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<font face="Garamond"><br>
</font><font face="Helvetica, Helvetica" size=5><b>FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE<br><br>
<br><br>
</font><font face="Helvetica, Helvetica">CONTACT:<br><br>
</b>Chris Danielsen<br><br>
Director of Public Relations<br><br>
National Federation of the Blind<br><br>
(410) 659-9314, extension 2330<br><br>
(410) 262-1281 (Cell)<br><br>
<a href="mailto:cdanielsen@nfb.org">cdanielsen@nfb.org</a><br><br>
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<br><br>
<div align="center"><b>National Federation of the Blind Applauds
Partnership <br>
Between K-NFB Reading Technology and Baker & Taylor<br><br>
</b></div>
<br><br>
</font><div align="center"><font face="Helvetica, Helvetica"><b><i>
Historic Partnership Will Make Millions of Books<br>
Available for Purchase by the Blind<br><br>
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<font face="Helvetica, Helvetica" size=5> <br><br>
</font><font face="Helvetica, Helvetica"><b>Baltimore, Maryland (October
14, 2009): </b>The National Federation of the Blind, the nation’s leading
advocate for access to information by the blind, today applauds the
historic partnership between K-NFB Reading Technology, Inc., the
world-renowned pioneer in reading technologies, and Baker & Taylor,
Inc., the </font><font face="Garamond">world's largest distributor of
physical and digital books and entertainment
products</font><font face="Helvetica, Helvetica">. This five-year
partnership will use K-NFB Reading Technology’s soon-to-be-released
electronic book reader to deliver the highest-quality digital book
content to tens of millions of readers worldwide and harness Baker &
Taylor’s </font><font face="Garamond">market leadership and relationships
with 44,000 publishers and major book retailers in more than 120
countries. <br><br>
</font><font face="Helvetica, Helvetica"> <br><br>
Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said:
“We are thrilled that Baker & Taylor has joined forces with K-NFB
Reading Technology. This partnership, using pioneering e-book
technology, will provide blind and other print-disabled people heretofore
unprecedented access to the printed word. Until now, the
traditional consumer book market has been largely closed to the blind,
leaving us with limited access to information. Blind students are
often left behind in coursework, unable to obtain books at the same time
as their sighted peers. With this groundbreaking new partnership,
for the first time in history,</font><font face="Garamond"> commercial
access to millions of books is about to become a reality for all blind
people</font><font face="Helvetica, Helvetica">.”<br><br>
<br><br>
Ray Kurzweil, CEO of K-NFB Reading Technology, said: “This dynamic
partnership will further my work of more than three decades with the
National Federation of the Blind to make the printed word easily
accessible to the blind. With our growing repository of e-content,
Baker & Taylor’s market leadership, and our innovative book
technology, blind people will have millions of books literally at their
fingertips. We expect this collaboration to revolutionize
communication of knowledge throughout the world.”<br><br>
<br><br>
</font><font face="Garamond">Under the broad partnership with Baker &
Taylor, K-NFB Reading Technology’s new e-reader with cutting-edge 3-D
technology will present content in formats accessible to the blind and
others with diverse reading needs, and will operate seamlessly on a
variety of electronic devices, including personal computers, smart
phones, and cell phones. <br><br>
<br><br>
K-NFB Reading Technology, Inc., is a joint venture between Kurzweil
Technologies, Inc., an innovator and pioneer in reading technologies and
the creator of the first print-to-speech reading machine for the blind,
and the National Federation of the Blind, the largest, most influential
membership organization of blind people in the United States.<br><br>
<b> <br><br>
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<br><br>
</font><font face="Garamond"><b>About the National Federation of the
Blind<br><br>
</b></font><font face="Garamond" size=5> <br><br>
</font><font face="Garamond">With more than 50,000 members, the National
Federation of the Blind is the largest and most influential membership
organization of blind people in the United States. The NFB improves
blind people's lives through advocacy, education, research, technology,
and programs encouraging independence and self-confidence. It is
the leading force in the blindness field today and the voice of the
nation's blind. In January 2004 the NFB opened the National
Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute, the first research and
training center in the United States for the blind led by the
blind.<br><br>
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