A word in your ear: library services for print disabled readers in the digital age

The Royal New Zealand Foundation for the Blind (RNZFB) currently lends talking books on audio cassette to blind and vision impaired New Zealanders. RNZFB belongs to the international consortium which has developed the DAISY digital talking book standard. Whereas analogue talking books are linear, DAISY books are structured so that the reader can navigate around the text with the facility of a sighted person looking through a printed document. DAISY books can also be multimedia productions that support more than one format. In progressing its use of digital reading technology, RNZFB will enhance the reading experience, decide how best to deliver book files, and form local and international partnerships to increase the range of reading material available to its members. The reading solutions adopted by RNZFB could become a model for the wider community of print disabled people.