Professional paper
Library for the blind and visually impaired, with special reference to the first child library for children with visual impairment
Tanja Šupe
orcid.org/0000-0002-8687-140X
; Osnovna škola Pećine, Rijeka, Hrvatska
Abstract
Attaining equal rights for all members of a particular community is aspiration of every modern society. If we speak about the services provided by libraries, there are international documents which regulate the right to free access to information for all social groups regardless of racial, ethnic, religious and cultural background, political beliefs, physical defects or difficulties in learning, gender or sexual orientation. This article focuses on a group of blind and visually impaired persons, especcially the children with visual impairment and the services that libraries can and should provide. The beginnings of literacy for the blind dates back to the 19 century, when Louis Braille invented the Braille alphabet which has been used as the official script for the blind ever since. The development of the script has enabled printing of the specially designed books for the blind , and also opening of specialized libraries. These libraries have satisfied the needs of the blind population for a long time. Today, when demands of the society and the flow of information are significantly higher than the ever before, the roles of specialized libraries and libraries in local communities have changed considerably. Specialized libraries should take the role of coordination and become the resource centers for other libraries in the local community and provide the services for the blind and visually impaired, too. These were the reasons for opening the first children’s library for children with visual impairments.
Keywords
blind person; library; Braille system; tactile picture books
Hrčak ID:
142386
URI
Publication date:
8.6.2014.
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