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Presenter(s)
Gerry Chevalier and Ivan Lagace
VisuAide
841 Jean-Paul Vincent
Longueuil, Qc J4G 1R3 Canada
Email: gerryc@visuaide.com
Email: ivanl@visuaide.com
The US and several other countries around the world have launched the first generation of digital talking book services. Commonly called Daisy books, these digital audio books are presently distributed on CDs and provide much easier access to content and a better audio quality. Libraries for the blind take advantage of the free availability of mail delivery for material aimed at the visually impaired. The National Library of Congress (NLS) is also looking at this mode of distribution but using flash memory cards instead of CDs for the launch of their service in 2008.
At the last Daisy technical meeting in Amsterdam in May 2003, VisuAide did a survey of the various Daisy members and asked them how long they expected their libraries for the blind to maintain the CD distribution system and what technology might replace CDs eventually. The unanimous answer was the electronic distribution of material. The format of the content and exact mode of distribution remained varied but there was a consensus toward accessibility via electronic means. In essence, most participants predicted that CDs would be used for distribution for the next 5-7 years.
In order to deliver talking books on CD, libraries for the blind are building sophisticated content management and repository systems. In addition to controlling the flow of digital content production, it also allows the library to better serve their clients. In the past, books on cassette tapes were allocated from a list of genre preference that a user would provide. The client never knew what next title they would receive. They could not request a specific title as the number of copies was limited. The new content management system and the rapid reduction in the price of CD media will before long allow users to order specific titles over the phone or a web site and have them shipped to them overnight. Having the content stored on hard disks that are connected to automate CD burners and labelers make it possible to respond to such requests almost in real-time.
Once those systems will be fully deployed, the next step that would connect these repositories to the Internet via a server and web portal is technically very simple. A library member with a PC and a broadband Internet account can then directly access and read audio books from home. Unfortunately, the computer is an expensive and complex tool for reading a book and the cost of broadband Internet access is still costly (at an average of $40US per month).
The presentation will describe various distribution schemes: satellite, cable, DSL, cellular phone network and standard modem; their advantages and disadvantages, and mode of operations. At the other end, in the user_s home, a new generation of playback devices is being developed to allow users to receive audio books and manage their personal library. Such players will handle the protocols for communicating with the broadband connection set-top boxes, cellular network and/or modems; they will have flash memory storage capacity to store the content and will be extremely portable (the size of a PDA). Various user interfaces will be offered to match the type of utilization by a variety of members: students, professional, and elderly.
The presentation will describe how the next generation player will automate the connection to the content providers, offer choice of audio books and electronic materials in a simple format, and manage the user_s bookmarks, list of books that have been accessed, references materials and other services related to the bookshelf concept.
The bookshelf concept is similar to the library found in a sighted person home. It is a collection of materials that has been read, bookmarks, annotations, references, etc. The intent is to create electronically on the playback device the same library environment.
The low cost, connectivity and portability of those devices will allow users to carry their book collection anywhere with them and to access more books, magazines and other electronic content at home or away from home.
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