By Joshua Robinson – 

Returning for the first two weeks of June, HiVis allows libraries across the UK to highlight services and support for those with a vision impairment.

Share the Vision, the library charity that organises HiVis will be asking colleagues across all sectors to concentrate on two core things:

• Sharing positive content and messages on social media.
• Organising and highlighting local activities, and provision across the libraries sector.

As in previous years, the charity provides digital assets in English and Welsh; for use on X/Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Content has been designed to allow local libraries to adapt to suit their needs. There is also a checklist to help you with your planning.

Libraries can engage with HiVis2024 via Twitter: @readingsight and using the tag #HiVis2024

Suggested Theme:

This year HiVis wants libraries to ‘ACT:’

• Celebrate ‘Accessibility’ in reading, library buildings, and engagement activities.
• Emphasise ‘Connection,’ blind and partially sighted people can feel isolated, or that their opportunities to get involved are limited. HiVis provides a chance to show that libraries have much to offer.
• Highlight the ‘Tactile’ whether it be it Braille, other tactile books, guiding maps or signage, or an activity focused on touch rather than vision.

What Can Libraries Do?

Libraries across the UK can highlight and celebrate all they do to help people with vision and/or print impairments access and connect to the reading services and formats that suit them best.

Share the Vision encourages libraries to put on events and activities across the fortnight and raise awareness of this on social media.

Ideas for Activities:

• Run a promotion with staff, volunteers, and/or customers, focusing on accessible provision, and other national specialist services that are freely available.
• Highlight the accessible stock that libraries have in their collections: large print, audio/talking books, Braille, tactile, e-book/audio/magazines, etc.
• Raise awareness of libraries’ freely accessible digital provision (content, software/hardware, services, online support sessions, etc.).
• Invite local ‘sight loss’ or disability groups and partner organisations, to talk about the work they do, or to deliver an activity during the fortnight.
• Feature any accessible book groups or other ‘social’ sessions taking place in libraries.

About Share the Vision:

Share the Vision is a coalition of UK organisations that work together to improve the quality, availability, and accessibility of library services for visually impaired and print-disabled people. Their partners include ASCEL, the British Library, Calibre Audio Library, ClearVision, Libraries Connected, and RNIB.

Together they have produced the Reading Sight website, which is a bank of resources to support anyone with an interest in helping people with sight loss to access reading and reading services.

Reading Sight is a one-stop shop for people working in libraries to find information that will help them to support visually and/or print impaired readers. This includes library managers, as well as front line staff, teachers, and volunteers.

To learn more, please click here.