(no subject)

[juliet]

Sign The RNIB's Right to Read Charter They want the government to abolish VAT on audio books & encourage much more in the way of large print, Braille, or audio copies of regular books. From my recollection of the large print books in the library I used to work in (though admittedly this was 10 years ago) (blimey I am getting old), if you didn't want romantic novels, or the odd biography, you were right out of luck. So hurrah! for trying to get more reading available to everyone, including those with sight problems.

I used to read aloud for a blind friend of mine at college (this was reading textbooks etc). More than anything else, it was just so *slow* for her compared to the speed at which most people can get through books. And she couldn't skim through things to see if they were relevant (as I used to do quite a lot with the darker recesses of my reading list) - she was reliant on tutors giving her sufficiently exact reading. She could read Braille much faster, but very little of what she needed was available on Braille.

Comments

[weatherpixie.livejournal.com]

I'm wondering if something useful could be done with project gutenberg and a braille printer or something that prints in really large type...

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Done. *ticks off good deed for today*

[alexmc.livejournal.com]

May I nick this post verbatim for http://DiverseBooks.com ?
Science Fiction fans do frequently raise money for "Books for the Blind" which is a project to create audio books which are not necessarily commercial.

If you prefer then I'll just use the text:

Sign The RNIB's Right to Read Charter
They want the government to abolish VAT on audio books & encourage much more in the way of large print, Braille, or audio copies of regular books.

[juliet]

Sure, steal away!

[alexmc.livejournal.com]

I've submitted it, but need to find more trustworthy people to act as editors so that it gets through the moderation queue.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Wouldn't it be more appropriate if SF fans raised money for cybernetic eyes?

(I'm not just being glib - on the Tube today a little old lady was reading with some rather amazing hybrid goggle/binoculars, so it's been on my mind)

Petition signed, btw.

[alexmc.livejournal.com]

Well that subject is one which does come up now and again so we do a bit in keeping it in the public mind.

[marnameow.livejournal.com]

This is why e-books are the best thing ever - you can output them to your braille equiv of a screen, or you can listen to them. And that's why having e-books in really limited formats is a Bad Thing.

[lowkeyknight.livejournal.com]

Because there is less insentive to translate minor works to other media. The people that require the BRail/audio/large type books are a minority. THis means smaller print runs which inevitably means the price per Unit is much higher. If there was no VAT then the price would normalise and people with poor eyesight etc would be able to afford books at the same rate that you can. ALso minor works would become profitable in other media, this would allow blind people to have access to books other than bestsellers and 'classics'.

[juliet]

No - normal (print) books are zero-rated for VAT, along with newspapers, most food (I think restaurants do charge VAT, though), children's clothes/shoes, & aids for handicapped people.

So it would just be a question of bringing audio books into line with normal books.