ARCHIVED - The Council on Access to Information for Print-Disabled Canadians

CNIB Library for the Blind: Visunet

Visunet Canada: CNIB Library for the Blind's service

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Visunet Canada

• Canada Post based circulation in 00/01 was approximately 1.3 million, serving 100,000 clients directly and many more indirectly
• We serve clients from our collection of:
  • 17,883 braille books
  • 22,629 audio books, 3,200 titres en français
  • 2,000 PrintBraille books
  • 3,900 electronic texts
  • 338 described videos
  • 2 client newsletters
  • More than 50 periodicals, in audio and braille

Visunet Canada: Electronic Collections and Services

• VisuCat - accessible opac
• VisuText module contains approximately 4000 electronic texts, websites collected around specific topics, access to licensed content from EbscoHost, Britannica Online, Groves Dictionary of Music, and the Oxford Dictionary
• VisuText is a searchable database with electronic delivery
• Visunet Canada: Electronic Collections and Services
• VisuNews is an electronic newspaper service with 14 daily newspapers from across Canada, available by computer or over the telephone,using the keypad to navigate through the newspaper.
• Nous avons plusieurs journaux disponible en français, et nous allons ajouter d'autres dans les mois prochains.

CNIB Library Reference Service

• Information Resource Centre fills approximately 2,500 reference requests each year
• Service de Recherche Documentaire a commencer en Juin 2001 et offre une service de recherche au clients en français.
• CNIB Library Reference Service Bibliotèque INCA Service de Recherche
• Pour les deux services, nous avons conclu des entente de partenariat avec des institutions qui font figure de leader dans le domaine des service de bibliotèque électroniques. Ensemble, nous sommes en mesure d'offrir un service de référence complet pour la population de tout âge.

IRC / SRD Reference Service

• Assist students with assignments, papers, essays and presentations.
• Ranges from a quick search for an overview of a topic to in-depth research.
• Responses are provided in the format of choice: audio, braille, large print, or electronic text on diskette or via email.

Examples of information requests

• Elementary School:
  Pet care, satellites, periscopes, optics, macaroni penguins
• Secondary School:
  freedom of press, rainforests,bio of Nelson Mandela, Cleopatra, ecozones
• College, University:
  DVD and blue lasers, quantum theory, telecommunications in Sri Lanka...

Other Services to Students

For students wishing independent access to information and resources,the Library's VisuTEXT is a wealth of information, providing access to:

• Websites selected by our librarians,
• Full text periodicals and news articles
• Databases such as Ebscohost and Electric Library Canada, Groves, OED
• Electronic texts

Highlights of CNIB Library Services

• 1 800 line to 4 Reader Advisors, the IRC and SRD, Music Library, Digital Services Librarian ...
• Development of programs for our client community
• SkyClub- online discussion group
• SkyBooks - online book club

Highlights of CNIB Library Services - Children's Services

• Summer Reading Club
• Braille Birthday Book Program
• Creative Writing and Braille Accuracy Competition
• Award winning newsletter KidsWorthy
• Spinoza Bear 4 track player

That was then ...

This is NOW

Independence: It's about choices

CNIB Library is now building an Integrated Digital Library Service

CNIB Library will:

• Double its content over the next 5-7 yrs
• Create & convert collections to digital format, Daisy and other electronic formats
• Partner internationally, LC, NLB, SA
• Refine its user interface
• Improve its distribution system
• Augment its services and collections to children and Francophone Canadians
• Roll out a digital library service

How will CNIB do this?

• Be creative in finding and securing more content, in English and in French
• Change the paradigm in working with publishers and other content providers including other libraries for the blind
• Design a robust yet simple user interface and use it to distribute materials and services
• Employ current and evolving systems standards to realize seamless resource sharing (NISO circulation interchange protocol)

CNIB Library has:

• The largest alternate format collection
• An articulated and promising future
• A roadmap to reach it
• And a $33 M campaign to achieve it

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