[Nfbv-announce] (Urgent) Put eBooks in the Hands of all Disabled People!

[Fredric Schroeder]

Friends,
 
As you know, we are holding a protest in New York City tomorrow to
demonstrate The importance of access for the blind and others with print
disabilities to e-books available for Amazon's new Kindle 2 e-book reader.
The new reader will soon have the ability to use text-to-speech to read
these e-books aloud; but under pressure from the Authors Guild, Amazon has
announced that authors and publishers will be allowed to disable the
text-to-speech function.  It is very important that we show how much support
there is for our position.  Below is information about an online petition
that we need everyone to sign.  Please make this a priority today.
 
Fred Schroeder, President
National Federation of the Blind of Virginia
 
 


  _____  

From: John Pare [mailto:jpare at nfb.org] 
Sent: Sunday, April 05, 2009 5:09 PM
To: fschroeder at sks.com
Subject: Put eBooks in the Hands of all Disabled People!





Please Read! Then Act!

The NFB is engaged in a campaign to obtain access for the blind and others
with print disabilities to e-books available for Amazon's new Kindle 2
e-book reader. The new reader, which Amazon is working to make fully
accessible to the blind, has the ability to use text-to-speech to read these
e-books aloud; but under pressure from the Authors Guild, Amazon has
announced that authors and publishers will be allowed to disable the
text-to-speech function. The National Federation of the Blind has joined
with over twenty other organizations to create the Reading Rights Coalition,
which has set up an on-line petition to urge the Authors Guild and Amazon to
reverse course. Please read and sign the petition here:
<http://www.marchforindependence.org/site/R?i=MFxRqMJ80bI_GMfpz3krGA..>
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/We-Want-To-Read
 
Please note: If you are using screen access technology, the first three
fields on the form to sign the petition may not be announced. They are, in
order: (1) a drop-down menu from which to select your prefix (Mr., Mrs.,
etc.); (2) an edit field for your first name, and (3) an edit field for your
last name. The rest of the fields should announce themselves as you tab to
them. If you still have trouble filling out the form, please send the
following information to  <mailto:readingrights at nfb.org>
readingrights at nfb.org and we will be happy to sign on your behalf. You will
need to send us your name, address, e-mail address, and any personal
comments you would like to make about this issue. Thank you so much for your
participation in this critically important effort.
 


Sincerely:
 
John G. Pare, Jr.


Executive Director for Strategic Initiatives

NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND


P.S. Once you have signed the petition, please be sure to forward the link
to all of the contacts in your address book that you believe will support us
in this cause. 
 
 

 
<http://www.marchforindependence.org/site/PixelServer?j=Ba4iMxCR_fiOtrOJ84m7
3w..> 


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