To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had with local authority library services on the migration of provision for the blind and partially sighted from a tape-based system to cd-rom or a use of computers for the delivery of talking book services. (101407)

Responsibility for service provision policy for public libraries rests at a local level, where local management are in the best position to judge the particular needs of the communities they serve.

This includes decisions on provision for visually impaired library users. Each local authority works to reflect the needs of its community based on an informed understanding of local requirements. This often means providing content in a variety of media to reflect the differing needs of visually impaired people in the area.