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

Part I: Summary Report

How the models fit together

In several countries it is clear that these services, although they may have begun as a patchwork in the past, have now reached a point where roles and responsibilities between organisations are quite clear and straightforward and there are few areas of perceived overlap and duplication of effort. From the users' point of view, it is also apparently clear where they would go to get certain materials, though of course that doesn't mean they would be guaranteed to get them. The situation in Croatia, for example, is clear, but that is because there is only one poorly funded organisation supplying services.

The countries where the organisations are seen as generally having clear roles and responsibilities are:

• Canada
• The Netherlands
• Sweden
• Denmark
• USA
• Croatia

Some overlaps are perceived in Australia, but they are not seen as very problematic.

Some duplication of effort is perceived in:

• Korea
• South Africa (along with competition for funding)
• UK

Services are perceived as suffering most from fragmentation and lack of overall strategy in:

• Japan
• Korea
• UK