Blind and partially sighted people across Cumbria can get their hands on free music CDs – thanks to a local campaigner.
News & Star, Saturday, 24 September 2011
Bosses at Cumbria County Council have introduced a new concession on CDs at the county’s libraries following a campaign by 53-year-old Tim Wilson, from Queen Street, Maryport.
Music CDs are now free for those who are blind or partially sighted.
They were previously charged £1.50 per hire.
Mr Wilson, who is disabled and partially sighted, said: "I used to live in Kent and elsewhere and library charges for music CDs did not exist.
"When I came here I was being charged and so I raised this with library bosses and the chief executive of Cumbria County Council.
"They’ve taken a look and now they’ve made that change.”
Bruce Bennison, county manager for the library service, said Mr Wilson had highlighted the anomaly and they were grateful to him for doing so.
"We’ve taken steps to change it,” he added. "We do like to meet the needs of local people.”
County library service chiefs are also planning to sign up to a six-step pledge drawn up by the Society of Chief Librarians to improve facilities and access for the blind and partially sighted.
The steps include appointing a champion within the library service to act on behalf of blind and partially sighted members and provide local collections of audio books and large print items.
The council announced earlier this week that it was launching a free audio book service with more than 600 titles to download.
Once people register for the service, they can download up to 10 books at a time on their computer and can also listen on mobile phones and mp3 players because the format is compatible with smart phones.
Files are automatically deleted after three weeks so users don’t risk being hit with a fine.
