Reading interest and information needs of persons with visual impairment in Nigeria

Abstract

Information materials can only become usable to persons with visual impairment when they are transcribed into alternative formats. Over time, the transcription and provision of alternative formats in Nigeria by libraries has not been based on users’ reading interest and information needs. This study delves into the reading interests and information needs of persons with visual impairment in Nigeria. Survey research design was adopted and the study purposively focused on southwestern Nigeria. Using stratified proportionate random sampling techniques, data was gathered by questionnaires namely the Visually Impaired Adult Questionnaire VIAQ (= 0.75) and Visually Impaired Student Questionnaire VISQ (= 0.78) from fourteen selected libraries stratified into non-governmental, public, tertiary institutions and secondary schools. Of the 563 copies of the questionnaire that were administered, 401 (71.3%) were successfully completed and used for the study. The study found that adults with visual impairment had high reading interests in religious, business, and entertainment materials, among others. Secondary school respondents had high reading interest in art subjects, reference materials, manuals and animal story materials. Both respondents showed high information needs in expected and relevant areas. Braille materials (58.3%) are the most preferred source of information generally. Adult respondents preferred Braille (72.4%), while the secondary school respondents preferred Talking books/audio recordings (55%). Transcription and provision of information materials for the visually impaired through libraries should be based on knowledge of their reading interest and information needs

The use of digital talking books by people with print disabilities: a literature review

“…However, an underlying problem regarding social inclusion seems to be implied in Adetoro's (2010) discussion. He also highlights the fact that the younger study participants prefer the talking book format to Braille books.…”

“…Half of the studies reviewed provide some insights into the social settings in which the use of talking books takes place. The preconditions for the production, dissemination, and use of talking books seem to differ between countries such as Nigeria (Adetoro, 2010;, New Zealand (Nasmith and Parkinson, 2008), the USA (Miller, 1997), Norway (Nes, 2007), and Denmark (Pors, 2011). It would be reasonable to assume that socio-political conditions impact on the provision of talking books.…”

“…Most of the studies (apart from Adetoro, 2010;Miller, 1997;Pors, 2011) mainly concern the document architecture of talking books and the significance of different hardware and software for playing DAISY talking books. The earliest of these studies is by Sarah Morley and was published in 1998.…”

“…Of the studies that provide more in-depth accounts of the users, four concern people with visual impairments in Nigeria (Adetoro, 2010;, New Zealand (Nasmith and Parkinson, 2008), and the USA (Miller, 1997). 'Niran Adetoro's two survey-based studies give an overview of the reading preferences of adults and students with visual impairments in south-western Nigeria, as well as the format preferences of visually impaired students in the same region.…”

Adaptive behavior of children with visual impairment

“…Razlozi nekorišćenja odgovarajućeg medijuma za čitanje i pisanje slabovidih su visoka cena tiflotehničkih sredstava (opreme i softvera za uveličavanje štampanih sadržaja), nedostatak znanja i veština za upotrebu uveličavaju-ćih sredstava, neodovoljan obim uvećanih štampanih materijala na crnom tisku. Istraživanja pokazuju da među osobama sa oštećenjem vida postoje velike razlike u stepenu obučenosti za korišćenje savremenih tehnoloških sredstava (Adetoro, 2010). Preko 70% odraslih slepih osoba najradije čita materijal na Brajevom pismu, dok se većina srednjoškolaca pre odlučuje za zvučne knjige i audio zapise.…”