Publishing for the Blind

Edwin van der Klaauw

"XML is going to be terribly important to getting accessible content to users on the web, amongst other ways" -- Kirstin Rogers, Hypervision

Important to find easy editors. Institutions are employing people who don't want to learn new, specialised editors. Therefore choice of Word as a tool was critical.

Mediasystemen, specialists in multi-channel publishing.

Major task for Dutch library is to offer printed books to print-disabled readers. However, traditional support media don't meet demands of those readers any more.

Therefore needed very flexible solution (additional delivery media), without introducing proportional increase in product costs. Inherent contradiction -- need to find sweet-spot.

Problem needed insight into business and technology.

Also needed overview: NLBB < Blind < Publishing

Skip rages and hype,and look for stable trend. The mature and reliable publishing trend in this case is content syndication.

Content syndication is:

• reuse of content
• media independency
• multi-output channel
• to profit from reusability need Write Once, Publish Many, and fully automatic layout

Plot: time vs. channel.

scan, correct,structure, layout

Traditional working:

braille takes lot of effort (scanning), and in correction and layout.

Enlarging font takes a lot of effort (large print), similarly for web.

With a atructured way of working (adding structure to content), takes a lot of investment -- must also factor in addition of structure. Therefore not profitable for single channel. However for multiple channels, cost is reduced, particularly for web.

Digital Talking Books:

NISO Standard designed for print-disabled readers. Based on W3C and Open eBook Forum standards.

Daisy Consortium

Specification for:

• packaging & distribution
• structuring and presentation
• navigation and synchronization
• resource files -- multimedia

With markup based content, can associate audio with it. Also index it, and add metadata. Backbone is how the book should be written from beginning to the end.

What's the impact?

Traditional way of working: editor does correction after scanning, then goes to print. Reader must read same physical book to record the commentary. Also if enlargement is required, editor must enlarge from the original. Therefore the physical book underlies all processes.

Structured way: the digital version of the book underlies everything instead.

Extra benefits: digital delivery of content from the publisher, instead of print version. Can also output to braille device directly, rather than printing; or speech synthesis.

Pilot project: "Lexus Studio" -- A New Sound for the Blind

Business Functionality

• ink print interpretation -- scan, recognise, spelling -- pilot
• DTB generation -- pilot
• formula embedding
• auto correction
• braille transcription -- pilot
• print transformation
• web publication -- pilot
• audio indexing

Result of scan is digital picture, OCR used to recognise content. Can next interpret the text (automatically -- using heuristics).

At this point can output digital talking book.

Can next enrich the book with formulas, etc; as resources

Braille books are specific layout, so transformation required to publish.

Workflow

Working folders -- containing content at specific stage

State information can be attached to the content, e.g. restrictions

Locking, authorization

Simultaneous production is now feasible

Architecture

Stand-alone client

3rd Party interfacing

Open system:

• configuration
• customization
• programming

Components in Lexus Studio: OmniPage; Imaging; MS Word; WorX; DTB player

Conclusions

support for additional media preventing proportional increase of production costs: established!

major impact on traditional publishing production environment: whole picture looks different

keys to success: content syndication (DTB); integration of proven software (WorX)

Questions

• Any ways for structuring markup, that make it easier to produce Braille? Anything on top of WAI guidelines?

??

• Braille Layout

e.g. how is emphasis added? firstly detected. Can tell reader "the following line..."; add emphasis with human voice;...

• What kind of metadata is used for navigation for Braille/TB?

• Are there standard guidelines for chapter info? Or as variable as printed material?

Braille books need lot of extra space, pages are doubly number: braille and print numbers. Numbers are in standard space -- can't afford to confuse the reader. So much less variable than printed books.

Formulas are different, e.g. superscripts might be missed. Formulas must therefore be in one dimension.

• Commercial product?

Still a pilot, to prove the concept. Simple books, only page numbers, normal text, etc. Second page will be more advanced: side notes, footnotes, etc.

• Trend for popularity to speaking books, away from Braille?

Dutch Government wants to rationalise it's content production. All devices are still used and must be supported: adding not replacing channels. Reach younger people, through the web.