[nfb-db] NLS and access for those who ar deaf-blind

[Scott Davert]

HI all.
Since janice brought up the issue of NLS and their audio only Daisy
library, I thought I'd post the below information. Yes, the talking
book program is currently only usable by those who have the hearing to
understand the audio, but it doesn't have to be that way. RNIB in the
UK, CNIB in Canada, and a few other counterparts of NLS in different
countries make this content available as text with the audio. Here's
an article I wrote that is on the AADB website which outlines this
issue in greater detail that was written in 2009.
taken from:
http://www.aadb.org/Technology/nls_technology_02.html
In the previous article, Web Braille was discussed. It is usable by
many deaf-blind patrons, and most anyone who can browse the internet
and knows how to download files should be able to operate the service
with little difficulty. This time, however, we look at a much less
deaf-blind user friendly service and one that may not necessarily need
to be that way. This service is the new Digital Talking Book (DTB)
program. This article will cover a brief history of the DTB program,
the technology behind this service, and how many deaf-blind patrons
may be unnecessarily left out. A few possible solutions are also
given.

The DTB program was originally launched as a beta service in September
of 2006. One hundred participants tested the service, and it met with
great success. In 2007, NLS opened up the program to anyone in the US
who was eligible for NLS services and owned a device that supported
the audio content they offered. They finally discontinued the pilot
project on April 30, 2009 and officially launched the website housing
the DTB collection.

Many deaf-blind patrons may say that this service is for talking
books, and at present they are right; however, technology now exists
which allows for text synchronization with the audio. Thus, if NLS
would develop it, the ability to utilize these materials through a
Braille display or with screen magnification software is at hand.
While cassettes would not work for those without enough residual
hearing, this new technology is another story entirely.

The new DTB program runs off a file structure known as Digital
Accessible Information System (DAISY). DAISY content ranges widely and
there are several different types. Some have audio only, some have
text only, and some contain text synchronized with audio. Also, the
place markers can define the type of DAISY structure. Some books are
marked up in such a way that one can easily navigate between chapters,
sections, and even in some cases, by paragraph. Others have very few
markers. Either way, NLS has not made any effort as far as I can tell
to include text with audio.

When I first joined the DTB pilot program last summer, I raised the
issue of the provision of textual content within these books with the
NLS technical support team. I also asked if they would be offering a
software package which would allow for reading of the DTB materials on
a computer. Jennifer Sutton responded with the following:

Certainly, text could be included, and NLS is quite well aware of the
benefits that could acrew to all of its patrons if text were to be
added. But created full text full audio content is extremely resource
intensive, so it's not something NLS can implement, especially during
the next while as it seems to roll out the program to its over 700,000
patrons. Hopefully, over time, acquiring textual representations of
the content that would be easy to synchronize with human narration
will become less cost prohibitive. At this time, for security reasons,
NLS does not support reading of its content using software playback
options.

Interestingly, NLS's counterpart in Canada (CNIB) does have all of its
content available with both audio and text. Another distributor in the
US of DAISY content is bookshare.org. This site allows those with a
qualifying reading disability to download text only books. Both NLS
and bookshare.org follow the same daisy standards developed by the
National Information Standards Organization in 2005. My question is,
if security is not a concern in terms of Bookshare providing both
software and textual content, why should it be for NLS? Both providers
must conform to the same copyright laws and are both legally able to
distribute their materials freely to qualifying individuals.

Another provider of DAISY content in the US is the Recordings for the
Blind and Dyslexic (RFB&D). RFB&D does offer some of its content as
both audio and textual. Again, these organizations all abide by the
same copyright laws and produce their content under the same set of
standards, but NLS will not invest in its deaf-blind patrons. RFB&D
also has a software playback option which will read DAISY content on a
computer. Returning to the issue of security as it pertains to
copyright violations, any device with a headphone jack can very easily
be hooked up to a computer's soundcard. The content from the device in
question, for example, a victor stream, can then be recorded on the
computer's hard drive with free software. In my opinion, this renders
the security issue invalid.

The sooner the problem is addressed instead of avoided, the easier it
will be to fix. As the deaf-blind population continues to expand with
more and more senior citizens losing both vision and hearing, it would
seem that avoidance will only make matters worse. I researched most of
what I have just written after my email last summer to Ms. Sutton. So
I again contacted NLS for some answers. My email was passed around and
finally found its way to the director, Frank Kurt Cylke, who indicated
he would like to discuss this with me directly. Despite my waiting
over a week for his reply, and resending my email, I never received a
response.

If NLS does not wish to synchronize text with their audio in the DTB
program, there are a few alternative solutions that I can think of.
One of them is to make all materials available in the DTB program also
available on Web Braille. Another would be to pay for subscriptions to
bookshare.org for deaf-blind patrons who cannot access the audio,
since Bookshare has many of the same materials available that are on
the DTB download site. While patrons who are blind can freely access
the audio content, those who do not have the ability to do so should
not have to pay for access to the same materials. A third possible
solution would be to team up with Bookshare, as they already have the
text of many of the audio books in question, which would help to cut
synchronization costs. If NLS's slogan is "That all may read" they
should act on it, and not deny some of their patrons access to
materials. The fact that they are busy launching the program to over
700,000 patrons, should not, in my opinion, give them the right to
leave the deaf-blind population behind.

For more information about the NLS Digital Talking Book Program, you
can go to https://nlsbard.loc.gov