NSW government announces funding for Vision Australia Library

The NSW government has announced $500,000 funding per year for Vision Australia’s library service, starting in 2020.

Administered by the State Library of NSW and commencing 1 July 2019, the funding will allow Vision Australia to deliver a greater selection of audiobook and braille titles to the 126,000 people in NSW with blindness, low vision or a print disability.

The Vision Australia Library currently provides access to more than 43,000 titles in audio or braille, including fiction and nonfiction books, as well as access to newspapers, journals, podcasts, sport fixtures and magazines. ‘For many thousands of our clients, access to the library is what helps keep them informed, entertained and educated,’ said Vision Australia CEO Ron Hooton.

NSW State Librarian John Vallance welcomed the partnership with Vision Australia, which complements programs and services provided by the State Library. ‘It is an important step to becoming a more inclusive community,’ he said. ‘Providing equal access to information services to all residents of NSW is at the heart of the library’s purpose.’

The funding adds to the $60 million boost to public libraries over four years that the NSW Government announced in August last year, following a campaign by the NSW Public Libraries Association and local governments to increase library funding in the state.

Category: Library news