Good News For Visually-Impaired Harry Potter Fans

Posted on July 4, 2005

The BBC reports that, for the first time, visually-impaired readers will be able to read the new Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, on the same day as sighted readers. Braille and large print versions of the book will be available on the same lay-down date as the regular versions of the book. Normally, the Braille and large print versions of a hit book don't appear on bookshelves for months or even years after the book is published.

Author, JK Rowling, said: "I'm delighted to be part of a publishing initiative that gives blind and partially sighted children and adults the same reading opportunities as sighted book lovers." The Royal National Institute of the Blind says more than 95% of books are never published in a format that is accessible to blind people. "The right to read is often denied to people just because they're blind," said RNIB head of products and publications, John Godber. "This is partly due to technology, and most publishers not realising that blind and partially sighted people want to read books." He says publishers as well as the government have a shared responsibility to improve the situation.
As part of the Right to Read Alliance, the RNIB worked closely with Rowling and her publishers, Bloomsbury, to ensure the book was available in other formats. Bloomsbury will publish the standard and large print versions on 16 July while the RNIB will deal with the Braille edition. One blind Potter fan -- 10-year-old Richard Wheatley from South London -- said he was "really excited" at the thought of being able to read the book by himself. "Last time I had to get my mum to read it to me and it took two months to finish," he said. "This time, I can get it as soon as my friends at school do, and even read it in the car and in bed at night when I'm supposed to be asleep."

Kudos to the Right to Read Alliance, Ms. Rowling and Bloomsbury for making this happen.