“We Want To Join In”

David OwenExecutive DirectorShare The Vision

Collection Description FocusWorkshop 5

Cambridge University30th January 2003

Who Are We?

STV

Calibre

NLB

RNIB

TNAUK

British Library

CILIP

LISC: Northern Ireland

LISC: Wales

SCL

SCONUL

SLIC

Aim:To enhance access to library and information services for visually impaired people.

Who Are We Talking About?

People whose sight impairments require special consideration of their needs

Registrations:

• Blind [visual acuity – 6-60]

• Partially sighted [visual acuity – 6-18]

Entitled to a range of benefits

But many people do not register

RNIB estimates only 1/3rd register

RNIB estimates that there are 1.7 million VIP’s in the UK

UK population 58 million

Therefore 2.93% of UK population

      Who Are They?

• People who are born blind

• People who go blind in early life

• People whose sight deteriorates with age

Registrable VIP’s In 2001 By Age

0-14 15-64 65-74 75+ All Ages

Number in 1000’s

22.5 156 123 801 1103

% of UK

Population

0.2 0.4 2.5 18 2

NB. 1,100,000 registrable compared with 1,700,000 with severe sight problems

The major factor is visual deterioration because of ageing

Projections:

Year 65-74 75+

2001 123,000 801,000

2011 137,000 855,000

2021 165,000 1,008,000

2031 196,000 1,257,000

2041 189,000 1,536,000

2051 175,000 1,605,000

As our economies grow and medical sciences improve we can expect there to be more older people with visual impairments

  How Do They Read?

Visually impaired people read in different ways depending on their personal circumstances and choice

Alternative Formats:

Braille

Only 11% of registered blind people in the UK can read Braille

People who are born blind or go blind early in life

Part of their education

Audio

83% of respondents to LISU Survey [2001] use audio

51% preferred single track cassettes

Large Print

8% of respondents to LISU survey prefer L.P. for fiction and 10% for non-fiction

2% preferred standard print

some people who are registered blind can read standard print, with or without a magnifying glass

Computers

RNIB survey of 1,000 VIP’s [fieldwork 1998-2000] published September 2001

11% use computers

LISU survey of 582 VIP’s [fieldwork 2001] published November 2001

23% use computers

Both agree, 90% of users are young people

Blind computer users are highly competent according to LISU:

• 94% used word processing

• 76% used the internet

• 64% used spreadsheets

• 62% used CD-ROMs

It is clear that use of IT by visually impaired people will grow significantly with generational change

This is a major consideration for library managers

     What Do They Want?

The same as everybody else

Not a homogeneous group

Only common factor is print disability and need for alternative formats to read

Reading for pleasure

Reading for education/lifelong learning

Reading for work reasons

Reading to live [benefits; how to use the microwave; how much medicine to take; to cast a vote; the bus number etc…]

       Key Factors

VIP’s need information in a range of formats which allow them to choose the most appropriate for their needs and circumstances

VIP’s will use a mix of formats for different purposes at different times e.g. Braille for study; audio for leisure; computers for fact finding; friend for valentine card]

Accessibility and choice are their main requirements to lead normal lives

The Problems

1998 Analysis for Library and Information Commission

10 major points including:

• Mixed library economy with no co-ordination

• Lack of content in alternative formats

• Copyright delays

• Lack of comprehensive and effective national database

• No national infrastructure

 Number One Priority

• Create a complete and comprehensive, state of the art national database

• National Union Catalogue of Alternative Formats to be enhanced to become REVEAL: the National Database of Resources in Accessible Formats

• Enhancement from 80,000 limited entries to minimum of 156,000 data rich, fit for purpose entries

• Get the best people to do it

• “Full Disclosure” for VIP’s = UKOLN

Fit For Whose/Which Purpose?

The reader = different formats/different providers

The producer = voluntary sector > different formats commercial sector > produced or planned?

The intermediaries = voluntary sector libraries > different public sector libraries > holdings

Union Catalogue for I.L.L.Copyright Register

The Reader’s Requirements

The usual data entry fields:

• Author(s)

• Title

• Publisher

• Date of publication

• Edition

• Series

• Serial frequency

• Fiction/non-fiction

Additional Data Entry Fields:

• Format [Braille, Moon, large print, audio, electronic]

• Contracted/non-contracted Braille?

• Abridged/non-abridged audio?

• Narrator/cast

• Number of volumes [Braille/Moon] or tapes

• Genre

• Annotation/content summary

• Target audience

• Content warning notes?

REVEAL Collections Register

Quickly apparent that:

• the range of producers

• the number of producers

• the range of holders

• the number of holders

of alternative format materials necessitated the creation of a Collections Register as part of the overall REVEAL project

What Is REVEAL?

When completed REVEAL will be a hybrid database which will perform the following functions:

• national bibliography

• union catalogue

• in production record

• copyright register

• collections register

of accessible formats

To use old library jargon:

REVEAL is a library and information plan

Not:

• a geographic plan

• a subject plan

• a sector plan

But uniquely:

• a user focused LIP

• a LIP for VIP’s

• the fundamental cornerstone of a national infrastructure for library and information services for visually impaired people

• REVEAL will let visually impaired people join in

References

Chapman, A. REVEAL: The National Database of Resources in Accessible Formats. UKOLN, March 2000.www.ukoln.ac.uk/services/lic/sharethevision/

 Davies, J.E. et al. Out of sight but not out of mind: visually impaired people’s perspectives of library and information services. LISU Occasional Paper No. 29, November 2001. www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/dils/lisu/public.html/stv2

Hopkins, L. (ed). Library services for visually impaired people: a manual of best practice. Resource, 2000.[updated June 2002 at www.nlbuk.org/bpm]

Owen, D. Print: not the only format. Library Association Record, August 2001, Vol. 103 (8)

Owen, D. Share Our Vision. Library Management [to be published early 2003]