From: New Beacon - May, 2001.

                  R N I B Research Library goes online

R N I B Research Library, Europe's largest collection of research
material on blindness and partial sight is now accessible over the
Internet, thanks to a joint project with the National Library for the
Blind, (N L B). By logging on to www.rnib.org.uk/library/research,
visitors can search and browse R N I B's catalogue of books, journal
articles, videos and other resources, join the library and request or
reserve publications.

The site will provide answers to frequently asked questions about
blindness, give access to online journals, and also links to other useful
organisations such as government departments and other libraries of
blindness and partial sight.

With the launch of this online catalogue, the R N I B collection is now
more readily available to a wide range of users, including, medical,
social services and education professionals throughout the world. The
site is accessible to all blind and partially sighted people,
incorporating design features to aid users of screen magnification,
speech and braille translation software.

Developed over the last year in close collaboration with the N L B, R N I
B's on-line library uses a system called GeoWeb, supplied by the North
American firm G E A C.

"As one of the world's main suppliers of library management systems, G E
A C products would normally have been beyond our reach," said Julian
Roland, R N I B's Research Library Manager. "We are extremely grateful to
N L B for their assistance and collaboration. R N I B can now offer
people with sight problems, professionals, students, and relatives
seeking information, easy access to any research via the Internet."

Located at 224 Great Portland Street, the R N I B Research Library
collections cover all aspects of blindness and partial sight including
rehabilitation, education, leisure and employment. The library subscribes
to over 100 current journal titles, including New Beacon, British Journal
of Visual Impairment, Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness and
British Journal of Ophthalmology, and a growing number of these are now
accessible in electronic form from the library website.

R N I B Research Library welcome personal visitors to the library, and
are happy to help by phone, letter or e-mail. The library is open from 9
A M to 5 P M, Monday to Friday. For further information, call on 020 7391
2052 or e-mail [log in to unmask]

The online catalogue was launched at R N I B on April 3.


Colin R. Howard
[log in to unmask]

"Microsoft - a triumph of marketing over reality"


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