At our recent Low Vision Support Group meeting we saw a demonstration of this fantastic little audio player. This is another innovation available for Blind Low Vision New Zealand (BLVNZ) Members, aimed to improve accessibility to the huge library of audio books.

Back in the 1980s when my grandmother listened to audiobooks from the Foundation for the Blind, these came as cassettes used on a player - all supplied as part of the service. The challenge was then, and is still today, how to select books from the catalogue when you cannot read. For my Gran, the answer was a reading friend. She would read through the printed list and make a number of selections/choices.

Audio player technology has undergone quite a few upgrades since those days, including Daisy Players, and more recently Alexa Smart Speakers. These are a great improvement in accessibility, and a digital library is more immediate too. The Alexa is operated with voice commands, and has many other helpful applications like setting reminders, and telling the time. However trying to browse and select titles using only voice commands is a real challenge.

The new Envoy Connect is another update. This compact unit, is solar powered and has a very simple tactile, six button keypad, making it ideal for blind and low vision users.

The problem of how to find books to read still remains. Low Vision Users need help to select books from the catalogue. This can be friend or family. Or here in Warkworth we have the wonderful Katie Mitchell who is the Community Engagement Library Assistant at Warkworth Library. Katie and her team of volunteers help select titiles and queue these up ready for download to the Envoy.