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Funding and governance of library and information services for visually impaired people: international case studies
Part2:Country studies
Croatia
Materials provision
Croatian Library for the Blind materials
Braille
Original materials supplied: Mainly borrowed from public libraries.
Conversion: The library has Braille printing department ? sighted people convert the text to Braille.
On-demand: Sometimes
Stock: Library contacts schools for the blind and organizations of the blind.
Targets for range/depth/speed: --
Audio - standard cassette and CD
Original materials supplied: Mainly borrowed from public libraries.
Conversion: The library has its own studios, blind operators work together with sighted actors, radio and TV announcers, etc.
On-demand: Sometimes
Stock: Books are produced in 2 copies for the need of library.
Targets for range/depth/speed: --.
Audio Daisy
Original materials supplied: Mainly borrowed from public libraries.
Conversion: It is done in studios again.
On-demand: Sometimes
Stock: [blank]
Targets for range/depth/speed: [blank]
Supplied in alternative formats
how supplied: [blank]
who supplies: The library for has its own studios and Braille printing department. We do not produce large print at the moment
Basis for decision to acquire: [blank]
Targets for range/depth/speed: [blank]
95% of titles which are to be converted to an accessible format are chosen by a committee of experts; 1% of titles are converted on demand; and
4% of titles are chosen by organizations of the blind, school for the blind, etc.
Library Catalogue (2004):
2,087 Braille books
2,092 Audio books
6,296 Print books
Books for leisure/recreation/informal learning
A few titles are available in large format print at the moment. These include books, 2 and 4-track cassettes, CDs and MP3 formats, and a number of books in Braille.
Educational books
A few titles are available at the moment as audio on 2 and 4-track cassettes and in Braille.
Magazines
Magazines for and about the blind, published by various publishers, are available from both the library and the association, in Braille, audio and e-formats.
Official publications
Some information is available through audio and Braille magazines.
The most popular content provided by the library is audio fiction.
There are also some non-for-profit organizations (for example regional associations of visually impaired people). In terms of providing library services, they usually act only as a contact point between visually impaired people and the Croatian Library for the Blind.
IPSIS, a non-for-profit organization provides support for visually impaired people in IT including Linux distribution for visually impaired people, a web portal for visually impaired people, digital collection of text-books, books and other material, and free internet access for the blind.
lindbooks, a project created by the Association of the Blind, which provides visually impaired people with titles by authors (usually young) from countries of former Yugoslavia. The books are available through the Lit.kon portal.