By Buffalo City Reporter
9 June 2008

SOUTH Africa’s first library for visually impaired and blind people opened in Buffalo City on Friday, 6 June. The fully accessible Library for the Disabled in East London was opened by the Centre for Municipal Research and Advice (CMRA).

Located within the East London Central Library, the new library has state of the art equipment, to be used by visually impaired people. Speaking about the library and its benefits, the CMRA adviser on disability programmes, Henrietta Zulu, said it would give visually impaired people access to information.

“We must make as much noise as possible about this library. It’s the first of its kind in South Africa. We want to pilot it here in Buffalo City and if it is successful we will be able to open other libraries throughout the country.

“One of the most important things for a person is to have is access to information, and this facility will provide that opportunity for the blind and visually impaired.”

She urged the City’s councillors to ensure that people in their wards knew about the library so that they could use it. The library would keep statistics on the number of people using its services.

“We will also train the library staff for them to be able to assist people who cannot use the equipment,” she said.

This equipment includes a screen, computer, scanner, Perkings Braille, Merman machine and Digital Accessible Information System (Daisy) format. The Daisy format is available online, on CD and in Braille.

“When using the Merman, a person can put [on] a book that they want to [read] and use the screen to enlarge the words in the book. It’s a wonderful tool,” she said.

The City’s portfolio head for constituency, public participation and special programmes, Andile Ntoni, was delighted that a library for the disabled was launched in Buffalo City.

“We will make sure that we work with other departments to monitor the progress of this facility.”

His colleague, the portfolio head of community services, Mankomo Pango, said that his directorate would ensure that the library was well used.

“We want to make sure that this is used to the fullest and does not become a white elephant. We know that information means power for our people and the visually impaired will be able to study further and improve their lives.”