On Sun, 9 Mar 2003 12:17:06 -0000, in list.access-uk "Alex Stone"
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:
Publisher O'Reilly Makes Books Accessible to People with Disabilities
Worldwide Under
Landmark Agreement with Bookshare.org
PALO ALTO, Calif., March 04, 2003 - Today Bookshare.org, an online
library
of accessible
digital books for people with disabilities, announced an agreement
with O'
Reilly
& Associates, a leading publisher of computer books, to make digital
versions of
O'Reilly books available worldwide to qualifying users with
disabilities.
Bookshare.org (www.bookshare.org) is a subscription service that
provides an
extensive
online library of accessible digital books to people with severe
visual,
reading,
and mobility disabilities. The service, which was created by Benetech,
the
leading
technology nonprofit in the Silicon Valley, operates under a copyright
exemption
in US law allowing the redistribution of copyrighted works in
specialized
accessible
formats for people with qualifying disabilities.
Under the agreement, O'Reilly & Associates will transfer digital
copies of
its books
to Bookshare.org, which will convert the books into accessible formats
and
make them
available to qualifying subscribers in the US. In addition, O'Reilly
has
granted
Benetech rights to provide the books in accessible formats to
qualifying
users from
other countries, the initial step in a planned expansion into
providing
accessible
digital books internationally.
"This is truly a landmark event in the struggle to make books
accessible to
people
with disabilities," said Benetech CEO Jim Fruchterman. "Tim O'Reilly's
visionary
contribution will make it easy for people with print-related
disabilities
worldwide
to access his outstanding collection of technical books."
"For years, we've done our best to make our books available to
disabled
customers
on request," said O'Reilly founder and CEO Tim O'Reilly. "After
overcoming
the technical
hurdles, the greater challenge was keeping up with the requests.
Benetech's
Bookshare.org
will give our efforts a real boost through their expert assistance on
both
the technical
and administrative fronts. This partnership builds on Bookshare.org's
expertise in
providing accessible formats and the XML conversion tools O'Reilly
developed
to support
our online Safari Bookshelf. I'm quite pleased that we'll be able to
make O'
Reilly
books available worldwide through the Bookshare.org service."
Bookshare.org offers a collection more than 12,000 accessible digital
books
to its
subscribers. The books are protected by a comprehensive digital rights
management
system, which was designed in collaboration with the Association of
American
Publishers
and features extensive controls, including file encryption,
watermarks,
fingerprinting
and a security watch program.
Information on Bookshare.org and Benetech
Bookshare.org is a project of Benetech, an innovative Silicon Valley
nonprofit that
develops technology projects to address pressing social issues in
areas such
as disability,
human rights, literacy, education and the digital divide. Many
technologies
have
compelling social applications that are not developed because such
efforts
do not
meet investors' financial expectations. Benetech specifically pursues
endeavors with
a strong social, rather than financial, rate of return on investment,
bringing commercial
technology and private sector management techniques to bear in
creating
innovative
solutions to difficult social challenges.
Information on O'Reilly
O'Reilly & Associates is the premier information source for
leading-edge
computer
technologies. The company's books, conferences, and web sites bring to
light
the
knowledge of technology innovators. O'Reilly books, known for the
animals on
their
covers, occupy a treasured place on the shelves of the developers
building
the next
generation of software. O'Reilly conferences and summits bring alpha
geeks
and forward-thinking
business leaders together to shape the revolutionary ideas that spark
new
industries.
>From the Internet to XML, open source, .NET, Java and web services,
O'Reilly
puts
technologies on the map.
Media Contacts
Brendan Nyhan
The Benetech Initiative
Telephone: (202) 588-8269
Email:
[log in to unmask]
Website:
www.bookshare.org
Sara Winge
O'Reilly & Associates
Telephone: (707) 827-7109
Email:
[log in to unmask]
Website:
www.oreilly.com
--
Andrew Hodgson, Bromyard, Herefordshire, UK.
Email: [log in to unmask]
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