[il-talk] e-reader crisis letter

[chr47 at mchsi.com]

Dear NFBI friends,



I have just sent my letter dealing with the e-reader crisis. If you have not written yet, I IMPLORE you to do this before going to a Labor Day BBQ!!!!!! Below is my letter that took points from both Rose’s letter and the skeleton letter. Our literacy is on the line here!!!!!!!!! 



Wrought-up,



Cathy



**********************************************************

Cathy Randall

National Federation of the Blind of Illinois President Emeritus

11 Pitner Place

Jacksonville, IL 62650

Chr47 at mchsi.com



September 3, 2013



Kris Monteith

Acting Bureau Chief

Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau

Federal Communications Commission

445 12th Street SW

Washington, DC 20554



Re: Reply to the Coalition of E-Reader Manufacturers’ Petition for Waiver from CVAA Accessibility Requirements, CG Docket No. 10-213



Dear. Mr. Monteith: 



I am a retired former educator who happens to be blind. I also am a senior citizen. I have read voraciously all my life, and electronic books are my latest avenue to vital information and entertainment. Therefore, the technology allowing blind people to use all kinds of electronic information must be made available to us.   



I strongly oppose the Petition for Waiver submitted by the Coalition of E-Reader Manufacturers’, requesting that e-readers be exempt from the Twenty First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA).  





The Advanced Communications Services (ACS) is VITAL for my literacy as a blind person!!! The Coalition claims that the primary purpose of e-readers is reading, not ACS, and yet I believe that the ACS found in e-readers is part of the intended purpose.  The ability to connect with friends, share content, and access the internet are the very features that set e-readers apart from print books.  ACS facilitates the reading experience and is, therefore, a co-primary purpose of e-readers.



I listen to, meaning I READ e-books using either speakers, ear phones, or ear bugs.   All digital content can be made accessible to a blind person if such content is programmed to be read audibly with accessibility included as an essential step during   the design phase.  The Coalition’s claim that to make e-readers accessible would require a fundamental overhaul of the equipment is false.  

  

The Department of Justice and the Department of Education prohibit K-12 school districts and institutions of higher education from using inaccessible e-readers, yet the Coalition continues to knowingly sell inaccessible equipment to schools. I find this to be reprehensible!!!  The CVAA is consistent with preexisting legal requirements, and the FCC should not give the Coalition incentive to continue resisting accessibility.



The Coalition suggests that the waiver only apply to e-readers that do not have ACS capabilities, but then says that the products may have browsers and social media.  This is not a meaningful limitation.  The CVAA requires that ACS be accessible, and the FCC should not allow some services to be more important and others worthy of a waiver.    

    



Using e-readers and electronic books is the “new normal” for blind and visually impaired people of all ages as well as the sighted population!! Equipment available in the market place must therefore be accessible to those of us who happen to be blind or visually impaired.



I strongly urge the FCC to reject the Coalition’s petition and uphold the spirit of the CVAA.  E-readers and the ACS features found in that equipment must be made accessible and granting a waiver would perpetuate the digital divide and discrimination in the marketplace that I face every day.  



Sincerely,



Cathy Randall