large print books

[lfbmum]

Dont know if any one can help, but here goes. I have a 10 year old (we are currently living in New Zealand) with nystagmus. We have just been given the reading list for next year of school and I have been trying to find these in large print without any success.

Unfortunately both books are by new zealand authors and as such are not really produced in any great numbers, also they are not available in audio book format.

I remember when I was back in the uk in December last year that I read an article about a book store in London that would print any book that had been published. My idea was to approach them to have this done in large print, but cannt remember the company, does any one out there have any information about this.

He can just about manage to read them in normal print, but its very tiring and slow, using a sheet magnifier does not appeal to him as it makes him stand out too much. any ideas would be much appreciated.

[John Sanders]

Hi,

Getting hold of text books in accessible formats such as large print, audio or electronic text files is a contentious issue. We published a short article on the subject in the Nystagmus Network's March newsletter (which goes to all NN members and is available in print, audio and electronically).

One useful resource mentioned in that article is http://www.publisherlookup.org.uk/http: ... up.org.uk/. This service helps librarians and publishers provide digital copies of textbooks to disabled users. This is a step in the right direction, but does not solve the problem, since only five per cent of new books are simultaneously published in accessible formats.

So, in the UK the RNIB and others are pushing the "Right to Read" campaign, with the slogan "same book, same time, same price." At our October 2009 Open Day in London, we invited another charity, LOOK, to work with young people at the event to publicise this campaign

You can find out about Right to Read at http://www.rnib.org.uk/getinvolved/camp ... oread.aspx. The more people who get involved in this campaign, the sooner we'll see books -- hopefully all books -- made accessible to everyone.

John (NN development manager)

[betamax]

This is excellent news (Right to Read Campaign). A lack of alternative formats for textbooks was an ongoing problem on my healthcare course. In addition, some of the print was so dense and in such a small font (size 10 in some cases I estimate) that the problem was exacerbated.

On top of this, it's tough deciding what to do about e-books. The major healthcare publishers such as Eselvier have launched a format called "Vitalsource" which is in no way compatible with Kindle or any open formats - making viewing options very limited. Some books (very rarely) are produced on Kindle which at least opens up accessibility options, but at the expense of the detailed colour pictures.