DAISY in the FutureEnding the Book Famine

Stephen KingRoyal National Institute of Blind People, UK

President Elect, DAISY Consortium

Since Caxton people with print disability denied access

WBU Right to Read 2000-2011

• "Less than 5% of books available in any accessible format": 2004 research

• "It’s a book famine"• "We want the right to read the

same book at the same time, price and place as everyone else"

The E-book Revolution

• “People with print disabilities in UK are increasingly able to enjoy the same book at the same price and place as everyone else.”

• “But there is much more to do to end the book famine.“

Stephen King RNIB, UK - May 2011

Availability of Accessible Publications: Update

Helen Greenwood, Sonya White & Claire Creaser

October 2011

New Research – October 2011

• RNIB Research published www.rnib.org.uk/professionals/solutionsforbusiness/publishing/Pages/publishing_industry.aspx

• 7 % of all books available in UK accessible by eyes, ears & fingers. (Up from > 5% in 2004)• But 54% of top 1000 books sold in 2010 available in e-books readable by eyes, ears & fingers• Barrier of user skills & knowledge, cost of technology

and e-books not optimised for non visual reading

The Potential for E-books

• Research shows the potential of e-books as PART of solving the book famine.

• Some e-books currently do not deliver tables, pictures, picture descriptions, math, science

• Digital Rights Management (DRM) severely limits access by ears & fingers

• DAISY & IDPF partnership – EPUB 3 to improve functionality &inclusion of e-books– But many problems still to solve

Still much more to do…

Working Together to Solve the Book Famine

• World Blind Union members• DAISY Consortium• WIPO• Publishers associations• Rights holder agencies• Standards organisations• Technology companies

Solving the Book Famine A Partnership Programme

• E-books readable with eyes, ears and fingers• Updating skills and access to technologies of

people with print disabilities• Improving productivity of specialist publishing• Sharing the resources we already have• Making inclusive publishing attractive

Programme for Action 1

E-Books Readable with Eyes, Ears & Fingers• EPUB 3 standard (& beyond) adoption

– Math, science, graphics, etc.

• Publisher education on inclusive design– Industry skills education– Tools that enable & encourage

• Adoption of DRM solutions that enable reading with ears & fingers

• Hardware enables reading with ears & fingers• E-books deliverable to generic mobile devices

Programme for Action 2

Updating Skills and Access to Technologies of People with Print Disabilities

• Training tools and networks to teach use of e-books with magnification, ears & fingers– On specialist devices & software– On generic mobile devices & apps– Not just reading, but finding, buying & borrowing

• Improving quality and lowering cost of speech• Lowering cost & availability of Braille displays• Multi-function user devices access bookstores

Programme for Action 3

Improving Timeliness & Productivity of Specialist Publishing

• Move upstream to agree licences with Rights holders before publication

• Co-operation with publishers as legitimate co-publishers in standard publishing work stream

• Co-operation on joint promotion & routes to market

• Improving tools, skills, processes & technologies used for specialist publishing.

• WIPO treaty & Global licensing enables legal export & import

• TIGAR network provides efficient global trading platform of specialist resources

• Global library catalogue of available resources accessible by people with print disability

• All people with print disability can get affordable access via a TIGAR network point

Programme for action 4

Sharing the Resources We Have

Programme for action 5

Making Inclusive Publishing Attractive• Making inclusive publishing attractive to

mainstream rights holders & publishers– Make inclusion a legal requirement in education– Developing sales information & intelligence on sales of

mainstream e-books to print disabled– Paying royalties on specialist accessible copies– Reducing cost of providing rights and files– Enabling user feedback to authors, rightsholders &

publishers– Motivating by public citizenship & financial reward

Working Together We Can Solve the Book Famine

• E-books readable with eyes, ears and fingers• Updating skills and access to technologies of

people with print disabilities• Improving productivity of specialist publishing• Sharing the resources we already have• Making inclusive publishing attractive

Together we can change the world

Thank you!

Stephen KingRoyal National Institute of Blind PeoplePresident Elect, DAISY ConsortiumStephen.King@RNIB.org.uk