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

Part2:Country studies

Sweden

Relationship of services to visually impaired and print impaired people

Service is the same for everyone, whether print or visually-impaired, when it comes to talking books and large print. These services are included in the public library system. Braille readers borrow direct from TPB but it is also possible to interlend Braille books through any local public library.

According to the amended Swedish Copyright law (July 1, 2005) there is no distinction between different groups of disabled persons. The law just says that persons with impairment who need literature in an alternate format are entitled to this service.

Service provision - education

Schools

Most children and adolescents with disabilities attend mainstream schools, although there are special types of schooling for pupils who are deaf or hearing-impaired, or who have severe mobility or learning disabilities. The Education Act states that children in need of special assistance at school are to be provided with it. Also, the law says, there must be equality in education for all children, wherever they may live in Sweden and regardless of any disabilities they may have.

Interestingly, the proportion of people with an upper-secondary education is slightly larger among those with disabilities than among those without. The reverse is true, however, in higher education, although an increasing number of students with disabilities are now finding their way into the country's universities and colleges.

The Swedish Institute for Special Needs Education (Specialpedagogiska institutet) coordinates state support in this educational field. Its primary task is to advise the bodies responsible for the country's pre-schools and schools. The Institute also develops special-needs educational materials.

The municipalities must provide children, adolescents and adults with various disabilities with an education equal to the education received by others in the community. This objective can only be attained if there is sufficient knowledge about the pedagogical consequences of disability, expertise in special needs education, and suitable educational materials. The municipalities need to build up and continuously develop this expertise. Therefore, the Government, through the Swedish Institute for Special Needs Education, provides support to the municipalities, and assists in producing and adapting educational materials. An important part of its work is to adapt and develop educational materials for special needs education.

The production of educational materials comprises both the adaptation of published material as well as the development and production of original material. The Swedish Institute for Special Needs Education funds the production of educational materials for children and adolescents with disabilities. Another of the Institute's tasks is to provide target groups with information about suitable educational materials from commercial producers.

Commercial publishers' products are adapted to give students with different forms of reading disabilities the opportunity to make use of the materials.

Tertiary sector

Students' service from TPB

Students with a print disability at university level can borrow course literature in alternative formats. Loans are administered by the university library and are free of charge.

TPB caters for those experiencing reading difficulties (dyslexia, impaired sight or mobility) studying at Swedish universities. The library provides course literature in alternative formats, such as talking book, e-text, braille or enlarged text. TPB also adapts course literature in foreign languages and can organise international interlibrary loans. Such loans are administered by the university library and are free of charge.

A local co-ordinator working with educational support for students with disabilities exists at all universities. The co-ordinator also assists those using TPBs student services. Course materials are available in various formats such as Braille, e-book, DAISY talking book, large print.

In order to meet the demand from an increasing number of print disabled university students TPB have started to make DAISY books narrated with speech synthesizer. 25 percent of these books are in English. TPB had to develop a new Swedish speech synthesizer for this purpose as the existing ones do not have the vocabulary necessary for academic books.