International Right to Read campaign homepage
Why are we campaigning?
“I can never get hold of books when they come out so I miss out on discussing them with friends. By the time I get the book they’ve forgotten about it.”
Research shows that the vast majority of published books are never made available in large print, audio or braille.
In the UK, for example, research commissioned by the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) shows that a shocking 96 per cent of books are not available in any of these formats.
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The campaign
The few books that are produced in accessible formats are rarely available at the same time as the print versions and are often more expensive.
The World Blind Union and our members are campaigning to change this. We want everyone to be able to read the same book at the same time at the same price. So a blind pupil should have his braille schoolbook on first day of term, just as his sighted friends have their print version. And a partially sighted adult should be able to get the latest bestseller in large print.
We are therefore working with publishers to increase the amount of accessibly published books. We are also working with the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) to improve copyright law to support the exchange of accessible books.
Further information
For further information or enquiries, please contact:
Chris Friend : CFriend@sightsavers.org
OrDan Pescod: dan.pescod@rnib.org.uk