THE NEALIS STORY

1. THE NEALIS STORY Mark Freeman Libraries Manager South Tyneside Council & Chair, Share the Vision IFLA P3 Conference Mechelen 2009

2. Who am I and who are we • Chief Librarian of South Tyneside • Chair of SCL NE • Chair of Share the Vision • Twelve library authorities • Voluntary sector partners

3. The North East of England • Passionate people, Passionate Places • The most northerly region of England • Roman and Christian Heritage • The historic Border country • The Industrial Powerhouse

4. Facts and Figures • Twelve Unitary Authorities • Smallest English Region • Two Urban areas, two Counties • 225 libraries in the North East • 13.2 million visits per annum • 13.4 Million book issues per year • 45.9 of the population use libraries

5. The Background • History of joint working • Good examples of services for print disabled people in the Region • Close links with National organisations • Proposal for a Regional project • Two volunteers • North East chosen

6. The Project Steering Group • Society of Chief Librarians (SCL) • The 12 Public Library Authorities • Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) • Calibre Audio Library • Clearvision • National Talking Newspapers and magazines • National Association of Local Societies of Visually Impaired People (NALSVI) • Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) • Share the Vision

7. Aims Ultimately, to improve library information and reading services to blind and partially sighted people. • Increase the number of people who received the service. • To raise awareness of these services. • To improve communication. • To share best practice.

8. Objectives (1) • Develop the core library offer for blind and partially sighted people, in consultation with blind and partially sighted people. • Communicate effectively the library offer to all blind and partially sighted people regionally. • Ensure all new registered blind and partially sighted people are aware of the library offer.

9. Objectives (2) • Communicate effectively the library offer to key organisations, agencies and individuals • Develop the library offer to integrate services for blind and partially sighted people in the mainstream and contribute to their independence • Develop models of service delivery which are economically viable and sustainable • Track and evaluate service improvement

10. FUNDING • In kind contributions from participating members • Museums Libraries and Archives Council support • Share the Vision • Seeking external funding • Need for sustainability

11. Activity • Developing a better understanding of each other • Undertaking an audit of current relevant library service provision • Agreeing our aims and objectives • Regional “Offer” leaflet • Fact-sheet (a handy guide to the pilot project) • A Consultation Conference

12. NEALIS CONFERENCE 18 May 2009 • 50 blind and partially sighted participants • Representatives from across the NE • Range of ages • Consultation session • Demonstrations and presentations • A real live Author! • The chance to feed back

13. Next Steps • Working to increase availability of reading • Reducing confusion over formats • Aiding individual choice • Improving access to buildings and services • Linking beyond the Region • Working on ways to extend events and activities • Keeping up the communication • Telling the story

14. Measuring success Outcomes will focus on • Increasing the number of people engaging with services • Model for public library service delivery • Perception of improved services to blind and partially sighted persons • Better choice/availability of reading materials in preferred formats • Effective training programmes • More standard approaches to software • Integration of public library services for blind and partially sighted people into the mainstream

15. Contact Details Mark Freeman Libraries Manager South Tyneside Council Central Library Prince Georg Square South Shields NE33 2PE United Kingdom Telephone: +44 191 424 7880 Email:mark.freeman@southtyneside.gov.uk