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RNIB Right to Read campaign
The Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) launched Right to Read in 2002 for more books in Braille, audio and large print to be provided for the visually impaired. As part of the campaign, it released two reports highlighting the discrimination suffered by people with sight problems in buying and borrowing books. Blind or partially sighted people are denied access to 95% of books because they are not available in alternative formats, which amounts to three million adults and children in the UK who are denied access to the right to read.
"If a blind or partially sighted person wants to read they are faced with poor choice, additional expense and have to rely on charity to transcribe or lend them books, despite paying taxes for a library service they cannot enjoy," said Dan Vale, RNIB campaigns manager and author of one of the reports. "RNIB believes this is an unacceptable infringement of human rights. We want blind people to be able to read the same book at the same time at the same price as sighted people."
The RNIB called for the government to set up a £20 million fund to increase the number of alternative formats available and for libraries to expand their collections for the visually impaired to make up 5% of the total holding by 2010. Kirsty Frost, spokeswoman for the National Library for the Blind (NLB), said the library supported the call, but warned that it is not practical for libraries to store Braille and supply Braille to users. She said: "In terms of both storage and cost it makes more sense for NLB and other providers to continue to produce and store Braille books centrally, and libraries to borrow books for their users through an interlibrary loan from the NLB."
In 2006 Right to Read called on the Government to act urgently to set up a nationally coordinated system for providing schoolbooks for blind and partially sighted children. At present, only 12% of maths and 8% of science GCSE textbooks in England are available in
Braille or large print. The RNIB has launched the Right to Read declaration in a bid to end the book shortage. To add your name, visit www.rnib.org.uk/righttoread
A Closed Book: public library services for blind and partially sighted people and the Right to Read campaign report are available from RNIB customer services on 0845 702 3153 or visit www.rnib.org.uk/
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