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Talking Books
Once the printed word is
scanned and digitized, it can be accessed in any form—downloaded
from the Internet, spoken through a screen reader, enlarged to large
print, or converted for Braille output. The listening world has
mostly shifted from analog sound to digitalization, and that has
increased access to reading materials by those with visual or reading
impairments, while being convenient to any listener. Digital technology
is superior to analog because sound quality is easier to control,
though many very fine programs are still offered in other formats.
Talking books can liven up long commutes or be
listened to during less engaging activities, like housework. Story
telling will always be an irreplaceable art form, as old as humankind.
When an author or performer reads a work, he or she can inflect
meaning into the words and add a deeper level of meaning. The following
resources are a mix of free programs for persons with visual impairments,
as well as commercial vendors and listening devices. Each offers
something different.
Audio.com
http://www.audible.com
Download newspapers, periodicals, books, and radio shows to your
PC or other audio player. Audio.com offers a wide range of spoken
word material and a free device with 12-month contract. Subscriptions
range from $14.95 to $19.95 per month.
Bookshare.org
http://www.bookshare.org/web/Welcome.html
Bookshare.org is a web-based system supplying accessible books in
digital formats designed for people with disabilities. These digital
formats are the NISO/DAISY XML-based format for the next generation
of talking books, and the BRF format for Braille devices and printers.
Access to copyrighted books from Bookshare.org is limited to people
in the United States with bona fide print disabilities and the non-profit
organizations serving them. An array of security protections and
Digital Rights Management solutions ensure that these books are
available only to authorized users.
Choice Magazine Listening
(CML)
http:/www.choicemagazinelistening.org
Choice Magazine Listening is a free audio anthology for a special
audience of blind, visually impaired or physically handicapped subscribers.
CML was created in 1962 by the non-profit Lucerna Fund to offer
the best of contemporary magazine writing, completely without charge,
to adults unable to read standard print. CML selects and records
memorable writing from over 100 leading magazines. Every other month,
this unique, free service offers its subscribers eight hours of
outstanding unabridged articles, fiction and poetry read by professional
voices and recorded on four-track cassette tapes. The tape players
are also lent free of charge to subscribers. For questions, call
1(888) 724-6423.
Dolphin Education
http://www.dolphinedu.com
Talking-book libraries to lead the worldwide transition from analogue
to digital talking books formed DAISY in 1996. The vision of the
DAISY Consortium is "that all published information is available
to people with print disabilities, at the same time and at no greater
cost, in an accessible, feature-rich, navigable format".
E-books
http://www.ebooks.com
E-books offers a wide variety of books in electronic format at about
the same price as printed books—some even cheaper; information
and sale of compatible laptop and desktop readers.
The National Library
Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS)
http://www.loc.gov/nls/aboutnls.html
THE NLS offers Braille and recorded books and magazines to more
than 20,000 children and adult readers through a network of 56 regional
and 90 sub-regional libraries throughout the United States and its
territories. This cooperative network is made up largely of state
and local public libraries that circulate books and playback machines
directly to readers.
Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic (RFBD)
http://www.rfbd.org
The contents of a standard textbook can now be contained on a single
CD that students navigate by page, chapter or heading.
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