Leading the blind
Sir: In your issue of 11 July you printed a letter from Mr House of Collins Publishers, stating that tapes of Alistair MacLean's books are available through the Royal National Institute for the Blind. I made inquiries at the RNIB and they have 13 Alistair MacLean titles, six of which have been specifically refused to us; but three others, refused to us, are not on their list. The National Listening Library, which caters for the Handicapped, has no Alistair MacLean titles available at the moment though a few are on their list.
It was, I believe, in 1978 that EMI (as well as Calibre) informed Messrs Collins that they had no objection to Calibre recording books for which they (EMI) held exclusive licences; but on 22 November of that year I was informed by Collins that: 'in cases where tapes have been made by, for example, EMI, we do not wish to have another one available, regardless of the feelings of such a recording company'.
In a letter to Messrs Collins dated 27 June 1981 I asked if there was any possibility of getting permission to record Alistair MacLean's latest book River of Death, but I was told there was `no chance'.
Frances Berendt Calibre, Aylesbury, Bucks
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