Memorandum submitted by the National Library
for the Blind
INTRODUCTION
The National Library for the Blind (NLB) is
a registered charity and a leading agency in the provision of
library and information services for visually impaired people.
We believe that visually impaired people should have the same
access to library services as sighted people.
We house Europe's largest collection of Braille
and Moon books and supply a postal library service to blind and
partially sighted people worldwide. Our accessible website (www.nlb-online.org)
offers a wide range of electronic library and information services.
Our direct services aim to reflect the range of opportunities
available via public libraries and are free at the point of use.
We work closely with public libraries throughout
the UK and therefore warmly welcome this inquiry into the Government's
policy on public libraries. Our evidence, below, relates chiefly
to the questions which are particularly relevant to blind and
partially sighted people; notably the accessibility of local libraries
and the extent to which they meet demand; the role of specialist
libraries such as NLB; and new models of provision. At the end
of the document we make a number of recommendations.
NLB is a member of Share the Vision and the
Right to Read Alliance.
CUSTOMERS
There are estimated to be around one million
blind or partially sighted people in the UK, plus one million
who are print-disabled for other reasons, such as dyslexia. 90%
of blind or partially sighted people are over 60 years old and
are likely to have been regular users of the public library before
losing their sight in old age.
Improvements in health care and medical technology
mean that people are living longer into old age with visual and
other impairments. For the first time, there are more people over
the age of 60 than under 16, and the Government Actuary's Department
forecasts that the number of over 60s will increase by 64% in
36 years. One in four people will be affected by a serious, uncorrectable
sight problem at some stage in their lives.
Blind and partially sighted people need books
and information for all the same reasons as sighted people: for
life-long learning, for work, for leisure and to play a full part
in the community. A survey by RNIB found that people read more
after losing their sight than they did before.
Blind and partially sighted people read in a
variety of ways using audio, large or modified print, Braille
or Moon. The carrier might be paper, tape or digital, or CD or
online output via a Braille keyboard, synthetic speech or screen
magnification. Some people convert reading material into an accessible
format at the point of use using a reading machine or CCTV, or
employ a personal reader. Many people use a variety of methods
for different purposes.
OUR TRACK
RECORD OF
WORKING WITH
PUBLIC LIBRARIES
In the past, NLB simply lent Braille book collections
to public libraries. Recently we have developed projects together
with public libraries, for example
— Branching Out, the public libraries'
reader development initiative.
— A Touch Of . . . training for public
libraries and reading promotion events, encouraging partnerships
with local societies for blind people.
— A Touch More piloted workshops for
public libraries.
— Office of the e-Envoy Get Started
campaign provided internet workshops for blind people in public
libraries.
— DCMS-funded training for all English
library regions on delivering accessible services to blind and
partially sighted people.
— An audit of the accessibility of
public libraries' online catalogues.
— Online Access Technology Primer supporting
training of public library staff.
— Make a Noise in Libraries campaign
working with local societies for visually impaired people to encourage
them to make their needs known to public libraries.
— Working with the Chartered Institute
of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) on many initiatives,
such as facilitating the involvement of visually impaired children
with the Carnegie and Greenway medals, and the model children's
library at the International Federation of Library Associations'
annual conference in Glasgow 2002.
We also contributed to the proposals in the
Framework for the Future Action Plan, and, with RNIB, jointly
manage Revealweb: the National Database of Accessible Resources.
ARE PUBLIC
LIBRARIES ACCESSIBLE
TO BLIND
AND PARTIALLY
SIGHTED PEOPLE?
DO PUBLIC
LIBRARIES MEET
THEIR DEMANDS?
Public libraries are well placed to tackle social
exclusion, and many of them are working hard to improve provision
for people with disabilities including visual impairment. Nevertheless,
the range and quality of services for blind and partially sighted
people is still a postcode lottery.
A survey carried out by the Library and Information
Statistics Unit (LISU) of Loughborough University, Out of sight
but not out of mind (2001), found that only 6% of visually impaired
people had never used a public library but only 31% had used one
in the last six months.
A survey by LISU for the Library and Information
Commission, Public library services for visually impaired people
(2000) discovered that only 5% of library authorities had an explicit
policy statement for services to visually impaired people and
less than 30% of libraries had a specific budget.
Many libraries now have some assistive technology
in place but there were no accessibility standards for the People's
Network. A report from the Disability Rights Commission, The web:
access and inclusion for disabled people (2004), discovered that
81% of websites do not meet basic standards of accessibility and
this evidence is supported by NLB's own research as part of our
Visionary Design campaign.
LISU's survey found that public libraries mainly
focus on the provision of audio and large print book collections,
and, pleasingly, LISU's recent Public library materials fund and
budget survey 2003-05 reports a rise in spending on audio-visual
materials of 12.5% in 2003-04.
Public libraries are very well placed to deliver
library services for visually impaired people in the heart of
the community. They should have a thorough knowledge of the local
area, contacts with local groups, and housebound and mobile services
to reach people who are not able to visit the library. They offer
a convenient point of entry to the whole library system, and indeed
to a wide range of local government services. There are some very
good examples of provision for visually impaired people, mostly
driven by a strong commitment from management and staff.
However, there are no standards for library
services for visually impaired people (we await the new impact
standards with interest); there is no infrastructure for national
management or leadership in this area; and individual library
authorities are faced with competing demands against a backdrop
of severe funding pressures.
Responsibility for special needs often rests
at a fairly low level and job mobility means that there is always
a need for staff training. Our experience shows that there is
very little expressed demand from visually impaired customers,
who have poor expectations, and a fairly low level of awareness
of specialist services on the part of staff.
A survey of public libraries conducted for NLB
and RNIB in 2001 found that public libraries want
— Support from specialist voluntary
sector organisations in the form of a single point of access to
a flexible package of co-ordinated services.
— Stable costs/value for money.
This work led to the establishment of the Gateway
project which brings together public libraries and voluntary sector
organizations to develop a gateway from public libraries to more
specialised services. To date, the project has not been able to
secure funding to implement its plans.
ROLE OF
SPECIALIST LIBRARIES
The need for specialist libraries, such as NLB,
is illustrated very effectively in the provision of library services
for visually impaired people. There are many such specialist services
in the UK, all delivered by charities, including RNIB Talking
Books, Calibre Cassette Library, Talking Newspapers, the National
Centre for Tactile Diagrams, ClearVision Project, Torch Trust,
Living Paintings, Listening Books and many more. They are not
integrated into the national or public library service and do
not receive any regular government funding. It seems inequitable
to us that a sighted person can obtain library services from a
statutorily-funded public library but that a blind person is reliant
on charity.
These organisations have specific strengths
which differentiate them from public libraries. They are expert
in the production and use of accessible resources and they hold
considerable specialist collections of books in Braille, Moon,
Giant Print, audio, accessible multi-media and so on. With demand
coming from all over the UK, central national collections and
sources of advice offer sensible economies of scale.
However, each of these organisations has been
established independently with its own governance and management,
typically with a mission to specialise in the production and lending
of certain accessible formats. This is a nightmare for customers,
who have to join a host of different services. With the convergence
of technologies, it is inevitable that there must be duplication
of processes between organisations.
It is hard for national, single-site organisations
to identify and reach new customers. It should be easier for public
libraries to do this within their local community, and many of
the specialist services could be delivered locally by public libraries,
as is the case in many other countries, eg Sweden.
Also, with limited funding available, charities
cannot keep up with demand. Even now, fewer than 5% of books are
ever made available in accessible formats that visually impaired
people can read, largely due to the high cost of specialist work.
The Copyright (Visually Impaired Persons) Act
has speeded up the transcription process. The legislation could
be improved further by extending coverage to all print-disabled
people and by providing for international exchange of resources
and intermediate files, as recommended by the World Intellectual
Property Organisation (WIPO).
In the past, publishers have been reluctant
to provide digital files, but thankfully, now, investigations
supported by MLAC and the Department of Trade and Industry are
exploring ways that a repository of digital files could be created
for use by specialist producers.
An important new service is Revealweb: the National
Database of Accessible Resources, www.revealweb.org.uk, part funded
until March 2006 by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council
(MLAC) through the Framework for the Future Action Plan, and jointly
managed by NLB and RNIB. The future of Revealweb beyond March
2006 is uncertain and should not be dependent on charities. We
believe that Revealweb should be integrated into and permanently
funded as part of the national bibliography.
NEW MODELS
OF PROVISION
AND NEW
POLICY DEMANDS
We believe that there is a need to capitalise
on the strengths of both the public library and the voluntary
sectors and come up with a more integrated and fairly funded model
of service provision that will better meet the needs of blind
and partially sighted people, possibly based on a compact between
public libraries and voluntary sector services. It could be branded
the National Accessible Library Service and would, in the terms
of the Framework for the Future, be a "national offering".
Public libraries and voluntary sector library
services want to build a new form of partnership resulting in
more cost-effective delivery. The impact would be that more blind
and partially sighted people would get access to more of the books
and information they need through their local public library.
RECOMMENDATIONS
(a) Government should fund a study into
the feasibility of establishing a National Accessible Library
Service, including an audit of UK services and a survey of the
best models of provision in other parts of the world.
(b) Government should fund Revealweb on
a permanent basis and integrate it into the national bibliographic
service.
(c) Government should support the production
of books in accessible formats by funding a national repository
of publishers' files that can be used by authorised organisations.
(d) Public library standards and measures
should include targets for services to visually impaired and other
print-disabled people.
(e) The Copyright (Visually Impaired Persons)
Act should be extended to include all print-disabled people and
to allow international exchange of accessible resources and intermediate
files.
We are happy for our evidence to be published
and to answer any queries as required.
4 November 2004
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