Ann, who is blind, talks about her work in the library with staff and visually impaired people.
Ann:
I started working at Gateshead libraries about 2 and a half years ago having never really been a librarian before. This was something very new to me but what I had got was a lot of contact with visually impaired people in the area and the organisations who support them. My job is to help the library staff to provide services for visually impaired people, access what is already available and then look at providing other services then to get out into the community and make sure that the visually impaired people out there know that they can use their local library.
I teach people how to do basic guiding techniques, for example. It doesn't mean that because somebody comes into the library that they have no sight and need guiding all the time but particularly people with certain eye conditions who come into the library from the outside they find it difficult adjusting, sight wise, and they do need more help even though they have some sight. They might be going to choose a large print book so that they can read large print but actually can't get themselves to the section. So staff need to know how to feel comfortable guiding somebody, what help is needed, how to speak to somebody when they come into the library "hello" whatever the person's name. So as to become familiar with the person and to know what help is needed and I think that does only come through a bit of training and a bit of familiarity. I do give them a very basic instruction on eye conditions and they try on the simulation spectacles to have an idea of what basic eye conditions will be like.
