David, It saddens me, too.  I'm a Canadian living in the states and have
always been proud of Canada's leadership in the area of serving people with
disabilities.  From what I hear from my BC friends, there are many other
cuts in education that are going to have an impact on students with
disabilities.  Time for a change of government, I guess!   Karen

Karen O'Kain
Coordinator, The Learning Center
UNM-Valencia Campus

--On Wednesday, January 30, 2002 4:06 PM -0500 David Poehlman
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Dawes, Stephen" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: "[log in to unmask] Uwo. Ca (E-mail)" <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Wednesday, January 30, 2002 3:52 PM
> Subject: A Sad day for us in Canada, and who knows elsewhere!
>
>
> I appologize for the off topic posting, but I feel that this is a step
> back towards the stone age, and thought others would like to know about
> this turn of events.
>
> +_______________________________________________________________________
> _______+
>
>
> Media Release
>
> BC government's decision to withdraw audiobook funding a devastating
> decision
> for Canadians who are blind: CNIB
>
> January 29 * The Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) today
> expressed its deep regret at the BC government's recent decision to stop
> funding the BC Library Services audio book program.
>
> The reason given for the cut was that commercial audiobooks are now
> available
> to replace the books recorded in the program. However, the vast majority
> of
> commercial audiobooks are abridged, and the few that are full-length are
> costly. "When it comes to library services, we don't expect sighted
> people
> to
> buy books, or read books that are incomplete," said Jim Sanders,
> President
> and
> CEO of the CNIB. "Why would we expect that of people like myself who are
> blind
> or visually impaired?"
>
> Only 3-4 per cent of what is published ever makes it into an accessible
> format, such as an audio book. With such a huge gap in access to
> information,
> the loss of any further production in Canada is devastating. The CNIB
> Library
> and BC Library Services have been sharing titles for 27 years. In 2001,
> the
> BC
> audio book program provided a quarter of the titles added to the CNIB
> Library's collection. Many of these titles were Canadian content and not
> available anywhere else.
>
> "Even though I live in Alberta, this hurts me and all other
> print-disabled
> Canadians who want original Canadian content in an accessible format,"
> said
> CNIB client Gerry Chevalier. "I have read many, many audiobooks over the
> years
> that were produced by BC Library Services."
>
> "More than 3 million Canadians cannot read print because of a
> disability.
> This
> decision marks the last exit of a Canadian government from the creation
> of
> general English-language accessible content. It is regrettable, because
> all
> other major industrialized nations fund the production of braille and
> audio
> books for people who are blind or visually impaired," said Sanders.
> "Sighted
> Canadians have the right to books and information through a local
> library.
> However, Canadians who are blind do not have that same right."
>
> The $280,000 annual price tag for the audio book program amounted to
> only
> one
> hundredth of one per cent of the total cuts the BC government made on
> Jan
> 21.
>
> Fact Sheet: Access to Information in Canada
>
> When it comes to books, culture, and information for people who need
> alternate
> formats, there's just not enough out there. The British Columbia
> government's
> decision to cut its audiobook program is the most recent setback, but
> government support in Canada for books for people who are print disabled
> has
> been eroding now for decades. Here's a look at the numbers behind the
> problem...
>
> - Percentage of materials published in Canada that make it into an
> alternate
> format like an audiobook: 3-4%
>
>   - Number of Canadians who need alternate format materials because of a
> print
> disability (a visual, physical, or learning disability that prevents
> them
> from
> reading print): 3 million, or 10% of the population
>
>   - Number of audiobooks Canadian publishers produced in 2000: 814
>
>   - Estimated number of these books that were full-length (unabridged):
> less
> than 5
>
> - Typical retail cost of an unabridged audiobook: $50*$200.
>
>   - Percentage of new audiobooks (many Canadian content) added to the
> CNIB
> Library's collection in 2001 that came from BC Library Services: 25%
>
>   - Number of print books available through a local public library
> system in
> Canada: 1 million and many millions more by inter-library loan
>
>   - Number of alternate-format books available in the five wealthiest
> countries in the world: 280,000
>
>   - Average number of books read by a public library user each year: 1.5
>
>   - Average number of books read by a CNIB Library client each year: 60
>
>   - Number of the eight major industrialized nations to fund library
> services
> for people who are blind or visually impaired: 7 (Canada is the only
> exception)
>
>   - Canadians over age 65 that experience severe vision loss that cannot
> be
> corrected with standard eyeglasses: 1 in 9
>
>   - Canadians over the age of 80: 1 in 4
>
>   * 30 *
>
> For more information
> Julia Morgan
> Communications Coordinator
> CNIB Library for the Blind
> (416) 480-7423
>
>
> +_______________________________________________________________________
> _______+
>
>
> Steve Dawes
> PH:  (403) 268-5527.
> Mailto:  [log in to unmask]
>
>
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