Barnet's talking newspaper has been an institution for a quarter of a century. But it badly needs volunteers, writes TOM SPENDER

Somewhere on the edge of today's media maelstrom, a small group of volunteers painstakingly provides Barnet's sight-impaired with a service they cannot find anywhere else the local news, delivered promptly to their doorstep on a cassette.

From a studio off Colney Hatch Lane in Muswell Hill supplied by Barnet Council, the 16-strong team of Barnet Borough Talking Newspaper (BBTN) has been recording news from local papers since 1977, when the service began with an audience of just 13.

The tapes, which all have to be individually tested once they have been duplicated, are sent out at 10pm on Thursday and are delivered free the next morning.

BBTN's audience has since swollen to 200, but reader and vice-chairman Margaret Berry, of Ventnor Drive in Totteridge, estimates there are about 2,000 sight-impaired in the borough. She is keen for BBTN to reach a wider audience.

"You are told about all sorts of things to help you have an independent life such as transport. It reassures people that there are things on offer for them and that they can use them," she said.

BBTN currently advertises its service in doctors' surgeries, social security offices and libraries.

"It sounds ironic to put up notices to people who can't read but we are hoping that their friends and relatives will read them," says Mrs Berry.

She is aware that to some, cassettes are an outdated medium. A computer to be installed at Barnet Library in Stapylton Road this summer will offer the talking paper and free training on how to use it in a move she hopes will be replicated across the borough.

In the meantime, those listeners who do not have a cassette player either because they are too poor or because they are no longer commonly used BBTN will provide one. Beyond this, the team of mainly elderly volunteers is limited in what it can do.

"We work on peanuts. If our recording machine broke down, we would have to give up. And for email and so on, we would need sophisticated recording equipment and expertise. But with volunteering it's only the older people who are willing to do it because they have the time," she says.

If you would like to volunteer your services or want more information on signing up to BBTN, call Margaret Berry on 020 8445 3922.