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Right to Read:

Summary: Up to three million children and adults are still being denied the right to read just because they have dyslexia, a sight problem or another reading disability.

What reading impaired people need is: the same book, at the same time, at the same price. right to read branding

This page is hosted by dyslexia.org.uk. RNIB has a similar Right to Read Campaign page but with more links relevant to its work with Visual Impairment.

People have made other valuable comments when supporting the charter.

right to read branding

“All my friends go down the bookshop or library and get any book they want but I have to wait months for the same book, pay extra for it and often it never comes out in large print or on tape so all I can do is listen to them talk about it. I feel really left out…”

Every day three million people are denied the Right to Read:

Up to three million adults and children in the UK who are blind, partially sighted or have a reading impairment such as dyslexia are denied the right to read. A shocking 95 per cent of all books published never become available in large print, audio or braille, or electronically. The Right to Read Alliance believes this discrimination must end. People with sight problems or reading disabilities are like everyone else – they want to read the same book, at the same time at the same price. Right to Read campaigners with petitions outside number 10 Downing Street.

The Right to Read Campaign – for dyslexia:

The situation is bad enough for Visually Impaired people. But since 2002 they have at least had the right to change the format of books to something that they can read – eg by scanning them – without having to get the permission of the publisher. Dyslexic people, and organisations acting for them, still don't have that right, so that dyslexic people now find it even more difficult to find audio books, for example, then they did before. The Right to Read Campaign is campaigning for the same rights for all reading impaired people.

Other objectives of the Right to Read Campaign:

  • To use digital technologies, with publishers’ cooperation, to give people the format they need, when they want it.
  • To reduce costs and increase choice through production on demand.
  • To monitor Technological Protection Measures (Digital Rights Management) to ensure they do not inhibit the Right to Read.
  • To use the Disability Discrimination Act and other laws to achieve our vision.
  • In short to ensure that print disabled people can readily buy and borrow their choice of books, magazines and newspapers, and access other sources of information, in their chosen reading format at the same time and price as print readers.

How can I support the Right to Read Campaign?

Add your name in support now!

“I can’t imagine not being able to pick up the book of my choice, when I want to. Certain books have changed my life and broadened the way I see everything.”

If you believe that everyone should be able to read the same book, at the same time at the same price add your name to the campaign as a supporter now! The Campaign calls upon Government, publishers, booksellers and libraries to deliver the Right to Read. Please also ask your friends, family, neighbours and colleagues, and any associations that you belong to, to sign too.

Update June 2009

The current Chair of the Alliance is Anna Tylor from Dyslexia Action. The Vice Chairs are Richard Orme, RNIB, and Michael Lewington, Calibre Audio Library.

The Alliance does have good relationships with other organisations including those representing publishers, many of whom are on its mailing list. Much of the Alliance’s campaigning is carried out through RNIB, which has a team of campaign staff.

  1. A few statistics

    Some 2 million people in the UK are blind or partially sighted and find it difficult or impossible to read books, magazines and newspapers in standard print.

    Dyslexia affects 1 in 10 of the UK population to varying degrees of severity, including 1.2 million children of school age.

  2. What is an ‘accessible format’

    The best known ones are large print, Braille, and audio recording.

    Digital text files mean that computer users with access software can create large print, Braille or synthetic speech quite easily. This is especially useful for students and people needing information quickly. Digital text files also make it easier and cheaper for organisations to publish accessible copies of books and other materials.

  3. Recent and forthcoming developments

    There have been several recent developments involving members of the Alliance which will improve access to print books.

    1. Focus large print books

      Up to now large print books have mostly been sold to libraries for users to borrow – it has not been easy for people to buy them. Focus is a pilot project to trial the market for Large Print books in bookshops.

      From Josephine Cox to Bernard Cornwell and Jeremy Clarkson, whatever your taste in books, you will find something to enjoy in the selection of over 50 new and bestselling titles now available in Large Print from your local bookshop. Each book, published under the Focus logo, is printed in 16-point as a large-format paperback and priced at either £16.99 or £12.99. Barbara Taylor Bradford is one of the many authors who have welcomed the initiative: “Everybody, regardless of age or 20-20 vision, should have the same access to a wide variety of literature.”

      To see the full list and to find out more, visit www.focusonbooks.co.uk or ask your bookseller for further information.

    2. Dyslexia and copyright

      The Copyright (Visually Impaired Persons) Act of 2002 gave people with sight problems, and the organisations supporting them, the right to create copies of books and other material in formats which they can read. It was no longer necessary to ask the copyright owner for permission. But people with dyslexia were not covered by the Act. The Alliance has been campaigning to get equality for people with dyslexia, and we expect changes to the copyright licensing system during 2009.

    3. eBooks

      We are very excited by the potential of ebooks, but RNIB research into eBook readers has found that so far many are not fully accessible for people with sight problems. Alliance members want to work with publishers, retailers and others to improve this – it should be technically possible.

      The Alliance has set up an ebook working group whose aims are “to work with technology companies, publishers, retailers and consumers to ensure that ebooks are accessible to print disabled people.” Its activities will cover a mixture of research, campaigning and education. The Chair is Alistair McNaught of JISC TechDis. Also on the group are BDA NTC: Ian Litterick; Calibre: Michael Lewington; Call Scotland: Paul Nisbet; RNIB: Helen Gunesekera, Miriam Haywood, Richard Orme, Robin Spinks; EDItEUR: Mark Bide (Executive Director).

      Ebooks were also the focus of a joint RNIB/Right to Read Alliance presence at the recent London Book Fair. RNIB and the Right to Read Alliance ran a stand and, together with the Publishers Association and Publishers Licensing Society, ran a seminar on making ebooks easy for everyone to read, with the aim of developing dialogue and finding ways forward. It was chaired by Helen Fraser, the managing director of Penguin UK. Anna Tylor, Chair of the Alliance and Alicia Wise of the Publishers Licensing Society made an eloquent introduction. The panel included Right to Read's Richard Orme (RNIB) and Alistair McNaught (JISC TechDis), as well as Graham Bell from Harper Collins and George Kerscher, co-author of the Epub specification. The event was billed as one of the top events of the day, and proved very popular. Notes from the event will be available. Contact Helen Gunesekera at RNIB on 020 7391 3269 for more information.

    4. VAT on audio books

      It has long been a bone of contention that while no VAT is due on print books, it is charged at the full rate on audio books. A recent EU decision means that member governments can reduce the VAT on audio books from 15% to 5%. It is now up to the member governments to decide whether to do so – needless to say the Alliance will be pressing hard for the UK government to apply the reduced rate.

    5. Publisher Lookup

      This is a website launched in 2008, following cooperation between the Right to Read Alliance and publishers, and administered by JISC TechDis. It has guidance for publishers and for staff in further and higher education colleges on making and responding to requests for published materials in alternative formats. It came out of work done by the Publishers Association Accessibility Working Group.

    6. Man Booker prize

      This year (2009) the organisers inserted a clause in the rules that requires publishers of books which are longlisted for the prize to make electronic versions of the books available to RNIB, to enable alternative format copies to be produced quickly.

    7. Text book pilot

      The aim of this project is to develop and test ways of offering text books and other curriculum materials in electronic formats that are accessible to pupils who are visually impaired or dyslexic. The government is due to announce who won the tender for this pilot project soon.

For more information about the campaign and the Alliance please visit www.rnib.org.uk/righttoread, email r2r@rnib.org.uk or phone the RNIB Campaigns team on 020 7391 2123.

ejt
17 June 2009

Update March 2005:

The 31,923 Right to Read Charters, which people have been signing up to on this page, were presented to Number 10 Downing Street on 28 February 2005. We were initially told to go home as Fathers for Justice chose to protest above our heads! Very appropriately, their banner read "Access Denied".
Access Denied banner from Fathers 4 Justice.

What the Charter called for:

  • Establish an Access to Reading Fund to support production of more material in large print, audio, braille and electronic format.
  • Abolish VAT on audio books, bringing them into line with print books.
  • Ensure that no student is ever denied the opportunity to learn because they can’t read standard print study materials.

We call on publishers, booksellers and libraries to:

  • Greatly expand the number of books, magazines and newspapers available in large print, audio and braille.

“In June I bought a print copy of Harry Potter for £8.49, I have just bought the audio copy for £68.00. This simply can't be fair.”

The Right to Read Alliance:

We are made up of 14 charities including: Right to Read Banner at Downing Street.

Other supporting organisations:

If you represent an organisation that would like to be added to the list below, please email r2r@dyslexia.org.uk, with your web url if any.

Other Right to Read Alliance issues:

Since agreeing the Right to Read Charter, the Alliance has also agreed on other important campaigning issues for reading impaired people:

  1. The Alliance itself is fully inclusive in wanting its activities to cover all Reading Impaired people without discrimination.
  2. The Copyright (Visually Impaired Persons) Act 2002 gives rights to copy and adapt printed texts to Visually Impaired people and those with some physical disabilities. The Alliance wants the law changed to extend those rights to to all people who have difficulties reading normal printed text who are covered by the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. There is fuller information on Copyright and Reading Impairment.
  3. Electronic versions of texts are the key to making them quickly available in alternative formats. The Alliance is pressing for publishers to make electronic versions of texts available as a matter of course, both through cooperation and by legislation. There’s more detail on that in the same Copyright article.

Contact your MP and ask them to support the campaign:

“The government are currently running a campaign to encourage illiterate adults to learn to read. If they are genuinely concerned about this issue they should ensure that reading materials are available to all.”

If you don’t know the name of your MP, use the Constituency Locata or call the House of Commons Information line on 020 7219 4272.

Email Support Signature:

Why not copy the following into your sig so it goes on all your emails?

Support the Right to Read Campaign. Sign up at www.dyslexia.org.uk/r2r.php.

(Copy the line above; In Outlook select Tools/Options/Mail Format/Signatures . . ./Create Signature and Paste it there. In Outlook Express select Tools/Options/Signatures and Paste it appropriately).

Gaining press coverage:

We are always looking for people willing to speak to the media. Are you constantly frustrated at not being able to get the books and magazines you want in the format you want when you want? Local press may also be interested in your story if you, your association, your club or school collect lots of names for the Charter or if there is an interesting story. If you are willing to be interviewed about your experiences or would like a press release to send to your local newspaper please email righttoread@rnib.org.uk

Read the report ‘Overdue’:

“The most important thing for me is to be able to read what I want when I want. Just because I "read" via tape now shouldn't make any difference.”

PDF of ‘Overdue’ 1.02MB. To view PDF documents you will need to download a copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader. To read the PDF document with a screen reader please link to the Access Adobe website which provides online tools to convert PDF documents into HTML or ASCII text. Or you can use PDFAloud.

Plain Text version of ‘Overdue’, 36.8KB

The report details the current situation, includes quotes from frustrated readers and makes lots of recommendations for Government and those in the book industry.

Please also let RNIB know if you would like to receive future information about the Right to Read Campaign. Email them at righttoread@rnib.org.uk

Media information:

Are you a journalist? Would you like to receive media releases about the Right to Read Campaign? RNIB can provide you with up to date information, local statistics and advise you in advance of events or other planned activity. To receive releases email: righttoread@rnib.org.uk .

To see other media releases from RNIB visit their online press office.

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