Since 2022, the Koroška Central Library Dr. France Sušnik, Ravne na Koroškem, has been running a competence center for easy reading, due to the growing need for services for vulnerable target groups. Competence center for easy reading develops guidelines, prepares materials, and supports libraries in introducing these services. In June and July 2025, we conducted a survey among Slovenian public libraries and interviews with three librarians from the Koroška Central Library Dr. France Sušnik, Ravne na Koroškem, who are responsible for the competence center for easy reading. The survey aimed to find out how familiar librarians in Slovenian public libraries are with the concept of easy reading and the easy reading competence center, and how this knowledge affects their services for readers with special needs. Through interviews, we wanted to identify the main challenges in providing services, ways of adapting to users, and future development opportunities for the center. We found that librarians in Slovenian public libraries are familiar with the basic concepts of easy reading, but often lack in-depth knowledge and access to guidelines. The interviewees highlighted the lack of staff, space, and system support as the main obstacles, with activities often based on personal initiative. Nevertheless, they are highly motivated and want additional training. The competence center operates on the principle of involving users in the design of services for them, but lacks a systematic system for collecting user feedback. In the future, the competence center will strive for greater visibility, national projects, training, and closer cooperation with publishers and state institutions. Libraries are recognized as key players in making information accessible, but they need more guidance, promotion, and systemic support.
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