Who is eligible to receive our service?

Any person who is blind, or has a degree of visual impairment which makes the use of conventional written or printed material impractical. Prior registration as a blind person is NOT required. Persons with other, non-visual disabilities causing similar difficulties in accessing material are also welcome to become listeners, although free postage would not be available in such cases.

Is there a charge for receiving the service?

No, the service is provided free to blind and visually impaired people, and only postage would be payable by listeners with non-visual disabilities. That said, we are a registered charity, and our Honorary Treasurer is always delighted to receive donations towards the cost of providing the service!

How does our service operate?

We record and copy each week’s cassette on a Thursday or Friday evening depending on the edition. Cassettes are posted out in padded pouches featuring a reversible address label; after use, the label is turned over and the pouch and cassette are posted back to our centre. Each listener is allocated two pouches—this allows the cassette to be retained for a few days before return, and also overcomes postal delays that may occur on occasions. The service operates for approximately 50 weeks of the year, with a short Christmas break.

What does the cassette contain?

The first side of 45 minutes holds items of local news and comment taken from daily and weekly papers in the Birmingham and Sutton Coldfield areas. A number of teams of volunteers take turns to select and read these news items under category headings such as education, crime, etc. The second side is produced in advance by separate magazine teams, and may contain such items as readings of poetry or drama, serialised travelogues, quizzes. what’s-on sections and occasional interviews (to name but a few!) An additional monthly tape of readings by a local drama group is also available.

What equipment is needed to play the cassette?

We record in mono on C90 compact cassettes—these are the standard cassette supplied by record shops and other high street outlets. They will play on music and hi-fi systems or stand-alone cassette players, as well as on 'Walkman' type players. They are not suitable for playing on dedicated talking book machines. Please note that we are unable to supply cassette players on loan - these are available from about £20 at outlets such as Dixons or Currys.

Does BTNA distribute information from other sources?

We endeavour to include in our output as much useful information as possible on subjects such as audio-described theatre performances or government information campaigns. Written material should be submitted in the first instance to the Honorary Secretary who will forward it to our magazine editors for a summary to be included in a future edition. It should be noted that there is sometimes a lead-time of up to six weeks before publication; therefore the maximum notice possible should be given. Cassette recordings should again be sent to the Honorary Secretary who will arrange for them to be publicised via our magazine tapes. Interested listeners may then apply direct to us for a copy tape to keep. We are not, however, able to undertake mass mailings of cassettes from outside sources.

How do I become a listener, or arrange this for someone else?

E-mail us, or phone our new listener co-ordinator, Joan Tuffley on 
+44 (0)121 608 4398.

What about cassettes in other languages?

What services are available elsewhere in the UK?