Newsletter IFLA Libraries Serving Persons with Print Disabilities Section 2012/1 The IFLA/LPD Newsletter is issued twice a year. Editors: Minna von Zansen Celia Library, Finland E-mail: minna.vonzansen@celia.fi www.celia.fi Jenny Craven National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence Manchester, UK E-mail: cravenj@btinternet.com The Newsletter is available at www.ifla.org/en/lpd Content Welcome from Chair 2 Accessibility of e-book services in UK public libraries 3 World Blind Union, World Braille Council, Braille21 Congress, Germany 2011 6 Lithuanian conference report: “Digital Talking Book in the 21st Century: Production, Dissemination and the Reader”. 7 Exchanging files across borders: An update on The TIGAR and ETIN projects 13 Manifesto for libraries serving persons with a print disability: a progress report 16 Performance Measures Project Update 17 Standing Committee Members 199 Welcome from Chair Word from a dreaming chair… Last February our Section had a successful standing committee meeting in Reijkjavik, Iceland. We enjoyed the delightful hospitality of The Icelandic Library for the Blind, exchanged our experience and expertise, worked on our strategy, redrafted our manifesto and floated in the famous Blue Lagoon. After all that we went back to our busy daily lives. Bringing back home inspiration, ideas and maybe some new initiatives. I sincerely hope that the spirit of the work in our section makes an impression and creates a difference there, where it matters most: at our local organization improving our services for our patrons. I sometimes feel that our IFLA midyear gatherings are little secluded spa’ s where we refresh ourselves and hope to gain positive and concrete results to improve our operations. In Dutch there is a saying that between dream and reality we stumble upon nothing but rules and practicalities. Ah yes, I hope our section is a good place to dream, building a daring vision, tapping into our compiled expertise, learning from each other’s experiences. LPD’ s dreams are manifest in our vision and mission, leading to our prime strategic goal, which is to create a global accessible library from which we can share and lend out all the works that are in our collective holdings. Are we just dreaming here? In what landscape do we find ourselves as we wake up? I am certain that the dream is valid, within reach, but I do toss and turn and do some occasional teeth grinding. At times I find it difficult to discern true progress among the many sidetracks and possible gateways. Yes, we have an emerging market of eBooks, and yes tablets are opening up new ways of reading those books. But there is also still a huge gap between our traditional services of audio and Braille books and these new ways of electronic reading. We must ask ourselves: are we offering services that take enough advantage of these developments, or do we like to continue doing what we normally do; producing around 5% of all publications in alternative format. If we collaborate with each other and with the commercial market, I believe we can do better. We need legal keys to unlock the cross border barriers that exist between our collections. So, are we making progress with our dialogues with the rightholders? Are we finding practical ways out of our copyright entanglements? The Treaty for the Blind is still undecided at WIPO, going from a Chairs Proposal (SCCR22) to a Working Document (SCCR23) now to be seen as “the basis for the future text-based work on the matter” to be discussed at the SCCR 24. It is hard to read what that means. I do admire all the knowledgeable people who work diligently to bring the Treaty to reality. And what about our practical work to achieve cross border lending results? We are seeing our baby TIGAR growing up to a young and playful cub, having to face multifaceted challenges in the field of copyright and local licenses. Will the TIGAR roar eventually? Meanwhile, the European counterpart of TIGAR, ETIN is doing its best to gain some speed in establishing a first ETIN Board, struggling to find some European funding. Not easy these days as you can imagine. So on the whole, things are moving, albeit slowly. Luckily we can still have our dream, and yes we wake up daily to practical projects battling little devils in the details. So let’s talk and share more as we are gearing up to a new IFLA congress. We have prepared an exciting public session on the future of accessible digital publishing (and how to read it). And before that in Tallinn Estonia, there is a satellite organized by our section: Let’s Read! Focusing on the solutions for kids and young adults, not only to make reading possible but making it fun to do so. Highly recommended, and only a ferry ride away from Helsinki! Hope to continue the dream with all of you there. Koen Krikhaar, Manager, Library Services, Dedicon. LPD Chair. [*] Accessibility of e-book services in UK public libraries Introduction: In the UK, the popularity of e-books and e-book readers has soared over the past year with many more people opting to download and read books on hand-held devices, computers or mobile phones. A growing number of blind and partially sighted people want to be part of this reading revolution and for them, e-books offer not only a different way of reading but far greater access to books than they ever had before. e-books have the power to give people with sight problems or other print impairments access to the same book, at the same time as everyone else. Books in electronic format are inherently more accessible than print, as they have the potential to allow the user to adapt the content to suit their individual needs. However, it is essential that e-books and e-book readers are accessible if their full potential for blind and partially sighted people is to be realised. The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) works with technology companies and e-book retailers to improve the accessibility of their offerings and is also a member of the DAISY Consortium that has developed e-pub3 as an inclusive way for publishers to create e-books. These strategies have had some success, as we found in 2010 that 50% of the UK’s 1000 top selling books are available as an accessible e-book. Nevertheless, most blind and partially sighted people are still missing out because of low awareness and lack of confidence and skills. A growing number of library authorities in the UK now provide e-books for download (audio and/or text) and RNIB believes that libraries can play an important role in improving accessibility of e-books for blind and partially sighted people. In 2010, RNIB produced guidelines to help public libraries ensure that e-book services are accessible. In 2011,RNIB followed up with a survey carried out by blind and partially sighted people. RNIB wanted to build a picture of what library e-book services are available across the UK and how easy or difficult it is for someone with sight loss to register and use them. What testers discovered is a useful indication of the difficulties encountered by people with sight loss when trying to access e-books from their local library. Results: A report of the key findings is available at www.readingsight.org.uk but, in summary, the main issues reported by readers were: Difficulty logging on via council websites using access technology such as screen readers and magnification software: Web pages were often cumbersome and poorly designed. Locating the e-book catalogue and then selecting titles to download: Navigating to the catalogue was tricky for many people and searching for books was difficult at first but became easier with practice and familiarity with layout. The lack of a library PC equipped with access technology: Several people had to join at home rather than try in the library where support would have been available from a member of staff. Staff assistance was essential for most people at the start, even for experienced computer users. The general feeling was that it would have been impossible or extremely difficult for people to manage on their own. Most library staff were helpful and supportive. Sample comments: "I tried hard for more than an hour. I couldn't do it. I'm a reasonably experienced computer user, and I could not reach the Library online service or the e-book catalogue of titles to borrow." "I tried to browse the available e-books, only to discover that the website is not very accessible as each book is shown as a picture of the front cover." "Downloading I still find a bit difficult and am nervous about it, but I can do it given time." Overall, the experience for readers was initially frustrating and daunting, even for proficient users of IT, but with perseverance and help from library staff, most participants thought that e-books are a potentially useful addition to the range of books they access. The survey also showed that many libraries do not currently provide e-book services at all due to the high cost, especially in the current financial climate. Other library authorities are keeping a 'watching brief' on e-books with a view to adopting the most successful model in due course. Conclusions: e-books undoubtedly offer huge potential to open the world of books and reading for people who cannot read standard print. RNIB has identified e-books as an important part of its work and accessible provision in public libraries is just as important as the accessible design of e-book readers and influencing e-book publishing standards. For further information about RNIB’s work on the accessibility of e-books, please contact Jon Hardisty, jon.hardisty@rnib.org.uk, or attend the LPD programme at WLIC on 13 August 2012. World Blind Union, World Braille Council, Braille21 Congress, Germany 2011 The World Braille Congress took place in Leipzig, Germany, on September 28-30, 2011. Over 400 delegates from 50 countries participated. The Congress was convened to celebrate the role of Braille in maximizing independence in different walks of life, enabling access to information by touch and providing a platform for innovations which increase availability and affordability of Braille. The congress concluded that Braille is an essential means of accessing information for blind people throughout the world and notes that the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities incorporates the right to access information and the need for high quality Braille teaching. The Congress calls on stakeholders to work together to increase the availability of Braille, enhance its visibility in society and positively improve its affordability for all. The Congress calls on researchers and innovators to cooperate to achieve affordable solutions to support the use of Braille throughout the world with particular emphasis on affordable Braille technologies in the areas of Braille education, successful employment, independent living skills as also speedy transcription and reading of Braille. The Congress calls on all countries to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and to take steps to deliver its articles, including those which reference the right to access information and facilitate higher standards of Braille teaching. Dr. Thomas Kahlisch, Director, Deutsche Zentralbücherei für Blinde zu Leipzig [*] Lithuanian conference report: “Digital Talking Book in the 21st Century: Production, Dissemination and the Reader”. The International Scientific-Practical Conference: “Digital Talking Books in the 21st Century: Production, Dissemination and the Reader” was held on April 19-20 2012 in Vilnius at the Lithuanian Library for the Blind to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Lithuanian audio book. The organizer of the conference was the Lithuanian Library for the Blind. Two interesting days were filled with presentations by various experts from Lithuania, Latvia, Great Britain, Sweden, Finland, Russia and Estonia. The main topic of the conference was audio book production and distribution at the libraries serving visually impaired and other print disabled people. There are slight differences between the libraries in different countries, but the main goal is the same – to make literature available in various ways for people to whom the printed literature is not accessible. The history of audio book production for the print disabled in Lithuania was presented by Dr. Rasa Januševi?ien?, the head of the Lithuanian Library for the Blind, Juozas Valentukevi?ius, the head of the Blindness Reference Department at the Lithuanian Library for the Blind and Jadvyga Kuolien?, the director emeritus of the Lithuanian Library for the Blind. In 1962 the first audio book in Lithuanian “Žmogus” written by Eduardo Mieželai?io and narrated by the famous actor Eduardas Kunavi?ius was produced at the studio of the Lithuanian Society of the Blind. A lot has changed since then. Now the biggest producer of talking books is the Lithuanian Library for the Blind, the central library which is situated in Vilnius. In 1966 the centralization of the libraries for the blind took place; five libraries in different cities – Kaunas, Klaip?da, Šiauliai, Panev?žys, Ukmerg? – became branches of the main library in Vilnius. Since 1992 the Lithuanian Library for the Blind acts under the administration of the Lithuanian Ministry of Culture. According to the copyright law the library is allowed to provide talking books to visually impaired and other print disabled people. The Library can also distribute books via the Internet. The majority of holdings at the Lithuanian Library for the Blind are audio books (more than 15 000 titles). In 1992 the studio of the Lithuanian Society of the Blind became part of the Lithuanian Library for the Blind. Digital talking book production started at the library in 2003. Annually about 300 new audio book titles in mp3 format are produced. Since 1966 talking journals have been recorded and at present 18 titles covering different topics are available for the patrons. Old books on tapes are also digitized and restored taking into account patrons’ interests and requests. Book narrators are professionals – actors and people from the radio. The Lithuanian Library for the Blind serves more than 3000 customers including mainly elderly people; the Library is like a second home for the patrons, providing them not only with the literature but also with the possibility to socialize. It can be said that the new era has begun at the Lithuanian Library for the Blind as the library contributes a lot to make their services virtually available. In 2010 the “Virtual Library for the Blind” project started. It is financed by the Lithuanian state and EU structural funds. This project includes various activities. One aim of the project is to create an electronic publication management information system ELVIS which enables persons with a visual impairment to use publications in special formats at any time and place. According to the presentation made by Laura Juchnevi?, the vice-director for management and public relations of the Lithuanian Library for the Blind, ELVIS will be made available for the patrons in August 2012. It will enable the downloading and streaming of materials – initially 6000 titles. During the project period 250 new audio books, 450 digitized and restored talking books, two titles of talking journals, 10 titles of full-text DAISY books and other older materials belonging to the library collection are produced. At the moment the demo version of ELVIS is ready and it will be tested by 10 patrons in order to improve the system. The goal is to create the virtual communication environment via which as well as reading, users can socialize virtually and recommend their favourite books to others. ELVIS will be accessible mainly for visually impaired persons, but some materials, e.g. research materials on the subject of visual impairment and books written by blind people, will be available for everyone interested in these matters. Arvydas Juchna, the operator at the Books Production Department of the Lithuanian Library for the Blind, spoke at the conference about the production of full-text DAISY books. Such innovation began at the Lithuanian Library for the Blind in 2011 thanks to the “Virtual Library for the Blind” project. The knowledge to use the Dolphin Publisher software needed for producing full-text DAISY books was acquired in Sweden. In order to start production, 10 titles were selected among the most needed study books. By now six full-text DAISY titles have been produced and will be available via ELVIS. Ilona Gražina Paškevi?i?t?, the senior librarian of Kaunas branch of the Lithuanian Library for the Blind, gave a review of everyday work at the library, concentrating on the preferences of the visually impaired patrons. The majority of visually impaired customers prefer audio books; braille book users are in the minority. 65% of audio book users are over the age of 50. Autobiographies are very popular among the patrons. Most of the youngsters read reference literature and books belonging to the compulsory literature. Yuriy Lesnevskiy, the head of Novosibirsk Regional Special Library for the Blind, gave a presentation on tactile books and objects produced for visually impaired children. In this activity close cooperation with parents, kindergartens, schools and teachers is very important. As the result of the church architecture project “Novonikolayevsk” the models of churches in eight Russian cities were completed. Audio descriptions about these churches were also added. Tactile materials play a crucial role helping visually impaired persons to be able to imagine certain objects. Novosibirsk Regional Special Library for the Blind, established in 1965, serves more than 3400 patrons. The activities of the Book Production Department at St. Petersburg State Library for the Blind and Visually Impaired was introduced by Viktorija Mikhelson, the head of Production Department. Since 2008 St. Petersburg State Library for the Blind and Visually Impaired has the right to reproduce audiovisual materials and phonograms in any formats suitable for visually impaired people. In general, it has increased the library’s duty and responsibility. The Book Production Department was established in 1996 with the main goal of producing different kind of materials – braille, tactile, audio books. Each year 25-35 audio titles (about 200 hours) are recorded at the library’s studio. A small number of these books are produced in mp3 format and are added to the library stock on CDs. The rest of the talking books are produced in LKF format (a special format for the visually impaired in Russia) and are added to the electronic database of audio books. A programme Talking Book Library is used to convert audio recordings into LKF format. Books in this format are distributed to the patrons on flash cards. Digitization and restoration of audio books started at the library in 2009. St. Petersburg State Library for the Blind and Visually Impaired plans to make an electronic database of audio books, now containing more than 7800 titles, available for the customers for download. Another future plan is to produce electronic journals in synthetic speech at the library. In Russia there are two main organizations – Logos and ElecGeste – whose mission is to develop and introduce new typhlo-information systems on the basis of modern technologies for the achievement of more effective rehabilitation of blind people. These organizations deal a lot with the development of digital talking books. They have contributed to the decision to use flash cards for distributing talking books to visually impaired people. Flash cards are considered to be the best information carriers which can be re-used many times without losing any of the quality. Talking books on flash cards in LKF format can be listened using special players (e.g. ElecGeste-DTBP-001). These players are generally used by visually impaired people all over Russia. Aivars Lacis, the vice-director for technology at the Latvian Library for the Blind, gave a review of audio book production which began at the library’s studio in 1961. In 2002 the first talking books on CDs were produced, but the production of books on the cassettes still continued. Since 2009 books are published only on CDs. Digital talking books are produced in mp3 format. Audio books are distributed via the central library in Riga and its seven branches situated in different parts of Latvia. Dr. Anna Gustafsson Chen, the library consultant of the Swedish Library of Talking Books and Braille, introduced the Swedish model of disseminating talking books via public libraries and schools. Print disabled people can borrow books on CD, memory cards or USB flash drives via their local public library. Patrons can also become users of the personal download service in order to download talking books from TPB’s catalogue to their own computer, or listen to talking books via mobile phone. All the DAISY books belonging to TPB’s collection are downloadable. Not only the public libraries, but also school and university libraries play an important role making the services of TPB available to the print disabled. TPB has direct contact with the users of braille materials. According to Johanna Kainulainen, the information officer of Celia Library in Finland, the Internet has a great power to reach the library users. In 2011 Celia Library launched 2 websites, aimed at existing and potential patrons. Lukihäiriö.fi (www.lukihäiriö.fi) was made available in October 2011. This website gives basic information on dyslexia. It also includes links to services, aid tools, literature etc. that might help persons with dyslexia. A quick test of dyslexia is available via the website. Lukihäiriö.fi is a very popular website - the average number of visits per month is 2500, and the figure reached up to 40,000 in November 2011. Another website on dyslexia is Senat Sakaisin, available via Facebook. It has gathered together more than 7700 fans - mostly 13-17 year old youngsters are interested in this website which also gives information about the books at Celia Library. The efforts of reaching people with dyslexia are reasonable - 15 % of Celia Library’s new patrons are dyslexic and the number is growing yearly. All together the library has 18,000 customers preferring audio books. 98% of all the loans cover talking book loans. At the Estonian Library for the Blind the talking book production started 44 years ago, in 1968. Acquisition, production and distribution of audio books were presented by Marja Kivihall, the head of Department, Department of the Estonian Library for the Blind, Repository Library of Estonia. The Estonian Library for the Blind is the biggest publisher of talking books for print disabled people in Estonia. Its annual production is about 100 new titles. The collection holds nearly 3000 audio titles, distributed as circulation copies, on-demand copies and via Veebiraamatukogu, which is the web-based system for downloading and streaming audio materials. It was made available for the patrons on April 2nd 2012. Pete Osborne, the head of International Partnership and Development, chief braille officer, the Royal National Institute of Blind People, gave two presentations at the conference. First, he introduced the DAISY Consortium, which was established to address the need for standards for digital talking books based on the requirements developed by the World Blind Union. Since its inception, standards have evolved, and are now having a profound impact on mainstream e-book publishing. The DAISY Consortium along with its partners and the World Intellectual Property Organisation continue to champion the need for a “books without borders” treaty. In the second presentation Pete Osborne introduced the devices he uses daily for reading books, focusing on the best in synthetic speech and the trials of using e-book readers. The lecturers of Vilnius University gave presentations at the conference on different topics. Dr. Rimvydas Laužikas, the director and senior lecturer of the Institute of Librarianship and Information Sciences, spoke about three-dimensional (3D) technologies and their potential for producing tactile objects which are useful especially for blind people. Dr. Zinaida Manžuch, the lecturer of the Institute of Librarianship and Information Sciences, focussed on digital libraries and their importance for visually impaired users by expanding the range of accessible resources. Ugnius Balinskas, a staff member of the Biomedika company, introduced various DAISY players and different types of software for producing DAISY books. The final word at the conference was given to the patrons of the Lithuanian Library for the Blind – Alvydas Valenta and Vilija Dumbliauskien? – who shared their experiences and feelings as the users of talking books. The conference on “Digital Talking Book in the 21st Century: Production, Dissemination and the Reader” provided a lot of new knowledge, the opportunity to meet for the first time as well as re-meet colleagues from the other countries. The tours of the Lithuanian Library for the Blind and in Vilnius Old Town were very enriching. And watch out while going to the conference in Lithuania! You might end up dancing Lithuanian folk dances at the party after a long conference day:). My great thanks to the staff of the Lithuanian Library for the Blind, especially to Rasa Januševi?ien? and Laura Juchnevi?, for the very well-organized conference and the warm hospitality. Marja Kivihall. Head of Department, Department of the Estonian Library for the Blind, Repository Library of Estonia [*] Exchanging files across orders: An update on The TIGAR and ETIN projects Exchanging books across borders is top on the list of LPD strategic goals. There is a WIPO funded global project, now half way through, that has managed to exchange some titles between libraries. And we have a European initiative (in search of funding) that aims to do the same thing, but within Europe. Both projects strive for the same goals and both will benefit tremendously from a general copyright exception that has worldwide recognition. This general legal exception is of course known as the Treaty for the Blind, and WBU IFLA and other professional lobbyist are working hard and relentlessly to get the Treaty adopted at a General WIPO conference somewhere in the (hopefully not too far) future. Here is a small update and summary of the state of affairs of both projects. The Trusted Intermediary Global Accessible Resources (TIGAR) project seeks to facilitate cross-border exchange of copyright protected electronic files for books in accessible formats between national libraries and charitable institutions (trusted intermediaries) serving blind, visually impaired and other persons with print disabilities.  The primary deliverables from the three year pilot project with a target completion date by the end of 2013 include, inter alia: * An established network of trusted intermediaries (TIs) that are exchanging electronic files of books across borders in accessible formats * An ICT component that enables: secure and transparent exchange of electronic files between TIs, including those provided by publishers; * A sustainable business model to support the above on an ongoing basis ETIN stands for European Trusted Intermediary Network and can be considered as the European counterpart to the TIGAR projects that is global in scope. ETIN tries to take advantage of the facilitating conditions of the internal market that is being created between the countries of the European Community. ETIN tries to overcome the differences that still exist between copyright laws in the different European countries, although a harmonization of the laws and its exceptions is on the agenda of the EU: http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/copyright/copyright-infso/copyright-infso_en.htm ETIN and TIGAR share the same primary objective to provide access to copyright-protected works in accessible formats for people with print disabilities across borders through the support of TIs. The two initiatives are complementary and mutually supportive of each other. They are different in terms of geographical coverage, time schedule and approach adopted; however, the differences do not prevent future collaboration between the two initiatives. To date, 11 Trusted Intermediaries and 24 Rights Holder organisations signed the simplified TIGAR Memorandum, known as The Fast track MoU. The first transfer of text-files took place during October 2011 between France, Denmark and Canada. TIGAR is focussing on the Business to Business delivery model. Delivery from Business to Clients will receive attention later. WIPO is hosting a TIGAR website where one can find up to date information about the project (http://www.visionip.org/tigar/en/). The Chairs of the ETIN and TIGAR projects met to discuss various issues such as current status, progress and how to address questions from interested parties about the similarities and differences between the two projects. There are still various challenges to be sorted out as part of the TIGAR project, such as the rights clearance process. A person has been appointed on a trial basis to serve as a focal point for TIs to obtain clearance for titles on their behalf. Another issue receiving attention is how to access publisher files and the formats. It is clear from all the work done by participants from various countries that international cooperation and sharing of information and reading resources is possible but requires a lot of dedicated hard work. ETIN has established a licence/agreement document in close collaboration with the Rightsholder such as FEP, IFRRO and European Writers Council (ECW). Rules for accreditation to become part of the ETIN network have been drafted, and a first ETIN Board that will give out these accreditations is going to be established in the summer of 2012 or shortly after. ETIN now consists of 8 potential candidates for the ETIN network. The Rightholders are represented by European or International federations such as the FEP, IFRRO and EWC. Koen Krikhaar, Manager, Library Services, Dedicon and Francois Hendrikz, Director, South African Library for the Blind [*] Manifesto for libraries serving persons with a print disability: a progress report According to Wikipedia a manifesto is a public declaration of principles and intentions, often political in nature. It is a clear and basic statement of what you want to achieve and why that is necessary. It often carries an appeal to join the efforts for reaching the goals stated in the Manifesto. This goes without saying for our own Manifesto, the one for Libraries and Services for People with a Print Disability. In our midyear meeting in Reykjavik this February our section finalized the draft. With the support of IFLA Head Quarters we are now assessing the possibilities to get an endorsement from UNESCO. This UNESCO endorsement would of course be of great importance to get international attention but might also open up some training funds to help to get our work implemented at a local library level. We are not unique in this. Other IFLA sections (Public Libraries, Digital Libraries) have written a Manifesto and managed to get UNESCO endorsement. At the moment IFAP, the Information For All Program that handles these processes for Unesco is focussing already on another IFLA document: the IFLA Media and Information Literacy Recommendations. Usually IFAP handles one document at a time. UNESCO assesses the possibility for IFLA to work on the LPD Manifesto as a second document . We did manage to get recognition and approval of the Manifesto by the Governing Board and the Professional Committee of IFLA. This was achieved at their April meeting. Policy Officers of IFLA are now talking with the IFAP to find the best way forward. We hope to get more clarification during a meeting with IFAP at the Helsinki conference. So nothing is sure yet and there might still be a long path ahead of us. However, if we compare this with the long-lasting efforts to get an international agreement on the exchange of adapted reading materials (our audio and braille books) we are moving with dashing speed! Everything is relative. Go and check out the draft Manifesto [http://www.ifla.org/en/lpd]. on our website. Send us an email if you have questions. Koen Krikhaar, Manager, Library Services, Dedicon [*] Performance Measures Project Update Libraries serving print disabled people have long recognised the importance of measuring performance. The IFLA professional report "Libraries for the blind in the information age: guidelines for development" recommended performance measurement as a tool for demonstrating value, decision making and planning.  Nevertheless, while there is some evidence of data being collected in some organisations, it has proved hard for libraries serving print disabled people to measure comparative performance To address this issue, with the support of the IFLA Statistics and Evaluation Section, the IFLA LPD section ran a workshop attended by representatives from a number of libraries serving print disabled persons. We established a draft set of performance measures that would be appropriate for our libraries. Since then, the project team has refined the indicators and returned them to the workshop participants and other interested parties for comments and scoring. Participating libraries scored the measures for usefulness, appropriateness and ease of collection. This enabled us to produce a final set of measures, and further feedback has been sought from IFLA LPD colleagues about how we describe the measures themselves. This has revealed a number of inconsistencies in how we are using various related terms such as "user", "borrower", "title" and "document", and also how these can be interpreted by different people, depending on their own experiences and native language. The project team is undertaking a final revision to the measures to take these comments into account. The finalised set of measures will be sent to workshop participants, IFLA LPD committee members, and other organisations who have previously expressed an interest. These stakeholders will be asked to collect a set of data against the performance measures and return to the working group. We can then assess how well the measures work in practice and find a means for ongoing collection, storage and dissemination of our data. Jon Hardisty, Senior Librarian: Digital Services. RNIB (Royal National Institute of Blind People) National Library Service. If your organisation would like to be involved in the data collection, please contact Jon Hardisty, jon.hardisty@rnib.org.uk or (44) 161 355 2084. Latest Revision: August 2012 Copyright © International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions www.ifla.org Standing Committee Members Chair: Koen Krikhaar, Manager, Library Services, Dedicon. Secretary/Treasurer: Francois Hendrikz, Director, South African Library for the Blind Joint Information Co-ordinator: Minna von Zansen, Service Manager, Celia Library. Joint Information Co-ordinator and Treasurer: Kari Kummeneje, Head of Lending Department, The Norwegian Library of Talking Books and Braille. Galina Sergeevna Elfimova, Head Librarian, Russian State Library for the Blind. Sanja Frajtag, Director, Croatian Library for the Blind. Jon Hardisty, Senior Librarian, RNIB. Keun Hae Youk, Chief Librarian, Korean Braille Library. Dr. Thomas Kahlisch, Director, Deutsche Zentralbücherei für Blinde zu Leipzig. Hiroshi Kawamura, Technical Advisor, Information and Culture Center for the Blind. Bitte Kronkvist, Swedish Library of Talking Books and Braille. Margaret McGrory, Vice President & CIO and Managing Director, CNIB Library. Misako Nomura, Director, Information Center, Japanese Society for Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities. Sanela Osmanagic, Assistant Manager, The Library for the Blind and the Visually Impaired in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Ju Ok Park, Deputy Director, The National Library Support Center for the Disabled, the National Library of Korea. David Fernández-Barrial, Foreign Language Librarian. National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) Library of Congress, U.S. Geert Ruebens, Director, Flemish Library for Audio books and Braille. Elena Zakharova, Deputy Director, Russian State Library for the Blind. Special advisers: Helen Brazier, Head, National Library Service, RNIB. Courtney Deines-Jones, Principal and Founder, The Grimalkin Group. Christopher Friend, Chair of WBU Global Right to Read Campaign, Programme Development Advisor, Sightsavers International. Joint Editor LPD Newsletter: Jenny Craven, Information Specialist, National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, UK. 1