Final Thoughts
All of these devices need to be used much more than this
reviewer was able to in order to gauge their real usefulness in the everyday
life of the end-user. Although all of
them were fairly easy to unpack and make minimally operational (at least for a
sighted person), many of the advanced features and functionalities of these
devices would take some time to integrate into one’s personal style of
accessing and interacting with audio content.
As the NLS “Audio Technology Initiatives” report indicates
(NLS Technical Circular Number 03-02), “The challenge is to incorporate the complexity of the format and provide
the features it makes possible without destroying the simplicity of the basic
reading experience.”
Additional Information
Other Pertinent Studies and Reports
Leventhal, Jay, and Janina Sajka. 2004.
Product Evaluation: Read Me, Read
Me Not: A Review of Four DAISY Book
Players. AccessWorld 5
(1).
WGBH National
Center for Accessible Media in Boston
Contains summary comparison tables for
ebook software and hardware, as well as digital talking book software and
hardware.
NLS DTB Initiatives
2003 Business Plan
Late in 2003 the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) posted on its website a new business plan concerning conversion from analog to digital talking books. The plan can be found at http://www.loc.gov/nls/businessplan2003.html. Some notes and excerpts from the report are listed below.
Flash Memory: The
main thing NLS seems to be waiting for—and betting on—is a significant decline
in the cost of flash memory storage. “NLS has investigated three types of
digital media: (1) CD-ROM; (2) magnetic hard drive; and (3) flash memory. Based
upon an evaluation of the relevant technological and economic characteristics
of these three media types taken in tandem with the operational environment of
the program, NLS has concluded that at this time a flash memory-based delivery
system is the best alternative, with one major proviso: the wholesale unit price
of flash memory must decline further before implementation is economically
feasible.” They need to have 128 MB
flash memory cards drop in price to around $10 by 2008.
ANSI/NISO/DAISY
Specification: “The proposed structure of the future system
will be based on the "Specifications for the Digital Talking Book,"
ANSI/NISO Z39.86-2002, which was approved March 6, 2002 (see appendix 3)….”
Collection: The
collection will add approximately 2,000 new DTBs each year. “…NLS has been developing its digital
collection since FY 2002. NLS will produce all recorded book titles in digital
format beginning in FY 2004, and has goals to produce 10,000 new titles in
digital format by FY 2008, convert another 10,000 existing analog titles to
digital format by FY 2008, and continue to produce an average of 2,000 titles
per year during FY 2008 and in future years.”
Delivery of Content:
“NLS anticipates that,
ultimately, most patrons of the program will download digital reading materials
via the Internet using a variety of broadband channels, and store and read
books and magazines on portable playback machines designed specifically for use
with such a delivery system.”
Playback Devices:
Quoting from the NLS Business Plan, “NLS expects to have 50,000 digital playback machines available for
distribution by FY 2008. The plan is to have two types of machines, the
predominant type intended for straight "linear" reading and the other
with more-complex features.”
Digital
Talking Magazines: “The modus operandi to be employed
for digital magazine storage and distribution is yet to be determined; a
disposable flash memory-based magazine will probably not be economically
feasible. Two alternatives under consideration are returnable magazines and a
delayed digital conversion of the magazine title list. It is likely that
magazines will be produced on disposable cassettes well beyond the end of the
book and machine conversion period.”
Librarian of Congress DMCA Circumvention Ruling
(Nov. 2003)
November 4, 2003 (Washington)—The Librarian of Congress
issued a ruling last week supporting the right of people who are blind or
visually impaired to gain full access to electronic books (eBooks). The ruling
provides an exemption to the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act DMCA), making
it legal to circumvent any encrypted or protected features that render the text
inaccessible for the specialized computer technologies used by people who are
blind or visually impaired to read electronic text.
"This ruling upholds the fundamental right to read for all people,"
said Carl Augusto, President of the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB).
"The emerging electronic book technologies have the potential to make
published information more accessible and usable to people who are blind or
visually impaired. By removing barriers to utilizing eBooks, the Library
ensured all people can continue to enjoy the benefits of progress."
This ruling is the result of a concerted advocacy effort by AFB to bring this
issue to the attention of the Librarian of Congress. AFB originally requested
the exemption in December 2002, and later provided testimony and evidence to
show that approximately 50 percent of currently published eBooks are
inaccessible for people who are blind and visually impaired.
"This is a major victory, but there is more work to do," continued
Augusto. "AFB will continue to work with Congress, the Librarian and
publishers to ensure future titles are fully accessible for people who are
blind or visually impaired."
DMCA, which became U.S. law
in 1998, makes it a felony to develop or use technology to get around security
provisions of various classes of intellectual property including software,
ebooks, DVD movies and audio, among others.
The Librarians ruling provides an exemption for: "Literary works
distributed in eBook format when all existing eBook editions of the work
(including digital text editions made available by authorized entities) contain
access controls that prevent the enabling of the eBook's read-aloud function
and the enabling of screen readers to render the text into a specialized
format."
Additional information about the DMCA and on this ruling, including copies of
all testimony, can be found on line at www.copyright.gov/1201/.
Press Release Announcing Project HAL
The following press release was distributed to various
groups, organizations, and individuals on or about October 10, 2003.
Handheld Accessible Libraries – Project HAL!
The Mid-Illinois Talking Book Center and TAP Information Services will undertake Project HAL(Handheld, Accessible Libraries), a critical analysis and evaluation of DAISY-enabled, portable playback devices intended primarily for use by the blind and visually impaired to access and enjoy digital talking books. The purpose of the DAISY standard, developed by the DAISY Consortium, is to make all published information available to persons with print disabilities in an accessible, feature-rich, navigable format. Examples of such devices include the Victor Vibe from VisuAide, the Telex Scholar from Telex Communications, the Book Port from the American Printing House for the Blind, the PTR1 Plextalk Portable Recorder from Plextalk, and the BookCourier from Springer Design.
Tom Peters from TAP Information Services will conduct the evaluation of these devices and write the final report. Peters was a co-author of the 2003 LITA publication, E-Book Functionality: What Libraries and Their Patrons Want and Expect from Electronic Book Technologies. Project HAL will produce a similar list and feature analysis of the devices and software functionalities for digital talking book (DTB) playback devices.
This project builds upon an earlier pilot project conducted this year, eAudio with digital audio books and Otis MP3 players from Audible.com. Talking book readers who tried the digital audio books and Otises liked the sound quality and portability of the MP3 player, but expressed the need for more accessibility features. The final report on the eAudio project can be found at http://www.mitbc.org/eaudiofinal.doc.
Tom Peters from TAP Information Services observed, “Digital content presents very real promise to the blind and visually impaired. It is wonderful seeing all these devices come to market, but they need to be evaluated, compared and contrasted, and field tested to ensure that they actually are useful to end-users.”
Readers and information industry professionals who have firsthand experience with these devices are encouraged to contact Peters(tapinformation@yahoo.com) to share experiences and suggestions.
The report and recommendations will be released in late December 2003.
The Mid-Illinois Talking Book Center (www.mitbc.org) is a sub-regional library serving the blind and physically challenged in central and northwest Illinois. A talking book center provides library services via toll-free telephone and U.S. mail. Books and magazines in Braille and audiocassette formats are available to readers enrolled in the program. MITBC is part of a statewide network administered by the Illinois State Library, a division of the Office of the Illinois Secretary of State. The statewide network is tied to a national network under the administration of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, a division of the Library of Congress.
TAP Information Services provides a wide variety of services supporting libraries, consortia, government agencies, museums, publishers, and other organizations in the information industry. Services include: support for projects, research reports, strategic planning, workshops, writing and editing, conference services, consortial negotiations and agreements, and speeches.
For more information about Project HAL, please contact either Tom Peters (816-228-6406 or tapinformation@yahoo.com) or Lori Bell (309-353-4110 or lbell@alliancelibrarysystem.com).
Press Release Announcing Release of the Final
Report (First Version) January 2004
The Mid-Illinois Talking Book Center and TAP Information
Services have completed a critical analysis and evaluation of
portable audio devices intended primarily for use by print-impaired individuals
to access and enjoy digital talking books.
Five devices were examined and reviewed:
·
Victor Reader Classic Plus from Visuaide
·
Victor Reader Vibe from Visuaide
·
Scholar from Telex Communications
·
BookCourier from Springer Design
·
Book Port
from the American Printing House for the Blind.
Among the five devices reviewed at least three lineages are
discernable. The Victor Reader Vibe and
the Telex Scholar are descendants of portable CD players that have been on the
consumer market for years. Their
hardware and software designs have been enhanced to make them more accessible
by and useful to print-impaired users.
The Book Port
and BookCourier are siblings in the large, raucous family of digital playback
devices that contain no moving parts and use flash memory. The Victor Classic Plus, on the other hand,
seems to be designedly descended from the analog audiocassette playback device
used by print-impaired users in the U.S.
for decades.
All five devices were fairly easy to install and begin
using. Overall, the Book
Port seemed to be a better device
than the BookCourier, and the Victor Vibe seemed to be better than the Telex
Scholar. Because of the various design
lineages, however, it is very difficult to select a best device from the three
finalists: Victor Classic Plus, Victor
Vibe, and Book Port.
Recommendations include:
the need to intermingle the three design paradigms, perhaps
incorporating more PDA functionality as well; the need to standardize the
design of the keys a bit; and the need for greater accessibility to more file
formats on a single device, including proprietary file formats.
The complete text of the report is available on the MITBC
website at http://www.mitbc.org/projecthalfinal.htm.
The Mid-Illinois Talking Book Center (www.mitbc.org) is a sub-regional library serving the blind and physically challenged in central and northwest Illinois. A talking book center provides library services via toll-free telephone and U.S. mail. Books and magazines in Braille and audiocassette formats are available to readers enrolled in the program. MITBC is part of a statewide network administered by the Illinois State Library, a division of the Office of the Illinois Secretary of State. The statewide network is tied to a national network under the administration of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, a division of the Library of Congress.
TAP Information Services (www.tapinformation.com) provides a wide variety of services supporting libraries, consortia, government agencies, museums, publishers, and other information organizations. Services include: support for projects, research reports, strategic planning, workshops, writing and editing, conference services, consortial negotiations and agreements, and speeches.
For more information about this report, please contact
either Lori Bell (lbell@alliancelibrarysystem.com)
or Tom Peters (tapinformation@yahoo.com).