Listening Books

More than Meets the Eye campaign

The objective of this campaign is to persuade government to broaden the terms of the Articles for the Blind scheme to cover all print impairments.

There is an understandable tendency to assume that only those who are blind or visually impaired are denied access to books, whereas the reality is that if you have MS or Parkinson's Disease for example and cannot hold a book, or if you are severely dyslexic, then you too are excluded from all the gifts of literature. There is indeed much more to print impairment than the visual aspect.

Listening Books is the only UK national charity to provide audio books to the full range of people who are print impaired and the vast majority of our members (85%) do not qualify for free postage under the Articles for the Blind scheme, which gives free transit to certain materials for people with visual impairment. This means that this charity will have a total postage bill of some £85k this year.

For many of our older members with physical impairments, our service not only provides a link to the wonderful world of books but is often a relief from pain, boredom and loneliness. For younger members with learning difficulties, our audio books decode the text and allow them to access materials appropriate to their actual age rather than their reading age. This is crucial if they are to remain engaged with education and books and avoid the cycle of struggling at school, antisocial behaviour and exclusion.

The scope for membership growth of the library service is virtually unlimited.

RADAR (The Royal Association for Disability and Rehabilitation) gives a figure of 8.6 million people with disabilities in the UK of which 3 million, or 35% have manual dexterity problems.
ARTHRITIS CARE confirms that more than seven million people in the UK have long-term health problems due to arthritis or a related condition. Not only adults are affected - one child in every thousand has arthritis.
PARKINSON'S DISEASE SOCIETY tells us 120,000 people in the UK are coping with the disease.
STROKE ASSOCIATION says that 350,000 people at any time cope with the results of a stroke.
THE BRITISH DYSLEXIA ASSOCIATION (BDA) tells us that 10% of the population is dyslexic, 4% being severely so.

Scarcity of resources is the only impediment to membership growth and yet we are obliged to use a significant portion of our scare resources on postage for members with certain types of print impairment, which are not covered by the Articles for the Blind Scheme. In broad terms those people who have print impairments but are not covered by the scheme are people with physical impairments and those with specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia.

Click here to hear our Chairman Gillie Howarth, being interviewed on this subject on BBC Radio4's 'You & Yours' in May 2005.

To read the BBC transcript of the programme - click here

Click here to read an article on Listening Books from the South London Press

Click here to read an article published in the June 2005 edition of Third Sector magazine

This issue has been willfully ignored by successive governments and we will be working with other stakeholders to ensure that it receives the attention it deserves.

We urge all interested individuals and organisations to contact their MP, urging him / her to support this necessary and long overdue step.

We will keep this page posted with any significant developments in the campaign.

Support for our campaign

"Dyslexia Action (formerly The Dyslexia Institute) is pleased to support Listening Book's 'More than Meets the Eye' campaign. We believe that the 'Articles for the Blind' free postage scheme should be extended to individuals who have specific learning difficulties, such as dyslexia. Reading is the key problem for many people with dyslexia and there is no doubt that they should have equal and fair access to the excellent services provided by Listening Books."

Shirley Cramer , Chief Executive Officer, Dyslexia Action.

"I wish you every success with your campaign"

Gordon Lishman, Director General, Age Concern.

"Macular Degeneration - loss of central vision - requires the use of audio formats to replace reading of printed material. Our members fortunately can use the Free Articles for the Blind Scheme for postage of their tapes. It seems unreasonable that others who depend on audio formats to replace print are not allowed free postage. We strongly support this campaign."

Tom Bremridge, Chief Executive, The Macular Disease Society.

"Leonard Cheshire, a national charity supporting people with a wide range of physical disabilities, supports Listening Books' call on the government to extend the free postage, under the Articles for the Blind scheme, to all reading matter for the disabled people who find holding a book or have other non-sensory disabilities difficult. This is a common sense extension of the aims of Listening Books and would broaden the horizons of large numbers of disabled people."

Bryan Dutton, Director General, Leonard Cheshire.

"Mencap is delighted to support your campaign which would enable people with a learning disability to experience the pleasure of books more readily."

David Congdon, Head of Campaigns & Policy, Mencap.

"Contact a Family knows how important it is for disabled children to be able to enjoy Listening Books when any kind of disability prevents them from accessing conventional printed materials. We are therefore pleased to support Listening Books 'More than Meets the Eye' campaign.

Jill Harrison, Director of External Affairs, Contact a Family.

"It is Shaw Trust's experience that good communication skills and an interest in the world are important attributes for those who are seeking employment. 'Listening Books' play an important role in making this happen for disabled people. It is for this reason that Shaw Trust is please to support The Listening Books 'More than Meets the Eye' campaign"

Catherine A'Bear, Chief Officer - Corporate Affairs, Shaw Trust.

"Action for M.E. is happy to support Listening books 'More Than Meets The Eye' campaign. Many people with M.E. experience a range of symptoms - from headaches and 'brain fog', to extreme sensitivity to touch - which can prevent them from experiencing the joy of reading. We wish you the best of luck with your campaign."

Angela Murphy, Campaign Coordinator - Action for M.E.

"When I was young it was poverty that denied me access to books, since then I have learnt how liberating literature can be and that every society should make sure that all its citizens have easy access to books. This is why I am with the More than Meets the Eye campaign.

When I say everyone I mean everyone".

Benjamin Zephaniah
Visit Benjamin's website at: www.benjaminzephaniah.com

"As a national organization with a remit to bring books and people together in whatever setting or format is appropriate, we wholeheartedly endorse this important campaign from Listening Books. As they argue, there is indeed much more to the print impairment issue than meets the eye. In fact books in this format not only serve those with a visual impairment but also those with a whole host of other conditions which may prevent them holding or reading books in the 'traditional' manner. An extension of the Articles for the Blind scheme which would allow for free postage of audio books would be a giant leap forward in ensuring access for all our citizens to the life affirming and life enhancing world of books."

Marc Lambert, Ceo, Scottish Book Trust

"For those too visually impaired to read a book, or too ill and frail to hold one, the Listening Books scheme is an invaluable lifeline - a comfort in dark times and a window on to the world. It deserves all the support that it can get."

Blake Morrison, Author