I have been asked by the British Dyslexia Association Computer Committee
to put together a briefing document about the waste of resources in
scanning already printed documents so that they can be accessed by
people with dyslexia and disabilities, eg via text to speech. We would
like a change of legislation on copying rights for people with
disabilities to be included in this year's Disability Bill: see
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/mediacentre/pressreleases/2003/jan/csd2201-flying.
htm
We would like to know how big is the problem?
How much
time;
and
money
are spent by
organisations (eg RNIB, Talking Books);
institutions (eg University support services);
individuals (eg dyslexic students)
scanning and OCRing printed text to get it into digital form so that it
can be used for:
changing its appearance (font size, colour etc);
assisted reading (via Text to Speech, E Books)
Braille.
And how much reading and learning doesn't get done because of the time
and costs that would be incurred?
If you have any evidence from your experience or your organisation that
would help to build a picture, however anecdotal, could you please pass
it on to me? Thanks.
The aim would be to let UK legislation relating to Disability
Discrimination and publishing catch up with and perhaps overtake that of
the USA. The hope is that relevant organisations - eg BDA, RNIB, Mencap
can work together on this one.
Ian Litterick
BDA Computer Committee Member
iANSYST Ltd
www.dyslexic.com
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