Megan: My name is Megan Gilks,
and I'm the communications and marketing manager
for the National Library Service at RNIB.
RNIB National Library Service provides books in audio,
braille and giant print for people of all ages.
We provide a wide range of fiction and non-fiction
and we're the largest library serving people with sight loss in the UK.
Susan: 'My name's Susan and I'm 65.'
I've never had very good sight since childhood, but in the last few years,
it's got considerably worse, and now I'm registered severely visually
impaired.
When I first joined the RNIB, there was a Talking Book service
and there was a braille service.
At that stage, I couldn't read braille.
So I enjoyed reading the Talking Books.
Talking Book: Mary Wesley published her first novel when she was 17
and went on to write nine more bestsellers
before her death in 2002 at the age of 89.
Susan: As the time has gone on, I've learnt to read Braille,
so I read that as a challenge.
I tend to read short stories or short articles in braille.
More recently, RNIB has been producing large print books
and I love those because, although I can't read them very well,
it makes me feel a human being again
just to sit there and read a paperback book,
and I feel just as I always used to do.
Mike: 'My name is Mike Howell,'
I am aged 66,
I am totally, congenitally blind.
One of the fascinating things about childhood was a strong liking for
radio,
and one of the dramas which they did on Children's Hour,
which was of huge entertainment value to us,
was Jennings - the books by Anthony Buckeridge.
To realise that these were available in braille was a tremendous thrill.
And I think that that was the first book I actually borrowed.
Megan: Well, reading is essential not just for pleasure but for study, for work,
for everyday living and information.
And for children especially, it's absolutely essential
for their education, their learning and their literacy skills.
So it's really, really important that blind and partially sighted people
have equal access to reading material.
Ellie: My name is Ellie, I'm 11 years old, I was born without sight.
When I read something in braille, it feels like...
I mean, it feels sort of...
I can't explain it but it sort of feels magical.
The first book I read was The Little Red Hen,
and I said, "I can read braille," and then I read it.
I felt sort of a sense of thrill.
I mean, I thought, "Yay, I can do it!
I can do it!"
And then I started reading a lot.
Without reading, I would basically be lost.
I wouldn't be able to survive because I need to read to learn.
Megan: Each year, we send 1.7 million Talking Books on CD
and 160,000 volumes of braille and giant print
direct to readers' homes though the post.
So it's a big operation.
Mike: With my fianceé, Margaret, and I having similar interests in
literature,
it's a great thrill for me to be able to obtain a book in braille
and for her to have it in print,
and for us to not just be in the same room
and read and then compare notes later in the evening,
but to literally go through the exercise of reading it as if we were
on the radio.
Together: "She smiled at him properly for the first time
"since their first meeting in the dancehall.
"I married him because I was fond of him, because he was so kind."
Mike: It's important that as many books be made available to us
so that we are on an equal footing.
Well, only 7 per cent of all books published in the UK each year
ever make it into a format that a blind or partially sighted person
could read.
And that obviously reduces the choice and the range of books
that people can choose, and we don't think that's right.
And that's why RNIB does a lot of work to remove those obstacles
so that people can read what they want, when they want and how they
want.
So we work with Government, we work with libraries,
we work with publishers and authors and retailers
to make sure that they understand
why it is so important that we break down these barriers
so that people can access reading on an equal basis.
A library service is more than just books on the shelves.
And at the RNIB National Library Service,
the support that we offer to our readers is a big part of what we do.
Susan: Making choices is quite a challenge
because about, I think, four or five times a year,
I get a large volume from the RNIB,
which has all the new books in braille and in large print and in
audio
for me to choose.
So I go through that making lists,
and then I usually ring and chat to somebody there.
Mike: It's possible to ring up a very cheerful and knowledgeable group of
people,
any one of whom will give the answer.
"Have you got this?"
"Yes."
"May I borrow it, please?"
"Yes, you should get it tomorrow or the next day."
Ellie: This morning, I, um, basically woke up and I went downstairs
and I nearly tripped over six humungous boxes of books.
And I was like, "What on earth?"
And my father said it was this morning in the post.
The Carnegie Medal short-listed books and that there were
lots of books.
So he put them all in a pile,
and I got really pleased and I got really excited.
Megan: The Carnegie Medal
is the most prestigious children's book prize in the UK.
And each year, the organisers
enable children to take part in a shadowing process,
so that they can read the six short-listed titles
and add their comments to those of the judges.
RNIB National Library Service produces the six short-listed titles
in accessible formats and then we send them out
to the readers who want to participate in the scheme.
And we sent a consignment of books to Ellie in braille
so that she could also participate.
Susan: I've found the National Library Service a great
help.
I can't imagine how lost and isolated I would feel without it.
Mike: It's always meant a lot,
the availability of the library, knowing it is but a telephone call
away.
I think it has remained a constant
and it has mirrored whatever my interests have been,
in developing from the Jennings books
to Ian McEwan, Kingsley Amis, Peter Cox, or anybody else of that ilk.
Ellie: It's really important that I've read something cause, I mean,
all books are important and I like to feel important when I read something.
Megan: At RNIB National Library Service,
we're passionate about reading,
and the most important thing for people to know
is that they don't have to give up on reading,
they can carry one reading and we are here to help them do that.