News:

Libraries:

  • Fear for the future of libraries: “in a debate at the National Education Union (NUT section) annual conference in Brighton, delegates raised concerns about a “shocking hammering” of library services in the last decade, warning that public libraries are often “armbands” for those in society who are struggling, and “sanity-savers” for parents who need somewhere to take their children” further details
  • Children are swiping books to turn pages: disturbing trend in whichchildren are confusing books with mobile phones and iPads. details
  • History of Place: a three-year HLF funded project which explores the lives of deaf and disabled people through eight historic locations (Bulletin 238). Research is continuing and the History of Place team have added more resources to their website see here

There are also details about the exhibition at the V&A on 10 Feb – 21 Oct 2018. “At the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the display will focus on the design of a number of different buildings that have been shaped by the needs of deaf and disabled people, including a deaf church, a medieval almshouse, a contemporary architect-designed private house for a disabled client and items from the archive of pioneering disability activists Maggie and Ken Davis, whose determination and vision saw them successfully commission in the 1970s the first council housing that allowed disabled people to live independently outside of institutionalised care.”further details

  • Library cuts impact on the homeless: Guardianarticle about the impact of library cuts on some of the most vulnerable in society details here
  • National Libraries Taskforce: The next steps for the Libraries Taskforce are outlined here Plus a six month progress report can be found here
  • Arts Council: Ciara Eastell, Chief Executive of Libraries Unlimited, is appointed as a General Council Member to the Arts Council details

International:

  • Your library card can get you a drone, violin or sewing machine: libraries in Orange County, California have up to 37 non-standard items that can be borrowed including a bubble machine, commercial kitchen mixer and drones. It is part of a trend of adding non-traditional resources to help people have fun, make their lives easier and meet community needs full details
  • Canada; libraries on Prince Edward Island loan sensory kits: sensory kits are loaned to help people affected by autism, Alzheimer’s disease, ADHD, dementia and other sensitivities details

Sight, vision and disability issues:

  • Marrakesh Treaty: “The Marrakesh Treaty, now known as the Marrakesh VIP Treaty (MVT), was adopted in Marrakesh, Morocco, on June 27, 2013. Its primary purpose is to ensure the availability of accessible published works for people who are visually impaired and to mandate this availability in the copyright laws of each participating country. For this treaty to be ratified, 20 countries were required to sign it. To date, there are 92 countries participating, but only 35 are actively enforcing it or have committed to do so”.

Full article here

  • Growing up with cerebral visual impairment: the mother of a son who has cerebral visual impairment talks about what it’s been like learning to live with his condition details
  • A parent of a visually impaired child reviews the Osmo Explorer Kit to help children learn while they are playing article
  • An introduction to RNIB Bookshare: RNIB Bookshare provides textbooks and materials to support the UK curriculum. It offers a range of accessible formats that can be read electronically or adapted to suit the personal reading needs of learners. In this video Mary Ellen Flynn, a teacher at Priestley Smith Specialist School, and some of her learners, talk about how the service benefits them. details
  • Research into stem cell technology to halt vision loss: Californiastudy which usesstem cells to restore vision for sufferers of macula degeneration. full detailsfurther details
  • California: Latest devices to help blind students: details here also latest technologies to improve sight
  • New version of Dolphin easy-reader app released: version 2 of the reading app for iOS and Android is available to download now. details

PhD Opportunity:

  • Fully funded PhD scholarship in the White Rose Network:Electronic Soundscapes

Supervisors: Graeme Gooday (University of Leeds), and Esme Cleall (University of Sheffield).

Our preliminary descriptor for this project is as follows; this will be developed in the first six month of the PhD award via a comprehensive, guided literature review:

New media technologies have not always brought universal benefits. Some indeed have had distinctly disabling effects on social participation and communication. This project looks at the challenges created by the new aural technologies of telephone, radio and ‘talkie’ movies that added to the soundscapes of British life for many by World War 2. While some of the blind population could access the new ‘spoken word’ culture of radio through theBritish Wireless for the Blind Fundfounded in 1928,these aural innovations excluded Deaf people and made participation problematic for hard of hearing people. Numerous hearing aid manufacturers marketed a new generation of electronic devices as a technical fix for the challenges involved, but the experiences of many who tried to use these hearing aids, and the controversies around the advertising of them, has never been fully documented. The PhD student on this project would be invited to explore any aspects that interested them in the broader historical context of differentiated experiences of audio technologies. Available research resources include theAction on Hearing Loss Library, which holds both the archives of the National Institute for the Deaf, its records of regional Hard of Hearing Clubs and the journals of various deaf organisations. Materials on the testing and advertising of hearing aids are available atBT Archives,The British Post Museum and ArchiveandtheHistory of Advertising Trustin Norfolk.

For further information please contact

Graeme Gooday:

Esme Cleall:

Application Closing Date: 5pm Friday 1 June

(Interviews have been provisionally scheduled for 4 July)

How to apply

Application is in two parts. An application cannot be considered unless BOTH PARTS are complete.

You must apply for a place of study at the University of Leeds, School of Philosophy, Religion & History of Science. If you have not done this yet, you can do this here

White Rose Studentship Application Form:

If you have any queries about completing the online application form, please contact the WRoCAH Office

Applicant Requirements

Applicants must:

  • Have at least a UK Upper Second Class Honours degree or equivalent. A Masters degree is desirable, or demonstration of equivalent experience.
  • Demonstrate a desire to participate fully in the ‘Electronic Soundscapes’ network and its activities.
  • Demonstrate a desire to engage with and benefit from the full WRoCAH cohort of students from across the three White Rose Universities (c. 80 students) at the same stage in their research, in a shared training and development programme.

Terms and Conditions

Each WRoCAH White Rose Networks Studentship is tenable for three years and students are expected to start in October 2018. As the coherence of the network is important, deferrals will not be permitted.

The award will provide fees at theHome/EU rate and a stipendpaid at standard Research Council rates (£14,777) for the first year of study. The award is renewable for a second and third year of study subject to satisfactory academic progress according to each institution’s Policy on Research Degrees.

Successful students will also be eligible to apply to additional WRoCAH funding schemes for research support, training, student-led activities and knowledge exchange projects. All students will be required to spend one month with an external Partner organisation on a specific project to develop their employability skills.

ShareThe Vision is a partnership of UK libraries and library organisations that work together to improve the accessibility of library services for blind and other print disabled people.

More information is available from the Chair, Mark Freeman, or 01642 526481. Contributions for the bulletin can be sent to Mark at the email address above.

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