Friday, March 02, 2012

AUDIO BOOK LIFELINE

The learning journey continues...

I was shocked to read today about Brighton Council, here in the UK, scrapping their talking book service as a cost cutting measure.

 
What is so upsetting about this move, is the fact that many people who have sight problems find great comfort from such services, as it often offers an insight into a world that they cannot see well or for some, not at all.

My late father-in-law, my Godmother and now as was recently reported, the actress Dame Judi Dench, are all sufferers at the hands of (Age-related) Macular Degeneration  (AMD).  From my own personal experience watching family members trying to cope with this, it was clear that dependence on others senses was paramount to the quality of their lives.

For a Council to take away such a vital service is ludicrous.  As a Voice-Over and someone who strongly supports the creation and development of audio books - and not just for those with sight difficulties - I fail to see how this saving helps other than puts back a small amount into the budget funds.  What I think really upsets me is that I am not convinced that the public sector purse, left in the hands of local Councils, is always well managed at all.  Cutting a vital service like this and then mismanagement and wastage of financial resources elsewhere, makes this decision even more unacceptable and hard to justify.

Józefa VO

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