XML LEVELS EDUCATIONAL PLAYING FIELD FOR BLIND & VISUALLY IMPAIRED

NEW YORK - For the blind and visually impaired new technology has
literally opened up the doors to education. They can listen to a
textbook on a computer or read it using refreshable braille. Yet
students with print disabilities have had to wait six months or longer
for an accessible textbook to be made available to them.

This is set to change, however, thanks to a reauthorization of the
Individuals with Disabilities Educational Act (IDEA). The act, signed by
President Bush on December 3, is geared to give students with print
disabilities the same access to educational materials as their sighted
peers.

Key to the effectiveness of this act is the requirement of a standard
national file format for the production of textbooks in electronic
files. This will make conversion into accessible formats such as
braille, large print or digital text much faster.

"The new standard is an historic milestone," says Mark Gross, president
of Data Conversion Laboratory (DCL), a New York-based technology firm
involved in the conversion of textbooks into accessible formats and a
supporter of the new standard. "Like Eli Whitney's invention of
interchangeable parts which led to the industrial revolution, an
accepted standard will revolutionize preparation of materials for the
blind and visually impaired."

It will also standardize the tools that make use of these materials,
such as braille readers and computer and display equipment, adds Gross.

The act stipulates that state education agencies and local schools must
use this new file format. It also encourages them to demand that the
publishers from whom they buy textbooks produce their materials in these
files. Having publishers do this as part of the publication process
would reduce costs for education organizations.

— Digital Talking Book

The new national file format is based on an ANSI NISO standard and the
text portions of it are referred to as Digital Talking Book (DTBook), an
XML standard coordinated by the DAISY Consortium and the Library of
Congress' National Library Service for the Blind and Physically
Handicapped (NLS).

The non-profit DAISY Consortium is promoting DAISY XML standards
throughout the world and urges publishers to provide materials in the
new file format.

"Publishers can help libraries serving persons with disabilities by
providing XML files in DTBook or in other XML vocabularies that can be
transformed to this rapidly advancing standard," says George Kerscher,
secretary general for the DAISY Consortium.

Data Conversion Laboratory will be providing conversion to DTBook,
beginning in February, as part of its "Books2Bytes" service
(www.books2bytes.com).

"The new service will allow authorized organizations to quickly and
easily produce materials without needing to make a capital investment,
and without long term commitments - as they can do this one book at a
time," says Gross.

— Central store

Another important requirement of the act is the establishment of a
central repository for the storage and distribution of the new
standardized files.

"A national file repository would allow publishers, schools and colleges
alike to disseminate files to those who need them" says Gross, "and it
would also reduce duplication of effort."

The inclusion of this "one-stop-shop" provision was considered critical
by advocates to ensure that teachers spend more time teaching rather
than hunting down accessible materials for their students.

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FURTHER INFORMATION

- DATA CONVERSION LABORATORY, INC. (http://www.dclab.com)
Data Conversion Laboratory (DCL) has over 20 years in the conversion
business with over 10,000 projects completed. It wrote the chapter on
legacy data conversion in the "Columbia Guide to Digital Publishing".
And has clients in the DOD (Air Force, Army, Marines, Navy), aerospace,
pharmaceutical, and software industries.

DCL BOOKS2BYTES SERVICE
http://www.books2bytes.com

CONTACT:
Shavy Schwimmer
Tel: (718) 307-5767
E-mail: sschwimmer@dclab.com.

Mark Gross (President)
Tel: (718) 307-5767
E-mail: markgross@dclab.com


- DAISY CONSORTIUM (http://www.daisy.org/)
The DAISY Consortium was formed in May, 1996 by talking book libraries
to lead the worldwide transition from analog to Digital Talking Books.
DAISY denotes the Digital Accessible Information System.