[Missouri-l] Fw: [Nfb-announce] National Federation of the Blind Commends University of Illinois for Commitment to Accessible E-book Technology

[Chip Hailey]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Freeh, Jessica" <JFreeh at nfb.org>; <by way of David Andrews 
<dandrews at visi.com>>
To: <david.andrews at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, November 19, 2009 4:37 PM
Subject: [Nfb-announce] National Federation of the Blind Commends University 
of Illinois for Commitment to Accessible E-book Technology


>
> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
>
>
>
> CONTACT:
>
> Chris Danielsen
>
> Director of Public Relations
>
> National Federation of the Blind
>
> (410) 659-9314, extension 2330
>
> (410) 262-1281 (Cell)
>
> <mailto:cdanielsen at nfb.org>cdanielsen at nfb.org
>
>
>
>
> National Federation of the Blind Commends University of Illinois
>  for Commitment to Accessible E-book Technology
>
>
>
> Champaign, Illinois (November 19, 2009): The National Federation of the 
> Blind, the oldest and largest organization of blind Americans and a 
> leading advocate for accessible e-book technology, today applauded the 
> University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for publicly announcing its 
> commitment to purchasing e-book technology that can be used by the blind 
> and others with print disabilities.  The announcement comes on the heels 
> of news that the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Syracuse University 
> will not broadly deploy Amazon's Kindle DX e-book reading device, which 
> Amazon is marketing as a replacement for traditional print textbooks, 
> until the device is fully accessible to blind students.  The Kindle DX 
> features text-to-speech technology that can read textbooks aloud.  The 
> menus of the device are not accessible to the blind, however, making it 
> impossible for a blind user to purchase books from Amazon's Kindle store, 
> select a book to read, activate the text-to-speech feature, and use the 
> advanced reading functions available on the Kindle DX.
>
>
>
> In a statement issued yesterday, the University of Illinois said in part: 
> "Quite apart from our legal obligations, we at Illinois believe that our 
> technology choices should be shaped by our institutional values and 
> aspirations.  We will not embrace technologies that undercut our 
> commitment to accessibility.  We will instead apply our ingenuity to 
> technologies that enable everyone to participate more fully in society.
>
>
>
> "Like our colleagues at Wisconsin and Syracuse, we recognize the 
> groundbreaking potential that read-aloud features have for making 
> textbooks accessible to students with disabilities.  Sadly, that potential 
> can't be realized until vendors of e-book readers, like the Kindle, add 
> accessible read-aloud menus and basic navigation to their products."
>
>
> Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said: 
> "As publishers and e-book reading device manufacturers increasingly tout 
> the e-book as a replacement for the printed textbook, it is critical that 
> no artificial barriers be placed in the way of access to this exciting new 
> technology by blind students.  E-books are inherently accessible, and it 
> is relatively easy to make e-book reading devices accessible as well.  The 
> National Federation of the Blind therefore commends the University of 
> Illinois and other universities for taking the position that e-book 
> technology must be accessible to all students, including the blind."
>
>
>
> ###
>
>
>
>
>
> About the National Federation of the Blind
>
> With more than 50,000 members, the National Federation of the Blind is the 
> largest and most influential membership organization of blind people in 
> the United States.  The NFB improves blind people's lives through 
> advocacy, education, research, technology, and programs encouraging 
> independence and self-confidence.  It is the leading force in the 
> blindness field today and the voice of the nation's blind.  In January 
> 2004 the NFB opened the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan 
> Institute, the first research and training center in the United States for 
> the blind led by the blind.  Please visit our Web site: 
> <http://www.nfb.org/>www.nfb.org.
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Nfb-announce mailing list
> Nfb-announce at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-announce_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
> Nfb-announce:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfb-announce_nfbnet.org/chiphailey%40cableone.net