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Helping visually impaired readers
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Other special
needs reading initiatives
General information
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Free audio books. The
Library and Information Update have selected some websites
containing free audio books. They are:
www.audiobooksforfree.com/
www.freeclassicaudiobooks.com/
http://audio-book-swicki.eurekster.com/
Alternatively, try entering the words, 'free audio books
for iPod' into a search engine.
Ways of Reading is a guide to
finding books for blind and partially-sighted children,
whether for pleasure, information or school work.
It is a co-operative venture by Calibre Cassette Library,
ClearVision, National Library for the Blind and the Royal
National Insitute for the Blind. Copies are available
in print, Braille or on tape. Contact the RNIB on
0845 702 3153.
Improving
access for blind and visually impaired
Merton Libraries, with the help
of £32,225 from the DCMS/Wolfson Fund, aimed to enhance the quality
of life for blind and visually impaired people through improved access
to all library facilities. Through the use of computer technology encompassing
speech systems, CCTV and electronic information, and development of
a reader group, Talking Eyes provided a zone designed to meet these
service users' needs. Contact 020 8356 2546.
Libraries
help visually impaired readers
Cumbria Libraries, following a
successful bid to the Wolfson/DCMS fund, were awarded £49,980
for a project for visually impaired readers, with four main stages -
recording local interest books; promoting talking books through
a co-ordinated radio campaign; making changes to accessibility
to the visually-impaired community; and encouraging visually-impaired
readers to form and join audio reading groups. Contact 01228 607295.
Creative
reading festival for the blind
Building on the success of the
Touching Experience festival during the National Year of Reading in
May 1999, the National Library for the Blind ran another creative reading
festival in May 2001.
Called A Touch Of ..., it formed
part of the NLB's reader development project funded by the DCMS/Wolfson
Public Libraries Challenge Fund. The aim of the project was to reach
visually impaired readers through an integrated approach involving specialist
providers and public libraries. Ten different packs were distributed
to all 150 library authorities, each containing ten taster extracts
of fiction and poetry available in Braille, on CD and on tape plus booklists
of titles in large print. enquiries@nlbuk.org
Strengthening
library reader development work for visually impaired
A Touch More, the National Library
for the Blind's DCMS/Wolfson 2001 funded project, built on its previous
pioneering reader development work for the visually impaired. The project
strengthened and embedded this approach in public libraries by increasing
the range of accessible browsing tools, and developed new models of
support and delivery. It was piloted in partneship with three library
authorities and three local scoieties for blind people, and then rolled
out nationally.
Contact Reader Advice Manager at
the NLB on 0161 355 2077.
The ClearVision Project,
aims to enable books to be shared by Braille and print readers.
Started in 1986 as a few books for use at Linden Lodge School
for visually impaired children in south-west London, ClearVision
is now a national postal lending library of over 13,000
titles. A National Year of Reading grant enabled ClearVision
to develop and evaluate some specially designed tactile
books to encourage pre-reading skills in children who go
on to learn Braille. They now have a collection of
over 700 tactile books. Clearvision's books for newly-fluent
readers are all listed on Revealweb, an online database
with details of over 100,000 books in alternative formats:
www.revealweb.org.uk.
Contact 020 8789 9575 or visit www.clearvisionproject.org
Banding together for interactive
library for special needs pupils
Inspired by his 15-year-old son Murray, Archie Brown and
his band, the 'Young Bucks', held a Bob Dylan day to raise
£3,500 of equipment for Thomas Bewick School, in Chapel
Park, Newcastle. This money went towards creating a 'fun
library', with a multi-sensory room to encourage autistic
youngsters like Murray to get interested in reading. Around
300 people paid £10 to attend the 'Dylan Day' , held
at the Archer, in Sandyford.
The 3 to 11 year-old pupils barely waited for Archie to
open the new facilities before dressing up in costumes of
their favourite story-book characters and playing with the
new toys. The equipment has been specially chosen to help
the children interact with each other and with teachers,
a hurdle autistic children can find difficult to overcome.
Teacher Liz Whitman said: "We are very grateful for
all the hard work which went into raising the cash for the
facility."
Archie said: "Discovering your child has autism can
be very frightening. It almost seems like a life sentence
at first. Initially parents want a quick fix solution, but
you learn that just is not possible. It is an incredibly
complex condition and now I think the most important thing
is to make hem happy. Murray doesn't talk very much but
he is happy and we're really pleased with his progress at
Thomas Bewick. We wanted to do something for the school
and we had a lot of fun organising it." Murray was
diagnosed with autism when he was three, and has attended
Thomas Bewick, the city's only specialist school for autistic
children, since it opened six years ago.
It's my life - Enfield Libraries
Jointly managed and facilitated by Enfield Disability Action
and Enfield Libraries. The project works with adults with
learning difficulties, offering training in computer skills
to enable them to produce their own life-story book - giving
them a purpose to their leanring. The results for individuals
have been staggering and life-changing. This project was
shortlisted for the Libraries Change Lives Award, March
2005.
Supporting young people with learning
difficulties
Lancashire Library Service was awarded DCMS/Wolfson 2001
funding (£178,297) to build on an existing pilot scheme
at Burnley library to set up reader development activities
for children and young people with learning difficulties
and their families. Activities were supported by the development
of multi-media collections and a website to provide resources
and support to those wanting to develop their basic skills.
Contact Principal Librarian - Cultural Service at Lancashire
Education and Cultural Services Department on 01772 264051.
Books
Alive project distributes storysacks
Norfolk County Council is continuing
its NYR-funded Books Alive project with the distribution of storysacks
to special needs schools and a special needs centre and will incorporate
storysacks into its children's collection in the new Norwich library.
Contact 01603 222270. More information on storysacks.
Somerset
Inclusion Partnership develops multi-sensory storytelling roadshow
The Somerset Inclusion Partnership's
National Year of Reading-funded project linked Barnado's with Somerset
Total Communication and Somerset College of Arts & Technology to
develop a multi-sensory storytelling roadshow based on the quest to
find the Somerset dragon. Contributions from all ages and abilities,
including a blind writer working with student designers, led to a unique
range of formats ranging from a tactile book to braille and tapes and
significant interest in developing similar projects centred around accessibility.
Contact 01823 257917.
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