National Policies for Library Services to Visually Impaired and Other Print Handicapped Children.

This paper presents the results of a survey that investigated which countries follow the United Nations recommendations by having a national policy for library services to visually impaired and other print handicapped children. Questionnaires were distributed to the 78 members of the IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions) Section of Libraries for the Blind, and responses were received from 22 members, representing 17 countries. Results showed that Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, South Africa, Sweden, and the United States have adopted such a national policy. The following criteria were used to characterize a national policy: legislation; goal of production/criteria for selection; information such as union catalogs or national bibliographies; lending by a library network; cooperation with schools for the visually handicapped; trained staff; and publicly funded services. Responding countries that lack a specific national policy for library services to visually impaired children were Belgium, Botswana, Canada, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. (MES)