Accessible publishing
Encyclopedia
Accessible publishing is an approach to publishing and reading whereby books and other texts aren't only available in one standard format. Other formats that have been developed to aid different people to read include varieties of larger fonts, specialised fonts for certain kinds of reading disabilities, Braille
, e-books, automated Audiobooks and DAISY
.
Accessible publishing has been made possible through developments in technology such as Print on demand
(POD), eReaders, XML
and the Internet
.
In the twenty first century, the accessible publishing aim is to make every book available in all formats so that every reader can read with ease and proficiency.
There were a number of developments in technology that increased the accessibility of books. The first of these was the development of the Braille
language by Louis Braille
in 1821. After this there was the development of audiobooks which originated from the United States Congress
in 1931 and became popularised by advances in recording and the use of voice actors.
In 1980, Thorndike Press came into existence as a republisher of large print books. Thorndike bought the rights for large print versions of books from publishers and then republished them in a larger and more accessible format for people with reading difficulties.
, MP3
, text only, and many others.
New technology, such as the Sony Reader
and Amazon
’s Kindle
, has the ability to alter the size of the font automatically. For example, the reader can choose from six different font size settings on the Kindle.
ReadHowYouWant is another leader in developing this technology. It works in partnership with publishers to make books available in all formats all across the world. This includes specially designed fonts for dyslexia
, macular degeneration
and line tracking problems.
Braille
The Braille system is a method that is widely used by blind people to read and write, and was the first digital form of writing.Braille was devised in 1825 by Louis Braille, a blind Frenchman. Each Braille character, or cell, is made up of six dot positions, arranged in a rectangle containing two...
, e-books, automated Audiobooks and DAISY
DAISY Digital Talking Book
DAISY is a standard for digital talking books. DAISY books are typically used by people have "print disabilities," including blindness, impaired vision, dyslexia...
.
Accessible publishing has been made possible through developments in technology such as Print on demand
Print on demand
Print on demand , sometimes called, in error, publish on demand, is a printing technology and business process in which new copies of a book are not printed until an order has been received...
(POD), eReaders, XML
XML
Extensible Markup Language is a set of rules for encoding documents in machine-readable form. It is defined in the XML 1.0 Specification produced by the W3C, and several other related specifications, all gratis open standards....
and the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
.
Aim
The aim of accessible publishing is to make reading easier for those who have difficulties doing such. This group includes people who are blind or visually impaired, people with chronic learning difficulties, and people who are learning a second language. Accessible publishing also aims to allow people to read whichever format allows them to read fastest or allows them to absorb the information in a better way.In the twenty first century, the accessible publishing aim is to make every book available in all formats so that every reader can read with ease and proficiency.
History
Prior to the twenty first century the publishing industry focused on the production of printed books. The predominant publishing theory was based around increasing the economy of scale of the books by only having one format available. In this way books could be mass produced and made available for the general public. This model did not allow for any other format to be widely available, however.There were a number of developments in technology that increased the accessibility of books. The first of these was the development of the Braille
Braille
The Braille system is a method that is widely used by blind people to read and write, and was the first digital form of writing.Braille was devised in 1825 by Louis Braille, a blind Frenchman. Each Braille character, or cell, is made up of six dot positions, arranged in a rectangle containing two...
language by Louis Braille
Louis Braille
Louis Braille was the inventor of braille, a system of reading and writing used by people who are blind or visually impaired...
in 1821. After this there was the development of audiobooks which originated from the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
in 1931 and became popularised by advances in recording and the use of voice actors.
In 1980, Thorndike Press came into existence as a republisher of large print books. Thorndike bought the rights for large print versions of books from publishers and then republished them in a larger and more accessible format for people with reading difficulties.
Recent developments
New portable readers, such as the VictorReader Stream and Plextalk Pocket handle talking books in a wide variety of formats including DAISYDaisy
-Names:* Asteraceae or Compositae, known as the aster, daisy, or sunflower family* 'Common Daisy'** Bellis perennis or** Leucanthemum vulgare* Daisy , a feminine given name, commonly thought to be derived from the name of the flower-Places:...
, MP3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
, text only, and many others.
New technology, such as the Sony Reader
Sony Reader
The Sony Reader is a line of e-book readers manufactured by Sony. It uses an electronic paper display developed by E Ink Corporation, is viewable in direct sunlight, requires no power to maintain a static image, and is usable in portrait or landscape orientation.Sony sells e-books for the Reader...
and Amazon
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
’s Kindle
Amazon Kindle
The Amazon Kindle is an e-book reader developed by Amazon.com subsidiary Lab126 which uses wireless connectivity to enable users to shop for, download, browse, and read e-books, newspapers, magazines, blogs, and other digital media...
, has the ability to alter the size of the font automatically. For example, the reader can choose from six different font size settings on the Kindle.
ReadHowYouWant is another leader in developing this technology. It works in partnership with publishers to make books available in all formats all across the world. This includes specially designed fonts for dyslexia
Dyslexia
Dyslexia is a very broad term defining a learning disability that impairs a person's fluency or comprehension accuracy in being able to read, and which can manifest itself as a difficulty with phonological awareness, phonological decoding, orthographic coding, auditory short-term memory, or rapid...
, macular degeneration
Macular degeneration
Age-related macular degeneration is a medical condition which usually affects older adults and results in a loss of vision in the center of the visual field because of damage to the retina. It occurs in “dry” and “wet” forms. It is a major cause of blindness and visual impairment in older adults...
and line tracking problems.
See also
- ReadabilityReadabilityReadability is the ease in which text can be read and understood. Various factors to measure readability have been used, such as "speed of perception," "perceptibility at a distance," "perceptibility in peripheral vision," "visibility," "the reflex blink technique," "rate of work" , "eye...
- DAISY Digital Talking BookDAISY Digital Talking BookDAISY is a standard for digital talking books. DAISY books are typically used by people have "print disabilities," including blindness, impaired vision, dyslexia...
- Audiobook
- BrailleBrailleThe Braille system is a method that is widely used by blind people to read and write, and was the first digital form of writing.Braille was devised in 1825 by Louis Braille, a blind Frenchman. Each Braille character, or cell, is made up of six dot positions, arranged in a rectangle containing two...
- Tactile alphabets for the blindTactile alphabets for the blindA tactile alphabet is a system for writing material that the blind can read by touch. While currently the Braille system is the most popular and some materials have been prepared in Moon type, historically there have been a large number of other tactile alphabets:*Systems based on embossed Roman...
- Web accessibilityWeb accessibilityWeb accessibility refers to the inclusive practice of making websites usable by people of all abilities and disabilities. When sites are correctly designed, developed and edited, all users can have equal access to information and functionality...
External links
- National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (U.S. Library of Congress) distributes Braille materials and Talking Books (custom analog and digital formats) free to visually impaired users in the United States.
- BookShare (non-profit) offers books, newspapers, and magazines (in DAISY format) free to visually impaired users who pay an annual membership fee.
- Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic offers recorded books in custom digital formats free to visually impaired users.
- Project Gutenberg is a library of public domain books in text format free for download.
- NFB-Newsline (National Federation of the Blind) offers a wide variety of newspapers and magazines free to visually impaired users. Materials can be received by telephone, email, or downloaded from BookShare.
- HumanWare offers a large list of additional resources available for download.