Books for Everyone!

In recent times there has been a lot of discussion about ebooks, platforms, licensing etc. - but what about audiobooks?

There is something nice about listening to someone read a book to you; so long as the reader does not have an annoying voice it is a rather pleasant experience. I have recently come back from a rather long road trip and for me road trips are all about good snack food and really good book/s. Audio books are a pleasure because I am able to take something mundane and boring and make it something interesting and even enjoyable. This got me thinking: what about those people that cannot read books?
In the guardian there was a story of France leading the way on audiobooks for blind or visually impaired people, so kudos to the Association Valentin-Haüy (AVH) for making it happen.

Working in a rather specialised academic library there are very limited academic resources for those with visual impairment or other disability. In France in 2006 a law was passed requiring publishers to make their source available to certified organisations, enabling the latter to transcribe books into sound or braille - or digitally and paper - and to distribute them.

In Australia, Vision Australia has been working tirelessly to improve services for those with vision impairment and have a collection of fiction and non-fiction resources available on their website. Unfortunately, there is still a long way to go in terms of academic resources.

I would also like to take this opportunity to say thank you to the public library that introduced me to the joy of audiobooks. Back in my high school days, when there were no more copies of Harry Potter on the shelf the friendly librarian showed me to their audio collection of Harry Potter read by Stephen Fry (sample here).

Please comment below on your experiences.

-Gabby

International Day of People with Disability

Today we celebrate International Day of People with Disability (IDPwD). This United Nations sanctioned day ‘aims to promote an understanding of people with disability and encourage support for their dignity, rights and well-being’.

We in the library community have proven to be supporters of those who live with a disability by continually offering products and services to support their needs. ALIA, in the guidelines on library standards for people with disabilities, has set out a series of objectives and principles that libraries can follow to better serve the needs of the one in five Australians living with a disability. 

Libraries and organisations around Australia have not only taken on these guidelines, but have discovered new ways to foster a more inclusive environment:

· Monash Public Library regularly includes an AUSLAN interpreter in their toddler storytimes

· IFLA has put together a great resource; Access to Libraries for Disabled Persons Checklist that libraries can use to assess their current facilities.

·On the Gold Coast, the Runaway Bay Branch Library regularly holds an audio book club for both sighted and sight impaired patrons 

So today while we reflect how far we have come, we should take a moment to assess our services and facilities and how we might improve going forward. Below is a short (very short) list of thoughts to consider.  

·How are the services we have promoted? Is the message getting to the right people?

·What about people with temporary disabilities? How do we serve them?

·Do we ask patrons if they require extra support when they register? What about in our regular user surveys?

·Do we offer large print versions or audio versions of our printed materials?

· The Web Accessibility Initiate offers practical design considerations libraries can adopt when updating web sites to ensure they can be accessed by all users. 

What are some other ways we can move towards a more inclusive library environment? Where can we improve? What are other programs making a difference?

Post your thoughts in the comments. 

-Amy Barker