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Funding and governance of library and information services for visually impaired people: international case studies

Part2:Country studies

South Africa

Rights and attitudes

Though there are some rights of equal access to buildings, products and services for disabled people, there is still much to be done in practice and in getting legislation on a par with European and US standards.

There is a general right of equal access to all levels of education for disabled people under the South African Constitution. There are strong policy trends promoting equal access, but much to do in bringing practice into line with policy.

Visually impaired people and print-impaired people have the fullest rights to the same library services as sighted persons.

Provision has been made for their rights to a library service in The South African Library for the Blind Act of 1998 (Act.no 91 of 1998). Visually impaired people have the right to challenge any threat or unfair treatment or discrimination in the Constitutional Court in terms of the South African Constitution, and many have done so.

There was a difference in view on what expectations visually impaired people have.

Blindlib believes that

“visually impaired people who are members of Blindlib do generally expect the same access to reading materials and level of service as sighted people. They expect that Blindlib will provide them with reading material by building a balanced book collection reflecting all genres, languages and reading levels, in the format of their choice viz audio and Braille. The situation is very different for those in rural areas who are uninformed and often poverty-stricken, or who lack networks of support through friends, family and organizations.”

Stellenbosch University reported:

“Visually impaired people have become used to expecting lower levels of access. They expect less choice and greater lags in obtaining materials. People without access to the internet, who form the majority of our VI population, are at a particular disadvantage.”