Thats interesting Damon cause when I was in touch with Bloomsbury about this
last year I was told to contact the Christopher Little Agency who were
supposed to be responsible for the audio version. However if you look at
Jo's own web site BBC are listed for the audio as you say. I did email the
Christopher Little agency but got no response.
I've checked BBC's online catalogue of Harry Potter books and the Cover to
cover site and neither have the next book listed.
Yusuf
----- Original Message -----
From: "Damon Rose" <damon.rose@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, April 19, 2005 2:41 PM
Subject: [access-uk] Re: Ethics of book sharing services
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 ** To leave the list, click on the immediately-following link:- ** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=unsubscribe] ** If this link doesn't work then send a message to: ** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ** and in the Subject line type ** unsubscribe ** For other list commands such as vacation mode, click on the ** immediately-following link:- ** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=faq] ** or send a message, to ** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the Subject:- faq
** To leave the list, click on the immediately-following link:- ** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=unsubscribe] ** If this link doesn't work then send a message to: ** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ** and in the Subject line type ** unsubscribe ** For other list commands such as vacation mode, click on the ** immediately-following link:- ** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=faq] ** or send a message, to ** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the Subject:- faq
** To leave the list, click on the immediately-following link:- ** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=unsubscribe] ** If this link doesn't work then send a message to: ** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ** and in the Subject line type ** unsubscribe ** For other list commands such as vacation mode, click on the ** immediately-following link:- ** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=faq] ** or send a message, to ** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the Subject:- faq
http://www.bbc.co.uk/
This e-mail (and any attachments) is confidential and may contain personal views which are not the views of the BBC unless specifically stated. If you have received it in error, please delete it from your system. Do not use, copy or disclose the information in any way nor act in reliance on it and notify the sender immediately. Please note that the BBC monitors e-mails sent or received. Further communication will signify your consent to this. ** To leave the list, click on the immediately-following link:- ** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=unsubscribe] ** If this link doesn't work then send a message to: ** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ** and in the Subject line type ** unsubscribe ** For other list commands such as vacation mode, click on the ** immediately-following link:- ** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=faq] ** or send a message, to ** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the Subject:- faq
** To leave the list, click on the immediately-following link:- ** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=unsubscribe] ** If this link doesn't work then send a message to: ** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ** and in the Subject line type ** unsubscribe ** For other list commands such as vacation mode, click on the ** immediately-following link:- ** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=faq] ** or send a message, to ** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the Subject:- faq