For people with dyslexia, libraries could be a daunting place but NPDC’s Puke Ariki is hoping to change that by offering a range of dyslexia-friendly books.

There are now around 300 titles on the shelves at Puke Ariki and our community libraries that are designed specifically for people with dyslexia and reluctant readers.

“We’d been approached from a few parents asking for the books, so we ran a trial at the community library in Ōākura last year which proved really successful, so we decided to roll them out across the network,” says Dyane Hosler, Libraries Manager.

She says the majority of these books cater for children or teens, but they also have some adult titles available – all of which are designed to assist the reader.

Effectively the books are laid out differently with some printed on yellow paper to make it easier on the eye or have more spacing between letters and lines while others use fonts and illustrations to make them easier to read.

“As a parent of a child with dyslexia I’ve seen first-hand how alternative options can help young people with their reading, for my son it was listening to online audiobooks on BorrowBox that helped him expand his vocabulary and his love of stories,” says Senior Library Collections Officer Charlotte Robertson.

These books are just one of ways NPDC libraries continue to evolve to meet the needs of local residents.

As well as large print titles for adults, our libraries offer of audio books and online e audio books that some reluctant readers or people with dyslexia prefer as it takes the stress away of trying to read.

Online audio books enable readers to re-size and change font type, including a specific Dyslexia-friendly font being an available option as is changing the background colour. Some apps also have online graphic novels for those who prefer picture queues rather than text.

We have a range of online book and audio collections via Borrowbox, Overdrive and Hoopla. Find out more in the digital library section at www.pukeariki.com

Fast Facts

• We have a collection of 62,973 eAudio and eBooks, including those on BorrowBox and Overdrive
• Circulation of eAudio and eBooks annually – 13,6182 for the 2021-2022 financial year.
• There are 1948 adult and 638 junior audio book titles available on CD
• Puke Ariki sees more than 11,000 visitors weekly across all libraries.

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