Digitization Of The Book: A Report On Present Trends

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The Internet: Changing the Distribution Paradigm

The Internet has significantly altered the distribution paradigm for information, news and electronic mail over the past ten years. It provides connectivity and access to a wide variety of electronic data bases, and the resources of many research institutions. It is also reasonably accessible to blind computer users with adaptive technology. However, the proliferation of graphical user interfaces (GUIs) on "the Net" presents fresh challenges to the print handicapped and to manufacturers of adaptive technology. Judith Dixon, a blind Consumer Relations Officer at the Library of Congress comments:

"With the expansion of the Internet, blind and visually impaired people have been able to directly access a wide variety of information from thousands of online resources. However, with the increasing popularity of the World Wide Web (WWW), unique and sometimes insurmountable obstacles have arisen that, more and more often, are barring this newly acquired access."

"The power and flexibility of the World Wide Web lie in its ability to present information in multiple formats (text, audio, video, graphic, etc.). However, the features that provide power and elegance for some users present barriers to others. For example, services that depend solely on graphic images are completely inaccessible to blind users. Careful design and coding of information can alleviate many of these access barriers." ²

A proliferation of services for print handicapped readers on the Internet confirms the trend to use it as a source of information. The number of blindness organizations with websites on the Internet is increasing:

• The National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress now publishes occasional bulletins for its users on sources of e-text materials both on CD-ROM and online.
• The CNIB Library for the Blind's Information Resource Centre uses the Internet to research reference and information requests for its users across Canada, to transmit files for the transcription of materials, and to communicate with clients and other stakeholders. In addition, the CNIB Library's online public access catalogue (OPAC) will be available on the Internet within the year to provide more affordable access to a broader constituency of users both for searching and requesting library material as well as registering new library clients Canada wide.
• Project Gutenberg was the first Internet based electronic text collection of public domain books. It offers blind and print handicapped users the opportunity to have their own collection of public domain works for the first time. The CNIB Library for the Blind Churcher E-text Collection consists of titles from Project Gutenberg downloaded onto disk for circulation to library users who own computers but do not have access to the Internet.
• Public libraries provide outreach and programming services to their communities on the Internet and at facilities in their community. In order to serve print handicapped readers across Canada, the CNIB Library has utilized the Internet to create "Skyclub" a listserve which functions as a "virtual" public library outreach program. Guest moderators participate on a regular basis and, within a very short period of time, Skyclub has become a forum for a significant community of blind computer users in Canada and beyond.
• The "Books on Tape Consortium" was established in the United States to allow academic member institutions to share copies of audio books they have produced. It is establishing a web site which will list all of the books produced by its member campuses. In principle, individuals who are blind or visually impaired will be able to access the web site to select the title(s) they require.
• Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic (RFB&D) has several sites on the Internet. In addition to providing general information, their catalogue of audio and E-text titles is posted.

Commercial sector upgrades which improve network capacity and geographical coverage will have a positive impact on the continued growth of accessibility for all Internet users, including print handicapped readers. To quote Ray Smith, Chairman of Bell Atlantic in a recent speech:

"The demand for bandwidth has replaced the demand for processing power as the driving force behind the communications and computer industries putting networked solutions at the centre of information-systems strategies for the next 20 years. ... Networks that can deliver high-capacity transmission, instant connections and point-to-point communications - quickly and cheaply - will be the critical element of any information infrastructure, public or private, in the years ahead."

ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) lines are in place in some areas of North America now, and their coverage will continue to expand. Much of the problem related to the extensive installation of this cable is its cost. However, the availability of these high speed, wide bandwidth lines will increase the Internet's attractiveness to libraries for the blind and their users for distributing the large audio files which comprise unabridged audio books, and which require extensive storage and high speed transmission capacity.