Subject: [Wash-at] FYI: Article - Online news for people with disabilities.
From: Ginette Perkins (gperkins@wa.easterseals.com)
Date: Thu Nov 18 2004 - 09:19:06 PST
Online news for people with disabilities.
Thursday, 18th November, 2004
Bill Gates stresses the value of Digital Technology and making such
information more accessible to people with vision or print disabilities
REDMOND, Wash., Nov. 15, 2004 -- Imagine what it would be like if more than
95 percent of all print publications, from textbooks to popular novels to
magazines and daily newspapers, were simply unavailable to you. For millions
of people worldwide who are blind or have other print disabilities such as
mobility impairments or learning disabilities that prevent them from using
traditional printed materials, that limitation is a fact of life. It doesn't
have to be that way.
Last week, the Microsoft Accessible Technology Group (ATG) hosted a
three-day international forum called, "Libraries for the Blind and Print
Disabled: Moving Toward a Digital Future," which attracted library
representatives from around the world and featured a keynote address by Bill
Gates, Microsoft chairman and chief software architect.
Gates talked about the advantages of digital technology over traditional
analog formats, such as audio tapes, explaining how digital technology can
lower the costs of converting and distributing content, enable libraries to
share information more easily, and make more information available to more
people. Gates also pointed out that digital formats often provide a better
user experience for people who are blind or have print disabilities,
allowing many different people to access the same information online
simultaneously and making it easy for individual users to locate specific
information within texts.
New strategies to improve library services
The forum, held November 8-10 on the Microsoft corporate campus in Redmond,
brought together approximately 75 representatives of libraries worldwide
that provide services and programs for people with print disabilities.
Attendees enthusiastically shared best practices and discussed new
strategies for improving their services and programs. The event was
cosponsored by the Digital Accessible Information System (DAISY) Consortium,
formed in 1996 to lead the worldwide transition from analog to Digital
Talking Books.
According to Madelyn Bryant McIntire, director of the Accessible Technology
Group at Microsoft, the purpose of the forum was to facilitate a focused
discussion among libraries that serve people who are blind or print
disabled, one that could lead to a unified strategy for transforming library
collections from analog formats into digital information that people could
access from their personal computers and hand-held devices, such as Pocket
PCs and Smartphones.
"Our goal for the event was to provide a forum where libraries could develop
a common vision of a future where there are no barriers, and start planning
for a digital technology infrastructure that would allow them to move from
analog to digital formats," she said "An integrated, collaborative, global
approach would increase exponentially the number of publications that are
available to people with print disabilities and enable them to access
information much faster."
Digital technology opens new opportunities
That's not just a theory. Two years ago, Gates accepted the Louis Braille
Gold Medal from the World Blind Union in recognition of Microsoft's
historical commitment to accessibility and its contribution to developing a
digital library system for the Canadian National Institute for the Blind
(CNIB). The medal is awarded to individuals who have made an exemplary
commitment to advancing the rights and freedoms of blind people around the
world.
The CNIB Digital Library is one of the world's most advanced libraries of
alternative content formats. When it debuted, more than 105,000 Canadians
who are blind or print disabled gained instant access to thousands of books
and magazines, and more than 40 newspapers. The new technology transformed
the way the CNIB distributes information and resources, and provides users
with more options for accessing content.
"For sighted people, technology makes access to information easier. For
people who are blind, like me, it makes access possible," said Jim Sanders,
president of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB). "Thanks
to the CNIB Digital Library, I can now read a newspaper the same day it hits
the newsstand, or read a best-selling book online instead of waiting for it
to arrive in the mail."
The CNIB Digital Library combines all of the library's online services,
including the CNIB catalogue and digital repository of books, in one
unified, bilingual, Internet gateway. The online library also includes the
Children's Discovery Portal, which enables children who are blind or
visually impaired to play online games, get homework help, sample or read
books online, and chat with other Canadian children who are blind.
Microsoft designed the CNIB Digital Library software to meet the
accessibility needs of people who are blind or visually impaired. It works
with leading assistive technology products, including screen readers and
braille keyboards. It also works well with any back-end system, which means
that other libraries could use the same software regardless of their
technology infrastructure.
Microsoft plans to make the technical specifications and components of the
CNIB distribution system available, free of charge, to any library for the
blind and print-disabled that wants to use it. Libraries will need to pay
for implementation and any customization they want to do to the original
solution, but the software itself will cost them nothing.
The DAISY standard for talking books and multimedia publications represents
another leading technology in this field that is respected and used by an
ever growing number of libraries, including The CNIB in Canada and Recording
for the Blind & Dyslexic in the United States. According to George Kerscher,
Secretary General of DAISY, the consortium's vision is to make all published
information available to people with print disabilities, at the same time
and at no greater cost, in an accessible feature-rich format that is also
easy to use.
"For a blind person reading a DAISY Talking Book, the functionality is very
similar to a sighted person reading a print volume," Kerscher said. "They
can easily get to chapters and sections, browse the text, skip the boring
bits, go back to the interesting items, and essentially do everything you do
with any complex print book."
Connecting special needs and mainstream issues
According to Gates, however, having the right technology is only part of the
solution.
"Microsoft's vision is one of empowerment for everyone," Gates said during
the question-and-answer session following his keynote. "Empowering people
who are blind or otherwise visually impaired includes ensuring that our
software incorporates a broad range of accessibility features and works well
with screen readers and other assistive technology devices. It also means
working with libraries and publishers around the world to eliminate barriers
that keep a lot of printed information beyond the reach of the visually
impaired."
Among the barriers standing in the way of a global digital library for
people who are blind or print disabled is the lack of universal standards
for converting, distributing, and maintaining digital media. Many libraries
around the world are working to convert their collections from analog to
digital, but the lack of common standards results in a lot of duplication.
Because many libraries are spending their limited resources to accomplish
the same tasks, the amount of digital content they can provide is severely
limited. In addition, many libraries, along with publishers and other
content providers, are using formats or technologies that are not designed
to work well with the systems others are using. This makes it impossible for
libraries to share content freely, one of the key benefits of moving to a
digital format.
Another missing element is any effective way to coordinate national
copyright laws that protect the intellectual property of authors and
publishers. For example, United States copyright law allows libraries to
reproduce most printed material for use by people who are blind without
paying any royalties, but that applies only inside the U.S. The forum hosted
by Microsoft offered library representatives an opportunity to explore how
they might create agreements that would enable them to share resources
across international borders, and offer global solutions that respect and
accommodate national copyright laws.
Gates advised the library representatives at the forum to look for ways to
keep their ultimate digital solution for people who are blind or print
disabled aligned as closely as possible with solutions being developed for
mainstream markets.
"We ought to be able to connect mainstream issues with special needs, to
create a bridge between the two," Gates said. "The advantages of accessing
different types of digital information on a variety of devices are not
limited to the visually impaired. The pioneering work being done to serve
their special needs today could have widespread benefits for every user
tomorrow -- and keeping the two closely connected will help lower costs and
speed development."
At the forum, Gates reconfirmed that Microsoft is committed to doing
whatever it can to help libraries leverage new technology to improve their
distribution, convert their collections from analog to digital formats, and
provide better service and more information to people who are blind or have
print disabilities. Madelyn Bryant McIntire said the Accessible Technology
Group will continue to lead that effort at Microsoft.
"Libraries are places of refuge," she said. "If we can help libraries solve
the problems we discussed at the forum, we can make digital libraries places
of refuge for people who are blind or have print disabilities. That's a goal
worth working hard to achieve."
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