[access-uk] Re: Ethics of book sharing services
- From: "Damon Rose" <damon.rose@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 19 Apr 2005 14:41:47 +0100
Actually it's the BBC that is responsible for the audio version.
Last time I spoke to them, back in January, they hadn't been given the
nod that they have the audio rights.
So part of the issue is the fact that audio is a secondary concern ...
And as you say, had they tied the two ideas together in December and,
for instance, checked Stephen Fry's calendar at that stage, there may be
more chance of a version coming out at the same time?
A system thing.
Anyone who wants to find out more should call BBC Worldwide and ask for
their audio books section.
-----Original Message-----
From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of yusuf
Sent: 19 April 2005 14:37
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [access-uk] Re: Ethics of book sharing services
Tink, I 'm afraid I have to disagree with you on this. the delay to the
last Harry Potter book was unacceptable. The fact is publishers do not
take making books available in accessible formats seriously enough
because the law is not strong enough and I'm not merely talking about
audio but Braille, large print and digital. We have known about the
print publication date of
the next Harry Potter book since December, will we get an audio version
at
the same time? I doubt it.
When I contacted the Harry Potter publishers I was told that they
weren't responsible for the Braille edition and that I should contact
Scottish Braille Press. But they can only produce the Braille copy when
the publisher gives them a copy to Braille. So the responsibility still
lies with the publicher not Scottish Braille.
The responsibility for providing different formats for a book has to be
with
the print publisher and the law needs to be strengthened to make that
clear.
It shouldn't be up to the author to sort out an unabridged version of a
book, the publisher should be ensuring that the book is made available
in
different formats as a matter of course. I have a bit of sympathy with
the
smaller publishers but a publisher that makes the money that scholastic
does
has no excuse whatsoever.
The American edition (audio) was available at exactly the same time as
the
print because (and I am guessing here) the ADA insists on it. Also it
was
possible to download the Order of the Phoenix from bookshare within
hours of
the publication. Why have we not got a similar thing to bookshare in
this
country? Or even better why doesn't the UN do something useful for once
and
get an international agreement exepting print handycapped people from
copyright laws all over the world so that where ever a person lives they
can
access things like bookshare?
I get very passionate about this subject because the right to read is a
fundamental human right in my opinion. Reading is so much a part of
developing the mind and the soul and we're being denied that right.
Ok I'll get off my soap box and go back to spell checking my work
instead.(smile)
Yusuf
----- Original Message -----
From: "Tink Watson" <tink@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, April 19, 2005 10:30 AM
Subject: [access-uk] Re: Ethics of book sharing services
> James,
>
> The Harry Potter books are the only books, to my knowledge, to have
> been made available in audio format, unabridged, at the behest of the
> author. The delay in the publication of the audio version last time
> wasn't an accessibility issue. It was due to problems finding time in
> Stephen Fry's schedule. The American audio version was available
> almost immediately.
>
> Problems with the Scottish Braille telephone answering service are
> not the responsibility of the author or publishers, even if the
> initial responsibility to create accessible format versions is.
>
> The fact that these books are made available to the mainstream
> market is a step forward. The fact that they are unabridged is one
> step more. They're still expensive and the timing last time around
> wasn't ideal, but let's not waste time bashing one of the few
> authors/publishers where some progress is being made.
>
> Cheers,
> Tink.
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "James O'Dell" <jamesodell@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Monday, April 18, 2005 8:53 PM
> Subject: [access-uk] Re: Ethics of book sharing services
>
>
>> Hi Damon
>>
>> I kind of see what you mean, but how many times have we as visually
>> impaired people heard companies say 'yes, very nice idea, but there
>> just isn't the demand...'. They obviously have their own market
>> research and for whatever reason don't seem to think it's worth
>> making their material accessible. They probably just look at the
>> current number of people receiving braille/talking books and decide
>> it's really not worth the 'bother'. I guess there are many blind
>> people in the UK who don't even receive the services that *are*
>> available due to lack of awareness or because they don't think they
>> deserve 'charity'. There isn't any evidence to suggest that these
>> people would be willing and able to adopt an accessible solution,
>> should it be developed. This, unfortunately, is why we need the DDA
>> - because commercial organisations with no sense of social
>> responsibility will always see disability and disabled people as a
>> problem/no concern of theirs; the medical model is alive and kicking.
>> In the short-to-medium term, I don't see how publishers could really
>> benefit from providing their own accessible solution once cost of
>> security and implementation are taken into account - the demographic
>> of the blind community is hardly attractive to them. If they were
>> really going to make huge profits from disabled people, don't you
>> think they would have done something by now? Time for less carrot,
>> more stick?
>>
>> And while we're here, does anyone know what the arrangements will be
>> for getting hold of the next Harry Potter book in an accessible
>> format when it comes out? Are the publishers still being as
>> intransigent as ever, saying 'shan't!' and 'We'll thcream and thcream
>> and thcream until We're thick!'? Is the audio version coming out any
>> soonner this time, or will it be a case of ordering it from Scottish
>> Braille Press and hanging on the phone for half an hour while they
>> try to locate your invoice in the huge pile?
>>
>> James
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