the disparity was that great."

After a count of three, the men donned the glasses and immediately began looking at the scenery around them. "When I put them on, immediately some red and greens had a bright, vivid and drastic change. I started looking to familiar objects, my car, the balloons and plants to see the difference," said Litwin. "As I wore the glasses longer, more color changes began to stand out."

"Now I have to go back and learn colors, but it's a great opportunity, and I am thankful for it," Litwin added. "Colors come up every day, so it's an opportunity to communicate with people in language you have never been able to speak."

Before leaving the ceremony, Litwin remarked that his car was not quite the color he thought it was. "For me, I had an idea of what red is, and it's not (what I thought). Red without the glasses is dark and muted. Now it pops," he said, adding with a smile, "Now I don't know if I would have bought that (car)."

All eight pairs of color blind glasses are designed for outdoor use. BCPL will add indoor glasses to its collection by the end of the year. All glasses will be housed at the library system headquarters in Leesport and will travel to any of the 23 member library locations when requested.

Library cardholders interested in borrowing colorblind glasses should place a hold through the countywide catalog or speak with a library staff member for assistance. More information can be found at http://www.berkslibraries.org.