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3 million people denied the right to read

Summary: Report - Written Off - published today by RNIB

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15 November 2004

Three million people in the UK are being denied the right to read, reveals a new report Written Off published today by the Royal National Institute of the Blind. The Government is pouring billions of pounds into literacy initiatives across the UK. But people with sight problems or print reading disabilities are being forgotten. New figures show that a staggering 96 per cent of books are never published in formats that people with sight problems can read like large print, audio or braille.

David Mann, author of the report and RNIB Spokesperson for the Right to Read Campaign said: “People with sight problems are able to read and want to read, but face a book famine which the Government has consistently failed to address. No single government department will even take responsibility for the issue. If the Government is serious about life long learning and tackling social exclusion they must acknowledge the right to read is a right for all and establish a fund so that more books in different formats can be produced. We are calling on the Government to set up a task force and to draw up a national plan with bold targets to tackle the unacceptable discrimination faced by millions in the UK.“

Mother-of-one Emma Bullin, a 26-year-old English Literature student from Nottingham, lost much of her sight when she was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2003. Emma, who can now only read large print, said: “I have always loved reading and so the despair I now feel at not being able to find books I can read is almost indescribable. I’ve actually broken down sobbing in bookshops. They just don’t have any large print books. I’m surrounded by thousands of books and I’m not able to read any of them! How is that fair?”

Emma continued: “I’m not asking for anything special, I just want the same as every one else – to be able to read the book I want.”

RNIB spokesperson David Mann commented: "There has been a decline in the proportion of books being published in different formats for people who can't read standard print. The already scandalous situation is getting worse and three million people are being forced to live as if it were still the dark ages, denied access to nearly all books.”

Most books available in large print, audio or braille continue to be produced by charities dependent on public donations. In 2002 the book trade sold 125,390 new (and revised) titles while in the same period fewer than 5,000 titles were produced in other formats by the voluntary sector.

The prohibitive cost of accessible books also continues to exclude blind and partially sighted people - many of whom live in poverty - from the world of books. According to 'Written Off' a full-length audio book can cost over £50 to buy while the equivalent paperback copy can cost £6.99 or £7.99.

Travel broadcaster and writer Michael Palin recently recorded and released his latest book “Himalaya” as an RNIB Talking Book a month before the printed version. He is believed to be the only author so far to have published his books on audio ahead of the print versions.

Michael Palin said: “Reading is a fundamental part of most of our lives. I believe that everyone should have the right to read. But for people with sight problems this isn’t the case. I believe this discrimination should end and that is why I am supporting the Right to Read Campaign. Everyone in the UK should have the right to read the same book at the same time at the same price.”

Many authors, including Fay Weldon, Sebastian Faulks, Tony Hawks, Wendy Holden, Melvyn Bragg and A S Byatt are supporting the campaign this year and will attend a special parliamentary reception on 16 November to raise awareness of the scale of the problem. Jacqueline Wilson, currently the most borrowed author in the UK, will speak at the event.

Those wishing to support the campaign were asked to sign the Right to Read Charter. The Charter was presented to the Government on World Book Day (3 March 2005).

Notes to Editors

Mann, David, “Written Off”, November 2004, RNIB. For copies of the report, please contact the RNIB Press Office on 0207 391 2223. The report is based on research commissioned by RNIB on behalf of the Right to Read Alliance for the start of Right to Read Week 2004 (15-21 November). It was conducted by the Library and Information Statistics Unit at Loughborough University ( Lockyer,S, Creaser,C, Davies,J Eric, Availability of Accessible Publications, November 2004, Library and Information Statistics Unit, Loughborough University.)

The “Skills for Life” initiative aims to improve the literacy, language and numeracy skills of 2.25 million adults by 2010. www.dfes.gov.uk/readwriteplus

The report also reveals that certain interest groups are particularly badly served in terms of book choice. For example, there is almost no chance of getting hold of cookery, gardening or sport books in accessible formats. Only 1 per cent of cookery books are available in braille while a paltry 0.4 per cent of gardening books are available in large print .

The Right to Read Campaign was first launched in 2002, to tackle the shortage of books available to blind and partially sighted people and those with print reading disabilities. The Right to Read Alliance comprises: British Dyslexia Association, Calibre Cassette Library, ClearVision, Confederation of Transcribed Information Services (COTIS), LOOK (the National Federation of Families with Visually Impaired Children), National Association of Local Societies for Visually Impaired People (NALSVI), National Blind Children’s Society, National Federation of the Blind, National League of the Blind and Disabled, National Library for the Blind (NLB), Royal National Institute of the Blind (RNIB), Scottish Braille Press, Scottish National Federation for the Welfare of the Blind, Share the Vision, Talking Newspaper Association of the UK (TNAUK), Torch Trust for the Blind, UK Association of Braille Producers.

The RNIB Talking Book Service is an audio lending library for people with sight problems. It consists of over 13,000 professionally recorded, unabridged audio titles. Over 30,000 books are sent to members across the UK each month.

Right to Read Parliamentary Reception, 6.45pm until 9pm, Tuesday 16 November 2004, Atlee Suite, Portcullis House, Westminster, London, SW1A 2LW. Please contact the Press Office on 020 7391 2223 if you would like to attend.

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Content author: pressoffice@rnib.org.uk

Last updated: 20/11/2008 11:13