via District Dispatch
April 28th, 2009
The American Library Association (ALA), the Association for College and Research Libraries (ACRL) and the Association for Research Libraries (ARL) jointly submitted comments to the U.S. Copyright Office today on the topic of facilitating access to copyrighted works for the blind or persons with other disabilities. The library associations believe that the blind or persons with other disabilities should be afforded the same access to materials as sighted persons. Presently, only about 5 percent of published books are available in accessible formats for the visually impaired. Some materials are not available at all, particularly scholarly journals, research materials, and other professional resources and local history materials.
Librarians utilize copyright exceptions afforded by federal legislation in order to serve the visually impaired in spite of the complex process that may be necessary to deliver a specific work in an accessible format. Librarians frequently scan and transform materials into accessible formats using a variety of software, coordinate volunteers to make audio recordings of books or other materials, hire Braille translators, and work with school teachers to create accessible supplemental materials for educational purposes. However, this process is cumbersome, and disabled users usually must wait for an accessible copy to be made available. And, while there is a range of technological tools available to libraries to provide access to works in accessible formats, most libraries cannot support such resources due to cost or burdensome coordination efforts. Some libraries opt to work with established adaptive service centers who provide access services to materials.
Librarians are grateful that they can turn to the Chaffee Amendment, the IDEA Act and fair use when meeting the needs of the visually impaired. The library associations recognize that the United States clearly stands apart from other nations in this regard. While current copyright law goes a long way in meeting the information needs of the visually impaired, the library associations also believe that more can be done to improve and expand access. For a summary of recommendations and primary findings,
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Posted
Apr 29 2009, 02:52 PM
by
BusyBee
Filed under: blind, print disabilities, accessible formats, IDEA, same access as people who can see, encourage technologic innovations, misinterpretation about user rights in connection with text-to-speech, professional resources, ACRL, Association for Research Libraries, ARL, needs of visually impaired in foreign countries, fair use, comments, complex process, harmonize eligibility requirements, contract law, growing demographic of people losing sight in later years, local history materials, facilitating access to copyrighted works, NLS, copyright exceptions, Chaffee Amendment, Association for College and Research Libraries, Access for visually impaired readers, scholarly journals, National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, American Library Association, research materials, ALA, U.S. Copyright Office, limit confusion between laws