My Home Library

ClearVision’s Patron is author and former Children’s Laureate Anne Fine OBE. During her time as Laureate, Anne set up a scheme called My Home Library to encourage children to have their own little library at home. You can read more about it on Anne Fine's website which opens in a new tab here.

Anne wanted children who read braille to be able to have books of their own too. With support from fellow authors Jacqueline Wilson, J.K Rowling, Terry Pratchett and Philip Pullman and from the St James’ Place Foundation, she set up the ClearVision My Home Library Scheme: every braille-reading child who regularly uses ClearVision is automatically sent four free books of their very own to keep, plus brailled name labels for them to put inside. Titles have included classics such as Dear Zoo, The Library Lion, A Squash and a Squeeze and We’re Going On A Bear Hunt, as well as board books for our youngest borrowers.

The Scheme's still going strong today -recent funders have includes the Siobhan Dowd Trust and the Ulverscroft Foundation- and still vitally important. Sighted children can pick books from any bookshop or charity shop, but for children who need print and braille together, there is nothing on the shelves; for most, their My Home Library books are the only such books they'll ever own. We're very proud to be able to provide them as well as our library.