Western Cape in South Africa has opened 27 mini libraries for the visually impaired. These mini libraries for the visually impaired are established inside the existing libraries in rural areas. This is to help people who are visually impaired to have access to the resources that they need.
This programme is being implemented by the Department of Cultural Affairs and Sports in Western Cape and South African Library for the Blind (SANCB). The latter is a department of Sport, Arts and Culture in charge of offering library service for the visually impaired.
The mini libraries for visually impaired are equipped with screen reading software which provides text and images as speech or Braille output. They also make available the reading assistive technology which makes it possible for the reader to see text as well as hear it read aloud simultaneously.
This is an effort to promote inclusivity across Western Cape province. The mini library is key for those who have dyslexia or limited literacy skills to have access to resources in a format that is easy for them to enjoy reading.
According to official statistics, there are over 724,000 people in South Africa who have a vision impairment.
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