[stylist] Improved Access to Digital Download Books for Blind and Low Vision U.S. Citizens

Tue May 26 16:00:50 UTC 2009

I just called my state library service and put myself on the list for a 
digital recorder when they come out in July or August.  All of you have the 
same option.  Judith
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <LoriStay at aol.com>
To: <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, May 25, 2009 8:35 PM
Subject: Re: [stylist] Improved Access to Digital Download Books for Blind 
and Low Vision U.S. Citizens


> FYI
> In a message dated 5/25/09 4:48:28 PM, nicolas.lagace at humanware.com 
> writes:
>
>
>> IMPROVED ACCESS TO DIGITAL DOWNLOAD BOOKS FOR BLIND AND LOW VISION U.S.
>> CITIZENS
>>
>> [This announcement is displayed in text only for accessibility with
>> Braille Notetakers. A web version is available at:
>> http://www.humanware.com/en-usa/about_us/press_releases/2009_press_releases/improved_access_to_digital_dow
>> nload_books]
>>
>> Longueuil, May 25, 2009
>>
>> On April 30, the National Library for the Blind and Physically 
>> Handicapped
>> (NLS), a division of the Library of Congress in the United States, 
>> entered
>> the first phase of its transition to a digital playback system, as well 
>> as
>> releasing an upgraded version of its pilot download website. Beginning
>> with the testing of 5,000 digital players by NLS patrons in their homes, 
>> NLS
>> is preparing to launch full-scale production and distribution of 26,000
>> machines per month this year, ensuring continued access to reading 
>> materials
>> for more than 500,000 registered users.
>>
>> New to the NLS program is a state of the art online component, called the
>> Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD) site. This new site for blind 
>> and
>> physically handicapped patrons of NLS now provides better than ever 
>> access
>> to digital audiobooks and magazines. The BARD digital books and magazines
>> are in the ANSI/NISO Z39.86 2002 format, the specification for navigable
>> digital talking books. Readers may press buttons on the NLS digital
>> talking-book player and compatible players to jump from chapter to 
>> chapter, section
>> to section or page to page. This ability to quickly navigate the book
>> structure, combined with the high-quality human recording, make the new 
>> digital
>> NLS download books one of the most significant advancements in the
>> provision of talking books for blind and low vision people.
>>
>> "The high quality navigable digital books from the new NLS BARD service
>> represent a major advancement in access to books, magazines, and 
>> electronic
>> braille for Americans who are unable to read print due to blindness, low
>> vision, or physical disability", says Gilles Pepin, CEO of HumanWare. 
>> "With
>> BARD, NLS brings its library into the home of its patrons. Not only do 
>> NLS
>> patrons now have access to thousands of digital books but they can find 
>> their
>> book of interest and download it in minutes independently and from the
>> comfort of their home computer."
>>
>> HumanWare manufactures the popular Victor Reader Stream, a DAISY NISO
>> compatible digital talking-book player designed in collaboration with the
>> National Federation of the Blind (NFB), which several thousand NLS 
>> patrons
>> already use to play the new digital NISO books. The NLS digital books on 
>> the
>> BARD site are protected by encryption and compatible digital book players 
>> must
>> be authorized by NLS for eligible patrons to play the books.
>>
>> The ability to press buttons on the Victor Reader Stream to easily jump
>> between chapters, pages, or magazine articles, like the NLS digital
>> talking-book player, provides a rich audiobook reading experience never 
>> before
>> experienced by audiocassette readers. For reference books such as cookery 
>> books
>> the user can even enter a page number from the table of contents on the
>> Stream telephone-style number pad and the playback will move immediately 
>> to
>> that page. With the NLS player, Victor Reader Stream, and the NLS BARD 
>> books,
>> users now have immediate access to thousands of books and can navigate
>> them just like they would navigate the equivalent print book's structure.
>>
>> The new BARD download audiobook and magazine service is available free of
>> charge to eligible blind and physically handicapped individuals in the 
>> U.S.
>> and to citizens living abroad, who have access to a computer and
>> high-speed Internet connection, and who have a free NLS digital 
>> talking-book player
>> or own an authorized compatible digital talking-book player such as
>> HumanWare's Victor Reader Stream. To learn more about the new BARD 
>> service visit
>> https://nlsbard.loc.gov/
>>
>> About HumanWare
>>
>> HumanWare is the global leader in assistive technologies for vision,
>> including products for the blind and visually impaired. HumanWare's 
>> products
>> include BrailleNote, the leading productivity device for blind people in
>> education, in business and in their personal lives; the Victor Reader 
>> product
>> line, the world's leading digital talking book players; and myReader2, 
>> the
>> new version of HumanWare's unique "auto-reader" for people with low 
>> vision.
>> For more information visit www.humanware.com
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>>
>
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