Do you love reading?
2 million people in the UK are still denied this pleasure...

2008 is the Government's National Year of Reading, but did you know that 96% of books are not made available to the two million visually impaired people in the UK?

The author of the popular Harry Potter series, JK Rowling, has set a precedent over the last few years. 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince' (the sixth book) was the first ever novel in the UK to be published in Braille and large print on the same day as the standard print version, and for the same price. The seventh book 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' then went on to become the first ever novel in the UK to go on sale in Braille, large print and also audio on the same day as the standard print version.

However, unfortunately, a staggering 96% of books are still never made available in large print, audio, electronic format or Braille for visually impaired readers. And the 4% that are transcribed are not usually available for months or even years after the standard print version is released. Also, audio books that are available commercially are often several times more expensive than the standard print, and are abridged.

A2i would like to make our customers aware of the Right to Read Alliance, which includes over 20 organisations, which hopes to raise awareness of the reduced number of books available to blind and visually impaired people.

If you would like to support their actions please go to http://www.rnib.org.uk/rtr/signup.php and add you name to the Right to Read campaign.

A2i aims to provide visually impaired people with access to information as quickly as possible, and one of our main company aims is therefore to provide a fast turnaround time for our transcription service - usually just three working days to dispatch. We now also offer a 24 hour dispatch option for some documents

For more information please visit our website and look at our
Instant Service

The Paralympics 2008 and Visually Impaired Athletes

Following Great Britain's huge success at the Olympics this month, our Paralympic athletes are hoping to win further medals in Beijing in September. Here is a quick summary of the sports played by Visually Impaired competitors...

The 2008 Paralympics will be held in Beijing from September 6 to 17 2008.
Great Britain is sending a squad of 206 athletes who will compete in 18 of the 20 Paralympic sports - our biggest team to date. Altogether 148 countries will take part.

Here is a summary of some of the sports that visually impaired athletes will contest:

Cycling: athletes with a visual impairment compete on tandem bicycles, both Road and Track, with a sighted pilot.

Goalball: athletes wear "black out" masks to ensure all participants can compete equally.

Equestrian: Riders compete in individual competitions and team tests.

Judo: participants are divided into weight categories in the same way as able-bodied judo athletes.

Athletics: A number of events in which classes 11, 12 and 13 cover the different levels of visual impairment.

Football 5-a-Side: there are three classifications for visually impaired competitors, based on the varying levels of visual impairment - classes B1, B2, B3. Goalkeepers may be sighted but must not have been registered with FIFA in the last five years.

Judo: Visually impaired athletes compete in events in various body weight categories and are classified according to three levels of visual impairment:
B1, B2 and B3.

Sailing: Athletes with a visual impairment are placed into one of three competition classes, based on their visual acuity and field of vision.

Shooting: SH3 classification is for Rifle competitors with visual impairment.

Swimming: Events are 50m, 100m and 400m Freestyle; 100m Backstroke; 100m Breaststroke; 100m Butterfly; 200m Individual Medley; 4x100m Freestyle Relay and 4x100m Medley Relay. Athletes with a visual impairment are classified into three classes, according to the degree of vision loss.

You can watch the Paralympics daily midweek on BBC2 between 7pm and 8pm. There will be live terrestrial/red button coverage at the weekends. The opening and closing ceremonies will be broadcast live and programmes will be available on BBC iPlayer. In addition, there will be coverage on BBC Radio 5.

For further information please visit the British Paralympic Association (BPA) website http://www.paralympics.org.uk/default.asp