Books: Reading options for people with sight loss

Large print refers to books in which the print size is larger than standard size, and there is more spacing and the words are easier to see compared with books in standard print.

You can buy large print books from mainstream retailers. Some libraries also offer large print books.

Usually, if a book is large print, this will be clearly stated as part of the book’s title, for example you might see ‘large print edition’ in brackets.

Large print books are a great option for those with low vision who don’t want to use additional products to access standard print books or use low vision settings to access them electronically. However, not all books are available in large print, and finding lists of books specifically in large print isn’t the easiest.

Braille books are exactly as described: physical books in braille. RNIB offers the largest selection of braille books in the UK, for both adults and children.

Another known source of braille books in the UK is Clear Vision, a lending library that specifically produces books for children.

You can also obtain braille books second-hand. Often people may advertise them in places such as Facebook groups and mailing lists.

Braille books are good for those who enjoy braille reading and don’t want to rely on reading braille electronically. However, they usually come in multiple volumes, so one print novel could be seven braille books. Braille books are also larger than a lot of print books: A4 size.

This means that they aren’t the most portable, so they aren’t the easiest to transport. They also take up a lot of space so aren’t easy to store.

On top of that, options for braille books are very limited. There’s only a very small selection of books available in braille.

Standard print books can also be an option for people with sight loss.

If you have low vision, you may choose to use an optical or electronic magnifier when reading. There are many different options available. These include portable options, as well as ones that stay on a desk and you place the book underneath. You can buy magnifiers from providers including Sight And Sound Technology and RNIB, or you may be able to obtain an optical magnifier through the low vision clinic.

Magnifiers are a great way for people with low vision to access standard print books. This removes the barrier of only having certain options available. There are also both low-tech and high-tech magnifiers available, so there are different options depending on your confidence with technology, and budget. Also, using a magnifier means you can read books in a way that suits you and your level of vision. You can magnify the text and other content as much or as little as you need.

Some of the downsides: magnification doesn’t suit all people with sight loss, for example those with no useful vision. On top of that, you’re using another device in conjunction with the book which may not be preferable for some people who want to use reading to completely escape from technology.

You can use a device such as a smartphone, smart glasses or specialist scanning device to read books. This is thanks to Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and/or Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities.

Once you’ve captured or scanned the text, you can then access it either through it being read aloud or on-screen, depending on the device you’re using. Depending on your set-up, you may also be able to save what you’ve scanned to read later.

How you scan or capture the text in the book will depend on the device and app you’re using. Some you just place the device in front of the text and it will be read aloud. Others you either capture or scan the text and the resulting output will be accessible to you once the processing has finished. Some devices and apps work completely offline meaning that text is processed on-device. Other set-ups require an internet connection as the text is processed externally in the cloud.

Using this technology can help you access print books if you have no other means of accessing what you want to read, for example if you can’t use magnification or the book isn’t available in other formats. However, it isn’t the most efficient. You have to scan or capture each page individually in order to then be able to read the book. Further to that, if you can’t easily see the text in the book, you may end up not scanning or capturing all the text without realising, so you end up not actually reading all the text.

Text-to-speech means that text on-screen is converted into speech so that what is on-screen is read aloud.

This can be through screen readers. Popular screen readers include VoiceOver on Apple products; TalkBack on Android devices; VoiceView on Amazon tablets and Kindle e-readers; and Narrator, JAWS and NVDA on Windows.

Screen readers are software that read everything that’s on-screen, and often alter how you interact with your device, for example different touchscreen gestures, and/or keyboard shortcuts.

Screen readers are compatible with popular eBook apps like Kindle and Apple Books, and commonly used web browsers like Microsoft Edge and Safari.

Please note that if using a Kindle e-reader, VoiceView only works when using a Bluetooth audio device such as a headset or speaker.

As well as screen readers, other text-to-speech options include AssistiveReader built into Kindle (which reads the book aloud and highlights words as they’re spoken, providing the book supports Enhanced Typesetting), and the spoken content features of Apple and Android devices which enable you to hear the screen read aloud when needed.

Please note that if using a kindle e-reader, only certain models support AssistiveReader.

Text-to-speech means being able to listen to eBooks, without actually downloading an audiobook. However, using this option means reading with synthesised speech, which may not provide the same experience as reading an audiobook featuring a human narrator.

Text-to-speech is a great option no matter your level of vision. The many options available mean you can use it whether you use a screen reader full-time, or only text-to-speech in certain scenarios, for example when reading long passages of text.

Many devices allow you to connect refreshable braille displays via USB or Bluetooth. This then means that, providing you have a screen reader enabled that supports braille, you can read whatever’s on-screen in braille. You can also use your braille display to navigate and interact with your device. Braille displays feature controls for inputting text and interacting with your device.

This means being able to read books using braille. It gives you the option to read books in braille, even those not available as a physical braille book.

Braille displays are compatible with devices including Apple products, Android phones and tablets, Windows devices and Amazon Fire tablets. Please note that while Kindle e-readers feature VoiceView screen reader, they’re not compatible with braille displays.

You can also purchase a braille notetaker which you can use as a standalone device. Depending on the notetaker you buy, you can install external apps, including those for reading eBooks.

One downside of braille is that most braille displays are expensive. Often blind people have relied on external funding to purchase a braille display. Further to that, it’s worth checking exactly which braille displays are compatible with the different devices, as some braille displays work better with some devices than others.

If you have low vision, there are various options available to you to make reading eBooks easier. These include enabling features on your device to make it easier to see. These vary depending on the device you’re using.

If you use Apple products, options include Zoom, Larger Text and Invert Colours. On Android, options include Magnification, change font size and display size, and Colour Correction. Amazon Fire tablets feature a screen magnifier, colour correction and colour inversion, and options to change display size and font size. Kindle e-readers give you the option to change font size, colour style and how text is displayed.

Windows has a built-in magnifier, options to adjust text size, and options to apply colour filters and adjust colour contrast. You can also install third-party software including ZoomText.

If reading a Kindle book, you can adjust options through the Reading Settings, for example changing font, font size, and spacing.

Low vision settings enable you to adjust options so that you can customise the book to suit your specific needs and preferences. This means you don’t have to rely on a book being available in a specific font size, and you can experiment with different options to find what works for you.

Low vision options give you plenty of scope to read books however you choose, with options to change settings on the fly.

The device you’re using will determine the specific options available and how to enable them.