Saturday, October 13, 2012

Tape Aids for the Blind

I went to visit this great organisation and was amazed by the work that they do. It is so well run with each person having a responsibility for their part of the process in making the different tapes and the storage of them. I know one of the volunteers that works at the organisation. She listens to the tapes and reads the book at the same time to make sure it has been recorded correctly. I would advise people to either go visit, volunteer or let people know about the great things that they are doing.


Tape Aids for the Blind Taken From http://www.tapeaids.com/

Academic and Vocational

Tape Aids for the Blind assists innumerable students throughout South Africa with the production of recorded textbooks and study material at all academic levels. Universities, Technikons, colleges and all other educational institutions are aware of the services offered by us and close contact is maintained with lecturers and student advisers to ensure that the print-handicapped student is provided with appropriate material. Although these recordings are not made in our soundproof studios, they are produced by volunteers who are experts in their particular field. An express home reading service is also extended to any member who has special needs.

Production

Every day. We have 27 soundproof studios around the country, each one with state-of-the-art equipment.
Audio books are narrated and recorded in our own studios, by teams of trained volunteers and cover a wide range of subjects. Recreational and educational books both for adults and children are produced in all 11 languages of South Africa. New titles are added to our collection at a rate of approximately 2000 per year. Books are chosen by a book selection committee and copyright permission is obtained from publishers and literary agents. Great care is taken to match the voice to the book - wherever possible the voice is matched to the content and style of the book. Volunteer teams assist in the various stages needed to produce accurate, well modulated tapes, and a master tape is created. 

The master tape collection - which now numbers more than 37 000 titles - is stored in climatically controlled conditions, so that a copy can be made whenever necessary. Fast copying equipment ensures that multiple copies of taped books can be made on demand. Our Library members are able to request us to obtain information for them from the Internet. This is accessed, downloaded and recorded for them as part of our free service. 

Services

Just like any public library, we lend thousands of books to our members. The difference being, our books travel by freepost to destinations around the country. We dispatch around 2 000 books and magazines on tape each day. Our members borrow, free of charge, books of every classification - from best-sellers to classics, mysteries, westerns, thrillers, poetry, biographies, religious literature and children’s books. They also borrow popular magazines in recorded format. We send out some 30 000 magazine cassettes every month. 

As part of our outreach campaign to provide taped books to all blind and print-handicapped South Africans, we supply mini-libraries of audio books to homes for the aged, hospitals, hospices and schools for the mentally and physically disabled. The audio books are used for individual or group listening. Our mini-libraries can be customized to suit particular groups, taking into account their specific needs, language and age. We offer a Tape Aids Continuing Education Programme, a free service that provides on tape textbooks, tutorials, prescribed works and all other academic material required by blind and print-handicapped students. 

Contact Details

Durban Head Office
Tape Aids House
14 Mitchell Crescent, Durban
Tel: (031) 309 4800
E-mail: director@tapeaids.org.za

Johannesburg
148, 9th Avenue
Highlands North, 2192
Tel: (011) 786 6130
E-mail: jhbtablib@tapeaids.org.za



Cape Town
9 Bollihope Crescent
Mowbray, 7700
Tel: (021) 689 5983/4
E-mail: cttabman@tapeaids.org.za

Bloemfontein
PO Box 43603
HEUWELSIG
9332
Tel: 082 567 6541
E-mail: jdwgerber@isat.co.za



East London
18 Muir Street
Southernwood, 5201
Tel: (043) 722 7615
E-mail: tapeaidsel@tapeaids.org.za

Pretoria
1298 Park Street East
Hatfield, 0083
Tel: (012) 362 5414/5/6/7
E-mail: ptatablib@tapeaids.org.za



Port Elizabeth
44 Longwy Road
Lorraine, Port Elizabeth
6008
Tel: 041 379 2031
E-mail: tapeaidspe@gmail.com

Midlands Service Centre
Shop B1B Fairways on Main,
45 Main Road
Howick, 3290
Tel: (033) 330 4519
E-mail: tapeaidsmidlands@gmail.com



Village of happiness
Hibiscus House
Village of Happiness
Margate, 4280
Tel: (039) 312 5000 Ext. 263


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