History of the library
Our Library has a rich history.
Beginnings
In the 1890s the RNZFB (then known as the Jubilee Institute for the Blind) started buying braille books from overseas to meet the needs of the children in its school and, over time, the recreational reading interests of adults. In the 1930s, once the Wellington Braille Club had been founded, the Library was able to obtain locally produced titles.
Talking books
Talking books were introduced in New Zealand in 1937. These books were in the form of gramophone records.
Books on tape
By the start of the 1960s the RNZFB had decided to replace its hard-to-handle records with talking books on tape, and the new players and books were in use by the end of 1961. Initially the cassette was a metal canister squared at one end and rounded at the other. It measured about 9 inches by 10 inches and was over 2 inches deep. The machine that played it was the size of an old gramophone, but had spindles to wind the tape rather than an arm and needle. In 1969 the Foundation decided to take advantage of the smaller and lighter cassette England had begun using the year before. This newer cassette could still hold up to six tracks and offer up to twelve hours reading, but allowed faster copying and enabled the tape to be pre-indexed at the start of sections in the text.
Cyril White
A key figure in the introduction of the tape-based technology was Cyril White. He had already been the designer and maker of locally produced gramophone-style talking book machines. Mr White was a Foundation member and trustee, and would later become the head librarian.
In May 1961 Cyril White travelled to London as the technical advisor charged to guide the change from record to cassette. He spent time at the RNIB recording studios, dubbing room, and engineering section before going on to the Nuffield Talking Book Library. Mr White saw the whole operation from selecting titles to be recorded, assigning suitable narrators, copying books from master tapes to cassettes, the allocation, distribution, and repair of talking book machines, and the general circulation of the books themselves.
The big innovation was the copying machine. The ability to copy at high speed up to one dozen copies of a book meant that for the first time a library for the blind might hope to meet the demand for its most popular titles.
Talking book studios open
In 1966 the RNZFB opened its own talking book studios in Parnell. This for the first time enabled the recording of books published in New Zealand.
A new cassette format
The 1980s saw the Library change its talking book format for the fourth time. The new cassette format and reading machines was a big logistical exercise. In February 1988 the Manager of Library Services, Mary Schnackenberg, was able to report that over three years 2,746 titles had been transferred from the former cassette format to the four track format. Over the next few months a further 81 titles were transferred. Although the old and the new systems had been overlapped as the four track system was introduced around the country, by early 1988 no readers were left on the old system.
Audio magazines
In April 1987 the Library took responsibility for the audio magazine service that had been operated by the Association of Blind Citizens (then the New Zealand Association of the Blind and Partially Blind). The RNZFB is still the only agency in New Zealand recording selections from magazines.
Cassette to Digital project
Today, we are embarking on a project to transfer the Library to a state-of-the-art digital service. The cassette-based talking book system the RNZFB has depended on is fast becoming obsolete. This has left us with no option but to urgently upgrade to more current technologies.
We are currently providing a digital service to a pilot group of members, who are receiving their books and magazines on CD. These talking book CDs operate using DAISY (Digital Accessible Information System) software. This enables readers to navigate by page number or chapter, and insert bookmarks in much the same way that sighted readers handle print books. Fore more information please visit the Daisy Consortium website.
