The magazine for blind and partially sighted young people in Scotland Reading Issue 12 Summer 2016
Get stuck in!
Contents 4 Editorial 6 Kate Bolan My life in digital ink 10 Ways to read 24 Did You Know? Apps 27 Did You Know? 80 years of Talking Books 28 Did You Know? Every child a library member 30 Bazil s blog 32 George McLaughlin Read all about it! 36 Contact us
Editorial We have Great Expectations that you will enjoy this twelfth issue of Haggazine! 4 facebook.com/haggeye
Editorial Whether you use your eyes, ears or finger tips to read, we hope you ll find this reading special of Haggazine insightful and bookworm-friendly. This time around, we focus on all the varied ways you can enjoy the written word. There are features and Did You Knows with all the best hints and tips to access your books, magazines and other literature the way you like. We also have articles by Kate and George, where they take us on word-worthy journeys as they share their adventures. So whatever you are up to over the summer months, be sure to take Haggazine with you on your travels! Tuesday, Jill, Matthew haggeye@rnib.org.uk 5
Kate Bolan My life in digital ink 6 facebook.com/haggeye
My life in digital ink Kate Bolan is 12 and attending Primary 7 school year in Armadale, West Lothian. Her albinism causes visual impairment and great sensitivity to light. This has never stopped Kate from enjoying art and spelling at school though, and it has definitely not kept her from reading! What are your earliest memories of reading? I liked books with a lot of pictures, especially when stories were read to me using those pictures. I learnt to read in Primary 1. How do you like to read books now? I use a Kindle Fire tablet to read I usually listen to a book with the VoiceView screen reader rather than read it with my eyes. I can also change the text size, colour of the background and the speech speed. 0131 652 3140 7
My life in digital ink What do you like about the Kindle? Using the Kindle to listen to the book. I don t like audio books as much, as they can sometimes be too descriptive. The Kindle Fire is better as I find the ipad doesn t work so well with Amazon. Where and what do you read on your Kindle? I use my Kindle at school and at home to read my own choice of books. Have you ever used a local library? Yes, but just to see what books were available so that I could get them on my Kindle. I get help from my mum and childminder to find titles that I might like. 8 facebook.com/haggeye
My life in digital ink So what are your favourite books to read? I like JK Rowling and find the books much more fun than the films. I also like Louis Sachar I have just read a couple of his books, which are very funny. Has something you have read ever helped you? The book There s a Boy in the Girls Bathroom by Louis Sachar taught me how to go into more detail with emotions in stories, which has helped me with my own writing. haggeye@rnib.org.uk 9
Ways to read Reading with your ears Listening to audio books is a great way to relax at home or pass the time on a journey. There are plenty of ways to access audio books both online and off. Here are a few to get you started. 10 facebook.com/haggeye
0131 652 3140 11
Ways to read Talking Books This service from RNIB lets you listen to audio books on whichever device you want, wherever you want for FREE! Use Overdrive to download the app to your phone or tablet, and enjoy books on the go. Or you can choose from a huge selection of books and have them sent to your house on a USB stick or DAISY CD. Audible Becoming a member of Audible gives you discounts on thousands of audio books. While you can happily listen from your computer, there is also the option to download the app to your phone. So if you lead a busy life, it may be a good choice for you! 12 facebook.com/haggeye
Ways to read RNIB Newsagent If a bit of light reading is more your thing, you can access all the best newspapers and magazines on RNIB s newsagent service. Get them sent in the post or download them digitally. Audio books Let s not forget where it all began, with physical audio books! For some, digital is the way to go. However, there is still something to be had for enjoying a physical CD. Many libraries now offer a wider selection of audio books, so get in touch with your local library to find out more! haggeye@rnib.org.uk 13
Braille 14 facebook.com/haggeye
Braille Braille is a tactile writing system which helps blind and partially sighted people to read and write. In braille, characters are represented by patterns of raised dots, which are then felt by your fingertips. There are books that help teach people to read braille. Braille can be taught from a young age in school, but it is still possible for people to learn it later in life, and it can be very helpful. 0131 652 3140 15
Braille Braille can be found in menus of many restaurants, and in labels on everyday items like medicine containers, foodstuffs and all types of other things, making it easier for blind people to get about their day. To write something in braille, most people use a Brailler, which is like a typewriter but designed specifically to write in braille. The latest gadget that is out now is the braille note-taker, which is similar in size to a computer tablet. It can read and write braille, and can connect to your computer for printing out and making changes to a word document, which sighted people can then read. Unfortunately, they are very expensive starting from around 2,500; however, new devices are being developed that will soon be available for a fraction of that cost! RNIB Library has a great selection of braille books that people can borrow for free. 16 facebook.com/haggeye
Print a bigger picture haggeye@rnib.org.uk 17
Print Depending on your sight and life experience, printed text could be your best friend, or worst nemesis! Thanks to countless solutions, print may be more accessible than you think. Make use of any sight you do have with large and giant print. Large print is generally printed in font sizes 16 to 18, and anything larger may be described as giant print. RNIB Library has a great selection of Giant Print (in 24 point, bold) titles to choose from and borrow for free! Visit rniblibrary.com Print still too small? It can be magnified, adapted and even read to you by a number of different visual aids. Numerous types of magnifiers are available. Handheld or desktop optical magnifiers keep things simple by giving you a looking glass to make the text underneath bigger. If you 18 facebook.com/haggeye
Print like reading off a screen, adjusting the size, colour and contrast of text, video magnifiers are available. Portable video magnifiers range in size from ones that fit in your pocket, to the size of tablet computers so there s bound to be one right for you. Desktop video magnifiers are another option, where a book placed on a movable table is magnified onto a big adjustable display. 0131 652 3140 19
Print Many desktop magnifiers can now read your text to you! Press a button to start the voice, or use its touch screen to press where you want reading to begin. Or if you just want the text-to-speech approach, dedicated audio text readers are available. These portable devices can turn your text into speech, no matter where you go. Apps for your smartphone or tablet can turn these devices into similar visual aids for a fractional cost, or even for free! You can contact RNIB for more information about visual aids and apps. 20 facebook.com/haggeye
E-books: no need for a paper chase haggeye@rnib.org.uk 21
E-books E-books (or electronic books) can be read anywhere and on a wide range of devices. The most accessible e-books allow you to resize text, change text and background colours, as well as font type, all to make reading easier. Many e-book readers also support text-tospeech, so you can sit back and relax as if it were an audiobook. Where can you start reading these millions of e-books? Amazon Kindle is possibly the most famous supplier of e-books. Just be careful, when purchasing a Kindle book from the Amazon website, to check that text-to-speech is enabled in the product description. You can read Kindle e-books on an Amazon Kindle Fire tablet with the VoiceView screen reader. Or enjoy accessible Kindle e-books with their apps for ios and Android devices, or with the Kindle 22 facebook.com/haggeye
E-books for PC with Accessibility Plugin download on your Windows computer. Braille displays work with Kindle e-books on all these devices! Apple has its own e-book store and apps, called ibooks. All their books work with the VoiceOver screen reader and your Braille display. You can get reading on your iphone, ipad, ipod or Mac computer. 0131 652 3140 23
Did You Know? 24 facebook.com/haggeye
Did You Know? Apps If you want to enjoy reading books digitally, but don t want to have to carry around another device, you can use your smartphone or tablet to download books. Several apps are available, including ibooks from Apple, as well as the Kindle and Audible apps from Amazon. All will allow you to enjoy a huge range of titles on your favourite devices. You can even use text-to-speech software, such as VoiceOver, to have books read to you. 0131 652 3140 25
Did You know? 80 years of Talking Books 26 facebook.com/haggeye
Did You know? Last year, RNIB s Talking Books service celebrated its 80th birthday. To mark this occasion, RNIB made the service free to use! The idea of talking Books was born in 1918 when a blind World War 1 veteran wished he could once again enjoy reading. He worked with RNIB to make this dream a reality, and for eight decades, the service has allowed many to enjoy the world of books. For all of the ways to access this amazing service for free, visit rnib.org.uk/books 0131 652 3140 27
Did You know? Every child a library member Last year, the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC), with support from the Scottish Government, launched a project that will see every child in Scotland become a library member. Depending on which local authority the child lives in, auto-enrolment will take place either at birth, at age three or four, or upon starting Primary School. The project which is being piloted in local authorities across Scotland will make access to books and information a lot easier, for children as young as those in early years. 28 facebook.com/haggeye
Did You know? RNIB Library is working with various Scottish local authorities to build partnerships and improve services to increase participation of blind and partially sighted children and young people. For more information, visit rnib.org.uk/books 0131 652 3140 29
Bazil s blog Hi, my name is Bazil. I am Jill s guide dog. Today, we went to a really quiet place so I tried not to shake to make sure the bell on my collar would not jingle. There were loads of things like piles of paper, books and magazines all very confusing. And then I realised we were in a library! 30 facebook.com/haggeye
Bazil's blog As we walked through the rooms, I could smell food and I couldn t contain myself as a man tried to feed me something. Jingle went my bell as I was about to get a treat, and Jill stopped me from eating it. Awww I m not allowed treats from strangers, but just then a piece of paper fell in front of me, yummy! Bazil! No! That was the list of books I needed for my college work! said Jill. Sshh! said the Librarian. Oops, that s me back in the doghouse again. If only it was RNIB s Make a Noise in Libraries fortnight, I would have been fine! For more information about RNIB s Make a Noise in Libraries fortnight, please visit rnib.org.uk/manil haggeye@rnib.org.uk 31
George McLaughlin Read all about it! 32 facebook.com/haggeye
Read all about it! Given the fact that I am 23 years old, I still like to think of myself as young in the grand scheme of things. However, I can remember a time in my childhood when all you could do on these new-fangled mobile phones was to call people. It was a time when you gained respect for having a computer which could play solitaire, and when you read using a physical book! Growing up as a blind child, I tended to read using two methods. One of them was reading in braille. Just as some people say with print books, nothing could beat the magic of opening the first page of a braille book and beginning to read. Alternatively, I would consume my literature through audio CD or (showing my age) cassette tapes! Both physical braille and audio books have their advantages and drawbacks. 0131 652 3140 33
Read all about it! Anyone who has had any contact with braille will know that the format takes up a lot more space than print books (no such thing as light reading in braille!). Whilst physical audio books are a lot more portable than braille, they can also be more expensive and take a lot longer to produce. Crucially, with both formats, the choice of what is available tends to be much more limited. Although my heart does still ultimately lie with the physical braille or audio book, my reading habits over the years have changed. With help from technology, I now have the ability to read an almost endless choice of literature. By using the Kindle app on my iphone, and connecting it to a refreshable braille display (a device used to display braille electronically), I now have an extremely portable and inexpensive way of reading almost any book that I like. 34 facebook.com/haggeye
Read all about it! My enjoyment of reading comes from the fact that it gives everyone the opportunity to enjoy a good story regardless of ability or interests. Even with technological changes, however, I cannot overemphasise how important I think it is for blind and partially sighted young people to still learn braille to the highest possible standard. 0131 652 3140 35
The forum for blind and partially sighted young people in Scotland This magazine has been created, developed and written by young people from the Haggeye project and produced by RNIB. Contact us facebook.com/haggeye haggeye@rnib.org.uk 0131 652 3140 June 2016 Action for Blind People registered charity number SC040050 RNIB registered charity number SC039316