A journey of imagination

THE new National Library for Blind Children was officially opened by rugby pundit and child author, Brent Pope, at ChildVision in Drumcondra last week.

Funded by the Community Fund of the Bon Secours Hospital, Glasnevin, and legal firm Mason Hayes & Curran, the new library is a cutting-edge sensory space dedicated to the promotion of literacy and imagination.

Chief Executive of ChildVision, Brian Allen, says the new facility is a space that will ignite a journey of imagination for visually impaired children – and it’s a welcome replacement for the old library.

“The old library was a small, very dark, unattractive room with a low ceiling and poor insulation,” he explained.

“It was not at all befitting a library within the National Education Centre for Blind Children where braille and literacy is at the heart of learning and exploration for children who will only see the world through an inspired imagination.”

The colours in the new library carry through the bright positivity reflected in ChildVision’s logo and are designed to help the visually impaired with greater contrast between the spaces.

Architects, Hanley Taite, brought the garden and animals, located just outside the library, into the design. A treehouse appears in the top right hand corner, which is a zone for storytelling.

A level down a picnic area with artificial grass allows the children to sit or lie on the floor surrounded by tactile materials. A wheelchair ramp with large portholes divides the space and graphics of native wildlife decorate the walls of the ramp.

Hospital Manager at the Bon Secours Glasnevin, Mike Tonery, explained why they decided to back the library project.

“ChildVision is less than a mile from the front door of our hospital,” he said.

“For nearly 160 years their site has been dedicated to the care and education of the blind in Ireland. The complex disabilities of many of the children attending ChildVision now require such creative therapeutic intervention to access their world.

“The new space needed to be wheelchair friendly and have a high level of sensorial appeal, with different distinct spaces allowing for children with noise sensitivity to move away from a bigger group.

“This was a very deserving project for our community fund, teaching us a lot about one of our oldest and closest charities.”

ChildVision provides transcripts of textbooks in braille, large print and digital files for all children with a registered visual impairment attending mainstream school in Ireland.

Last year 3,502 full titles were transcribed. The children’s library lends fiction and other titles in braille, large print and digital formats via post and membership is free. There are currently 750 members throughout Ireland.