[access-uk] Talking books - The way ahead
- From: "Ankers, Dave (UK)" <Dave.Ankers@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2011 08:49:31 -0000
With regard to talking books:
The RNIB provide all the books and a player for £70 a year. If you are lucky,
your council pays for this.
I do believe there is a better solution. We require information to be
available in an accessible format.
The best place to find information is on the web, and that includes talking
books.
The usefulness of a daisy player is very limited, and they are expensive, as is
all equipment designed for disability groups.
If we can make use of a standard, off the shelf, piece of equipment, then the
cost saving is massive.
Therefore, I believe the Apple I pad to be the intelligent choice.
You can listen to talking books, listen to music through I tunes or free from
Utube and listen to podcasts.
You can surf the internet, email, take notes and so much more. Plus it cost
less than some daisy players and is fully accessible.
If the RNIB were to bulk buy I pads, and supply instead of daisy players, the
cost of the talking book service would reduce, and the availability of
information increase and empower it's users.
It's time for change, and I fully recommend it to the house.
Cheers
Dave
Thank you for a few words of common sense on this topic at last! People who
whinge about not getting their library subscription paid for them and thus not
being able to read, really haven't a clue. Yes, sighted people don't have to
pay as much to belong to a library, but then sighted people don't get their
books delivered to their doors, do they?
Find me on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/barkingbabs
Barbara Wilson
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Skype: creativeeyes
----- Original Message -----
From: Ibrahim Gucukoglu <mailto:ibrahim_gucukoglu@xxxxxxxx>
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Wednesday, January 12, 2011 7:56 AM
Subject: [access-uk] Re: Charity for blind hits out at Bromley council
(From News Shopper)
Hi.
I totally agree here. I cant see what all the fuss is about. Never at
any time in my life as far as I can remember have I ever had talking books paid
for by my local council or charity, be it public or private. Talking books as
supplied by the RNIB is only £69 per year, a significant subsidy when you
consider they loan you a player and potentially dozens of books per year. If
you want to read, you should be prepared to pay for it as reading is not a
human right and even if it were, the council in most boroughs provide their own
library services with books on cd, cassette and even playaway as is the case in
Peterborough where I live. The fact that some blind people are either too lazy
or just plane ignorant of these services is no excuse not to ask them, for all
they have to do is get off their asses or pick up the phone and ask. In an age
where most young blind people and even a large majority of the middle aged and
elderly have access to technology of some sort or other or know people who have
access to said technology, the information about service provision in your
local borough is readily available online and details of how to access these
services is often posted in libraries and town halls. For heaven sake, wake up
everyone, smell the roses and start putting your hand in your pocket and paying
for things you want or that you feel you need. Joe public doesn't get free
books, so why the heck should we.
All the best, Ibrahim.
----- Original Message -----
From: David <mailto:n.weston42@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Wednesday, January 12, 2011 7:36 AM
Subject: [access-uk] Re: Charity for blind hits out at Bromley
council (From News Shopper)
Hi,
I would like to say that for that the last forty years or more
I have had to pay for my equipment and also for my talking books. So far as I
can see their is no change for me, or is Hertfordshire unique?
David Weston.
-----Original Message-----
From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of Gordon Keen
Sent: 11 January 2011 09:38
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [access-uk] Charity for blind hits out at Bromley
council (From News Shopper)
Here we go then, the big society - my arse!
Site
Logo<http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/resources/images/1000734/>
Charity for blind hits out at Bromley council
1:18pm Monday 10th January 2011
By David Mills
A CHARITY which represents the blind and visually impaired has
hit out at Bromley Council <http://www.bromley.gov.uk/Default.bromley> for
temporarily suspending equipment provision.
Services which include the talking books, as well as equipment
such as walking canes and liquid level indicators, are all under review by the
council.
Kent Association for the Blind (KAB), which has a sight centre
in Blyth Road, Bromley, will be pressuring the council to continue providing
funding.
Dick Groves, aged 65, of South View, Bromley, said: "Visual
impairment is the most feared of all sensory impairments. Provision in Bromley
is extremely patchy."
Mr Groves, who is blind, said: "This is a classic example of
the way in which action has been taken without consultation and without
information being given to one of the weakest sections of society and least
able to respond."
Kent Association for the Blind's Bromley
branch<http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/resources/images/1536532/>
A KAB spokesman said: "We are currently in contact with our
service users to explain the service has been temporarily suspended by the
London borough of Bromley.
"We are sharing other providers of these services such as the
Calibre audio library, a completely free service, to ensure users are not going
to go without talking books.
"We at KAB are going to be making representations to the
council to press the case that it would be more cost effective to continue to
fund provision because we believe withdrawing that service represents a real
risk to people's safety and their ability to get out and about.
"The costs that could be generated by injury would far outweigh
the cost to the council of providing equipment."
A council spokesman said: "We have a strong commitment to
providing talking books in our libraries with no plans to cut the service and
we will continue to make special concessions to waive charges to people with a
registered visual impairment.
"We have however moved from cassettes to CDs and downloadable
material over the years but we still keep a large collection of older cassettes
in our Home Library Service, which supports customers who are physically unable
to get into a branch.
"There are also free national talking book service and as well
as our library service we will be assisting people to access the talking books
from the national Calibre service together with the equipment provided by the
British Wireless for the Blind Fund.
"To make sure we make the best use of our resource we wanted to
avoid duplication and whilst we no longer fund the KAB talking books service,
KAB is pointing people to our library and to these free services.
"In terms of equipment supplied by the KAB on our behalf such
as portable lamps, talking clocks and mobility aids, again we want to make sure
we use resources as efficiently as possible and have suspended this KAB while
we carry out a review.
"However we do continue to fund KAB to provide assessment and
rehabilitation services for people with visual impairments."
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