Equal Access in Libraries

Staffordshire Library and Information Service aims to provide access to the full range of library services, for people of any age who are unable or have significant difficulty in using a library service point.

This includes library services to people who are:

Residential and Nursing Homes
Sheltered Housing and Day Centre
"At Home" Readers (Home Reader Service)
People with a sensory impairment
People with learning difficulties
Members of ethnic and cultural communities
Adult learners
In prison
and anyone else whose needs are not met by standard services.

Residential and Nursing Homes

Residential and Nursing Homes receive boxed collections of library books, audio books and music specifically targeted to the needs of residents. They are exchanged on a quarterly basis and are delivered by a library transport van. There is no charge for this service.

For more information contact: Community Library Service: 01785 278369.

Sheltered Housing and Day Centres

The service to Sheltered Housing schemes and Day Centres is delivered by Staffordshire's mobile library service. Visits normally take place once a fortnight providing access to a full range of library stock including books, talking books, videos, DVDs, local history and information and, on some mobile libraries, access to the Internet. All mobile libraries have lifts for people with mobility problems.

For more information contact: Community Library Service: 01785 278369.
E-mail: Olwen Johnson

"At Home" Readers (Home Reader Service)

Anyone who is physically unable to visit the library themselves can have books, audio books and music delivered to their home by library volunteers or library staff or collected from the library on their behalf by a friend or relative.

"At Home" readers are not charged for borrowing or requesting books, audio books or music.

If you or someone you know is housebound or if you are interested in being a volunteer please contact your nearest library or the Community Library Service: 01785 278369. E-mail: Olwen Johnson

Blind and Partially Sighted People

A range of books in large print, audio books on tape and CD and music are available from all libraries and mobile libraries. Visually impaired readers are not charged for borrowing or requesting books, audio books or music.

For people who are registered blind or partially sighted Staffordshire Libraries can arrange a subscription to the audio books by post service from the Royal National Institute of the Blind www.rnib.org as well as books in Braille and Moon from the National Library for the Blind www.nlb-online.org

Library Services for Deaf and Hearing Impaired People

Hearing loops are available in some libraries. Sub-titled videos are available free of charge on request.

For people learning British Sign Language, tutors on video are available for loan and courses on CD-Rom are available for use in libraries.

Library Services for People with Learning Difficulties

Makaton Sign language packs are available for loan to enable families and those working with people with learning difficulties to learn the language. The packs contain printed material and videos. Material to help with reading, writing and life skills is available in libraries' Basic Skills collections.

Multicultural Services

Books and other printed material, including items for children, are available in languages other than English according to the needs of the local community. Collections of books in Urdu, Gujerati, Panjabi, Hindi, Bengali and Polish are located at libraries where a need has been identified and can be made available through any library when required. Popular fiction in French, German, Italian, Spanish, Polish, Urdu and Gujerati is available via the Library catalogue and we will try to obtain material in any language on request.

Multicultural material in English, including Black Fiction, is available and special display collections circulate around Staffordshire Libraries to promote multicultural awareness.

All libraries have Language courses on cassettes, CD-Rom or video to enable learning a language.

Libraries in Prison Establishments

Staffordshire Library and Information Services provides a library service in HMP Featherstone, Stafford and Drake Hall and Young Offenders Institutions at Brinsford, Swinfen Hall and Werrington. Open Learning Centres are located at HMP Stafford and HMP Drake Hall. E-mail: Lindsay Alcock - Prison Library Service.

Last Modified: 16/09/2008 14:32:52
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