Print Disabilities Research Articles

Improving Services for Patrons with Print Disabilities at Public Libraries

AbstractThis article describes a project at Baltimore County Public Library (BCPL) that aims to improve access for people who are blind or who have low vision. As public libraries move toward providing more digital-based resources, this is an opportunity to provide access for patrons who need resources in an alternative format. This project focused on website accessibility, digital databases, physical library accessibility, staff training, and marketing. The article describes the steps that BCPL will take to turn these research findings into practice.

The use of digital talking books by people with print disabilities: a literature review

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse empirical studies regarding the use of digital talking books (Digital Accessible Information System (DAISY) books) as well as the possibilities and limitations that users with print disabilities encounter when using these books. Upon fulfilment of this purpose, it is also possible to identify research needs in the area of talking books. Design/methodology/approach – An analysis of 12 empirical studies concerning the use of DAISY books is conducted. The concept of affordances is employed in the analysis, which focuses on: users of talking books, talking books as objects, and the social settings in which talking books are used. Findings – First, the reviewed literature indicates that the navigational features of the DAISY talking book appear to provide unprecedented affordances in terms of the users’ approaches to reading. However, the affordances of talking books depend, to some extent, on whether the users have visual impairments or dyslexia/reading and writing difficulties. Second, the reviewed literature illustrates that the affordances provided by talking books depend on the settings in which they are used, both in terms of specific social situations and wider socio-political contexts. Originality/value – Although the need for assistive reading technologies, such as digital talking books, is large, research in this area is scarce, particularly from a user perspective. This paper describes the results of those studies which have actually been conducted on this topic and highlights areas that require further study.

The paradigm shift in realising the right to read: how ebook libraries are enabling in the university sector

Millions of people with print disabilities are denied the right to read. While some important efforts have been made to convert standard books to accessible formats and create accessible repositories, these have so far only addressed this crisis in an ad hoc way. This article argues that universally designed ebook libraries have the potential of substantially enabling persons with print disabilities. As a case study of what is possible, we analyse 12 academic ebook libraries to map their levels of accessibility. The positive results from this study indicate that universally designed ebooks are more than possible; they exist. While results are positive, however, we also found that most ebook libraries have some features that frustrate full accessibility, and some ebook libraries present critical barriers for people with disabilities. Based on these findings, we consider that some combination of private pressure and public law is both possible and necessary to advance the right-to-read cause. With access improving and recent advances in international law, now is the time to push for universal design and equality.

Copyright Exemptions to Facilitate Access to Published Works for the Print Disabled – The Gap Between National Laws and the Standards Required by the Marrakesh Treaty

The issue of whether and to what extent the law of copyright should provide exemptions in order to facilitate access to published works by the blind, visually impaired and print disabled is complex and emotive, integrating a variety of areas of law, most notably intellectual property and human rights law. The issue has recently been debated on the international stage in the drawing up of the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled (WIPO Doc VIP/DC/8, hereinafter: the Marrakesh Treaty). The Treaty aims to facilitate the availability of published works in accessible format copies by requiring Member States to provide a limitation or exception in their national copyright laws permitting authorized entities to reproduce a published work in an accessible format, and distribute it without the authorization of the copyright holder to persons who are blind, visually impaired or experiencing other print disabilities. However, the journey to passing the Marrakesh Treaty was by no means linear and involved the expression of often divergent views by the member countries in the international context. This divergence of opinion is reflected in the vastly varying levels of support for related copyright exceptions and limitations provided in the laws of nations around the world. The Marrakesh Treaty was adopted at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) diplomatic conference on 27 June 2013. It is, however, pertinent to note that this treaty will not enter into force until it has received 20 ratifications (Art. 18.). As attention now moves to ratification and implementation of the treaty by Member States, it will be useful to examine the nature of the gap that presently exists between national laws and the standards required by the treaty, and to thereby evaluate whether and to what extent the provisions of the treaty are likely to be implemented in the domestic laws of the Member States. To this end, this article begins by providing a global overview of the copyright exemptions presently in operation in various nations. Thereafter, some specific issues concerning the treaties reflected in the drafts proposed by different countries will be discussed. These issues will be the subject of the first two parts of the discussion. The third part outlines the ambit of the Marrakesh Treaty and points out issues needing further clarification. The conclusion analyzes the prospects of final ratification by reference to the willingness of Member States to adapt their national copyright laws to the Marrakesh Treaty – a willingness that may be indicated by their current legal practices and their contributions to the treaty.

An evaluation of the functionality and accessibility of e-readers for individuals with print disabilities

Purpose– This study aims to examine the usability of three popular electronic reading devices (e-readers) to determine which device provides the best functionality for individuals with print disabilities. Adaptability and flexibility for use with assistive technology are also evaluated.Design/methodology/approach– This study reports the results of a usability test of e-readers and their potential for use by individuals with print disabilities. Students enrolled in a School of Library and Information Science evaluated and compared the devices through a series of tasks designed to measure functionality. Participants completed a series of questionnaires and engaged in small group discussion about the efficacy of the devices. Likert scales and open-ended evaluation were employed in the evaluation and analysis.Findings– Two of the three devices examined offered no accessibility features for individuals with low or no vision who require assistive technologies to use information and communication technologies. The third device, while offering greater universal access functionality for individuals with mild-to-moderate print disabilities, also had weaknesses for individuals with severe print disabilities.Originality/value– With the rapid deployment of e-readers, little research has been completed measuring the accessibility and functionality for individuals with print disabilities in library or educational environments. The paper provides data on the usability of e-readers for users with print disabilities and recommendations for adopting e-reader use in libraries and educational environments. It will inform and guide information professionals seeking to provide greater access to resources for patrons with specialized access needs.

Publishing and accessibility: past, present, and future

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the Future Publishing and Accessibility Conference held in Copenhagen, Denmark on June 13-14, 2013. Design/methodology/approach – This report provides a general overview of events at the conference as well as its main topics and outcomes Findings – The report reveals the current challenges facing all involved in providing accessible materials to persons with print disabilities. Not only is the number of titles currently fully accessible an issue, but the digital era and electronic publishing bring their own issues. Speakers each offered their own views on potential solutions Originality/value – This report provides librarians and researchers with a general summary of the issues surrounding accessibility and the current publishing industry as they were discussed at the conference.

Centre for Blind and Visually Impaired People at the National Library of Serbia

The paper considers library services for print disabled patrons at the National Library of Serbia (NLS) and in Serbian public libraries. It describes the establishment of the NLS Centre for Blind and Visually Impaired People and gives details of space, equipment, software, Braille collections and professional activities and projects at the Centre. The NLS and the Centre support and educate librarians about library services to people who are blind or visually impaired. The paper presents new legislation concerning equal rights to read, and reports on the introduction of electronic legal deposit in Serbia. It also describes a handbook on print disability published by the NLS and outlines plans to develop a digital library for blind people.

Services to Patrons with Print Disabilities: Research Libraries and Individuals with Print Disabilities

Services to Patrons with Print Disabilities: Research Libraries and Individuals with Print Disabilities

Services to Patrons with Print Disabilities: Print Disabilities, Libraries, and Higher Education

Services to Patrons with Print Disabilities: Print Disabilities, Libraries, and Higher Education

Services to Patrons with Print Disabilities: Appendix A: Model Licensing Language

Services to Patrons with Print Disabilities: Appendix A: Model Licensing Language

Services to Patrons with Print Disabilities: Universal Design, Inclusive Design, Accessibility, and Usability

Services to Patrons with Print Disabilities: Universal Design, Inclusive Design, Accessibility, and Usability

Services to Patrons with Print Disabilities: Conclusion

Services to Patrons with Print Disabilities: Conclusion

Services to Patrons with Print Disabilities: Executive Summary

Services to Patrons with Print Disabilities: Executive Summary

Services to Patrons with Print Disabilities: US and Canadian Disability Policies, Recent Challenges, and US and Canadian Copyright Law

Services to Patrons with Print Disabilities: US and Canadian Disability Policies, Recent Challenges, and US and Canadian Copyright Law

Services to Patrons with Print Disabilities: Endnotes

Services to Patrons with Print Disabilities: Endnotes

DAISY Technology and Print Disabled

Access to information and knowledge is very important for people. However, there are restrictions on access to this information for certain groups of people. The print disabled who are, the blind, partially sighted, dyslexics, those with visual impairments, physically handicapped, and learning-disabled who have difficulty in accessing print media information. Digital talking books were the significant technology for the print disabled community to access printed media information. Now a day, many university and relevant agencies had launched the development of digital talking book services. The one thing that important for digital talking book services was Digital Accessible Information System (DAISY) technology; it is an open international standard for accessible multimedia developed by libraries serving persons with print disabilities in collaboration with the target users around the world. The core of DAISY technology is synchronization of text, graphics and audio based around W3C recommendations to meet the needs of people who require diversity of accessibility features of reading materials to share human knowledge and provides much easier access to content for the print disabled. Thus, the DAISY Technology provided excellent potentials for the production of digital talking books and effective to access information, it also implied an integrated performance for print disabled learning methods. This decreases the need for facilities and gap of disability people. Moreover, the knowledge of this studies also creating a society of participatory and a wide sharing of knowledge.

読むことに障害のある児童生徒がアクセス可能な電子教科書の利用

読むことに障害のある児童生徒がアクセス可能な電子教科書の利用

Tracking the Progress of an International Instrument for the Print Disabled at WIPO

This Working Paper tracks the progress towards a WIPO International Instrument regarding Exceptions and Limitations for Persons with Print Disabilities. It provides background information about the famine, the nature of print disability and a very basic introduction to copyright generally. It then discusses the four initial proposals at WIPO: WBU treaty (tabled by Brazil, Ecuador, Paraguay and Mexico), the African Group Treaty, the EU Joint Recommendation and the US Consensus Instrument. Lastly it looks at the recent collaborative international instrument whose legal nature is still under debate. This paper starts with the premise that literacy is a fundamental human right, and discusses each of the proposals in turn with an eye towards their efficacy and whether they can provide a solution in a timely manner. It also bears in mind technological advances which may bring market forces to bear on the book famine.

Addressing the Proposed WIPO International Instrument on Limitations and Exceptions for Persons with Print Disabilities: Recommendation or Mandatory Treaty?

This Working Paper addresses the proposed WIPO International Instrument on Limitations and Exceptions for Persons with Print Disabilities. We conclude that if WIPO wants to achieve compliance, this proposed instrument should be binding hard law. Enacting this agreement as soft law would undermine the goal of making copyrighted works accessible to persons with print disabilities.Generally, hard law prevents instruments from becoming dead letter agreements. Soft law is a less appropriate solution where there is already consensus and specificity, as there is here. Soft law also creates inefficiencies, as countries try to determine how to satisfy its vaguer aspirations.In the human rights context, because the UN Convention on Persons with Disabilities has not been implemented domestically, soft law will fail to mobilize domestic actors. Soft law also will not be sufficiently strong to protect the human rights of people with disabilities, traditionally a weaker sector.In the international copyright context, hard law is necessary because of the complicated web of existing hard law in the field. If WIPO wishes for the proposed instrument to counter hard law established in other forums, it should make the instrument binding. Otherwise, developing countries will not implement the instrument, and WIPO will fail to reach those persons with print disabilities most in need of an international solution.

Unlocking the power of books for people with disabilities

Mohamed Sobhi has been struggling to get into books for most of his life. Unable to read normal size text because of his low vision--a bilateral impairment that cannot be corrected by lenses, therapy or medical/surgical interventions--he started out by using photocopiers to enlarge text, a time-consuming process that also generated reams of paper. When scanners came along he dispensed with copying simply displayed an enlarged view of text on his monitor. But as he progressed through college, Sobhi, now 28, a resident of Alexandria, Egypt, found that his options were narrowing again. I had to revert more more to library shelves for reference materials, some of which could not be borrowed, copyright restrictions did not allow for photocopying;' he says. Just when he was really getting started, he hit a wall. For 3l-year-old Heba Kholeif, also an Alexandria resident, wall was even higher. I am totally blind;' Kholeif says, and that makes it nearly impossible to read standard printed materials. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] According to World report an disability, published by World Health Organization (WHO)/World Bank in June, more than one billion people live with some form of disability. Disability issues tend to be discussed in terms of barriers to physical access, while it is true that many built environments, including public spaces transport systems present obstacles of this kind, one of biggest barriers faced in what is often described as the information age is lack of access to information. For Sobhi, Kholeif other people living with visual impairment, reading standard printed books can be particularly challenging. But situation is beginning to change. For Sobhi Kholeif most important development has been development of Digital Accessible Information SYstem (DAISY) its relatively recent emergence in Arabic. books are made up of a combination of text, graphics audio files, providing users with an experience similar to that of flipping through a printed book. Users can read books on specialized devices or download software to use on a computer. same way that sighted people might glance at a heading skip to section of interest to them, books are designed so that users can navigate through them with flexibility. As Hiroshi Kawamura, President of Consortium, an international non-for-profit association that develops, maintains promotes international standards, explains, DAISY readers give user a great deal of control because they can be navigated by sentence, paragraph page. It was this interactive capacity that caught Kholeif's attention when she first heard about in 2004 in connection with Swedish Library of Talking Books Braille, a government body that, in collaboration with local libraries, provides access to printed materials for people with print disability. When in 2005 Swedish Library offered a course at Bibliotheca Alexandrina (formerly Library of Alexandria), Kholeif jumped at chance to learn more about it. The course was very intensive she says, but also very useful. Sobhi was also an early convert to system, having worked hard to develop an understanding of different screen readers text-to-speech software packages that had become available before DAISY's arrival. While intelligence determination of Kholeif Sobhi is admirable, it is also clear that they have both benefited from initiatives taken by Bibliotheca Alexandrina, notably with regard to establishment in 2007 of first Arabic Digital Talking Book Library for Blind Print-Disabled. Since then Bibliotheca Alexandrina has established a fully-equipped, professional recording studio acquired software hardware tools. In working with DAISY, it is at forefront of making publications accessible in Arabic, as very few are currently available;' says Julia D'Aloisio, a technical officer who works on accessible publishing at WHO. …