• Index of this issue

No. 69, November/December 2010

In 1980, the National Library of New Zealand developed and began administering a central repository of audio books for the exclusive use of the print disabled. This article outlines how the Print Disabilities Service has developed and matured since that time.

The National Library of New Zealand has provided audio books free of charge to people with print disabilities for the past 30 years. Originally called the Print Handicapped Service, it was set up to cater for the print disabled who were ineligible to receive talking books from the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind (RNZFB).

The RNZFB serves the reading requirements of those people who are legally blind. The information needs of New Zealanders with other forms of print disability were not being satisfied. The National Library adopted the broad definition of print disabled, as set out by the Round Table on Information Access for People with Print Disabilities Inc. , and now provides audio books for adults, young adults and children who are unable to independently read, hold or turn the pages of a standard book because they:

• have physical disabilities which limit their ability to hold or manipulate information in a printed form
• have perceptual or other disabilities which limit their ability to follow a line of print or which affect their concentration
• cannot comprehend information in a print format due to insufficient literacy or language skills
• are blind or vision impaired.

For example, arthritis, dyslexia, learning difficulties and lack of concentration caused by medication may all result in the inability to use a standard book and thus qualify someone to access the National Library's Print Disabilities Service.

Initially, the Service relied on gifts and grants to supplement National Library funding, and the small collection of titles was regularly published in a catalogue for clients. Today the Collection holds over 15,000 items, of which 1700 items were added in the past 12 months. The focus of the Collection is current fiction, although non-fiction, particularly within the travel genre, is also popular and regularly purchased. It is one of the highest use Collections at the National Library, having nearly 40,000 items issued from it last year. Needless to say, the printed catalogue is long gone and access is now via an online catalogue.

In order to keep up with the high demand for audio books, a mediated service operates, whereby bulk loans are supplied to libraries based on pre-arranged criteria. The libraries then on-loan the items to the print disabled borrower. Specific items can also be requested via email or online via the national interloan system. Most clients are small to mid-sized public libraries, but rest homes, hospitals, individuals, and school libraries also use the Service.

Audio books are expensive to purchase and maintain, and small and medium size public libraries in particular struggle to keep up with the reading demands of their print disabled borrowers, who are often avid readers. The Print Disabilities Service aims to supplement the collections of these libraries, along with those of school libraries which are also often under resourced in this area. High quality, commercially available audio books are purchased and are intended for recreational reading.

Operating a mediated service has its own set of challenges, as the Service is one step removed from the end user. This is addressed in part with the use of a survey, which is distributed annually to all borrowing libraries. From it, statistical information about the end user is collected, along with any specific reading requirements.

The end users range widely in age, physical, mental and technical capability, and in reading and format preferences.

Feedback from the surveys helps to identify specific areas or genres that need building and developing, in order to keep the Collection current and satisfy end user demand. Genres such as general fiction, romance, mystery and thriller are always popular and are constantly added to, but a recent increase in client demand for fantasy, spiritual, young adult and New Zealand literature has indicated that more resources need to be focussed in these areas.

The area currently undergoing the most rapid change is end users' preferred format. Tape cassettes still make up the largest part of the Print Disabilities Collection, since many print disabled end users, particularly the elderly, still prefer to use them. This is due to a number of reasons. The tape deck is a familiar piece of equipment to many elderly (important if someone has recently lost their sight), and the buttons on the machines are large which makes operation easier for arthritic fingers. Cassettes can be removed from the machine mid-way through playing, another can be inserted, and then the first can be replaced and will resume exactly from where it was interrupted - no track numbers need to be recorded or remembered. Cassettes are also more robust and easier to handle without fear of damaging or dirtying with fingerprints.

Unfortunately, fewer audio books are now published on cassette, and the sound quality is poor compared to that achieved with CD. Results of the surveys carried out over the past few years have indicated a definite shift in preference away from cassette tapes to CDs, and a conscious decision was made by the Print Disabilities Service in 2007 to purchase all new audio books for the Collection in CD or MP3CD format.

There have also been an increasing number of end users requesting other audio book formats, of which there are now many on the market to choose from. End users increasingly want to download audio books directly onto a home PC, where the print disabled are more likely to have any adaptive technology required, already set up. Work is currently underway with vendors to investigate the best way to achieve this within the constraints of the Service.
One format solution certainly doesn't suit all, and the National Library of New Zealand is committed to offering a range of options to accommodate the many and varied requirements of its print disabled end users.

The Print Disabilities Service has changed a lot since its inception in 1980. Described by some libraries as "a lifeline for our print disabled clients", the Service will continue to provide good quality, high interest, current literature for print disabled New Zealanders, and continue to grow and develop in response to their needs.

For further information about the Print Disabilities Service, please contact:

Felicity Benjes
Print Disabilities Service Librarian
National Library of New Zealand
PO Box 1467
Freyberg Building – Level 1
Guthrie Street
Wellington 6011
New Zealand
Email: