-----Original Message-----
From: Melanie Brunson [mailto:[log in to unmask]] 
Sent: Tuesday, June 05, 2007 4:54 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [leadership] House Subcommittee to Consider Funding for Digital
Talking Books Tomorrow!

Hi All,

I just got word that the House Subcommittee  on the Legislative 
Branch will be considering the request by NLS for an increased 
appropriation to fund the beginning of the digital talking book 
program tomorrow afternoon.  I have written letters to the members of 
this subcommittee, as well as the House Appropriations Committee, 
which this subcommittee is a part of, and their counterparts in the 
Senate.  My letter is pasted below for your reference.  I will send 
another message containing a list of the committee members.  If you 
are in one of their districts, please either call or fax them and let 
them know that this program is of paramount importance to blind 
people.  If your representative or senator is not on this list, 
please contact your own legislators and urge them to communicate your 
concerns to the members of the committees dealing with appropriations.

I apologize for the short notice, but appreciate your prompt response.

Melanie Brunson



June 5, 2007


Rep.  Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Chair, House Subcommittee on the 
Legislative Branch
118 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Via Fax (202) 225-8456

Dear Rep. Wasserman Schultz,

I am writing on behalf of the American Council of the Blind to urge 
you to grant the appropriation requested by the National Library 
Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) to fund their 
transition to digital talking book production.  Our organization 
represents tens of thousands of blind and visually impaired 
individuals from every state in the union.  Our members rely on 
reading material provided by NLS for a wide variety of reasons, 
including professional development, education, information to aid in 
their civic participation, as well as  entertainment.  It is vital to 
the interests of the blind community throughout this country that 
this program be preserved.  To accomplish this, it is necessary that 
the technology used to produce and distribute talking books be 
brought into the 21st century.

We have followed the deliberations of NLS over the course of the past 
several years during which the plan to transition to digital talking 
books was developed.  In fact, members of our organization 
participated directly in the creation and implementation of these 
plans as future consumers of the digital talking book program.  We 
are impressed and pleased by the level of consumer involvement used 
by NLS in developing the proposed digital system.  We are confident 
that the technology that has been chosen for future distribution of 
talking books, and the proposed implementation schedule will 
effectively meet the needs of their blind and visually impaired 
patrons for decades to come.

We are aware that a recent report issued by the Government 
Accountability Office has generated some controversy regarding the 
proposed solution NLS has adopted for digital talking books.  We wish 
to suggest that this report appears
to be significantly flawed both in its presentation of fact and its 
conclusions.
We believe that Congress has not been well served by this analysis and hope
you
will disregard it.

The technology is recognized by industry experts as solid and, unlike 
similar "off-the-shelf" digital technology, is readily usable by 
blind and visually impaired people of all ages and abilities.  Such 
usability by a diverse population with widely varying capabilities is 
absolutely essential to the integrity of this program.

We have been awaiting this transition for some time.  Please do not 
make us wait any longer.  Please authorize the appropriation 
requested by the National Library Service  for the digital talking 
book program.

If you require any additional information about this issue, please do 
not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,




Melanie Brunson, Executive Director

Cc: Frank Kurt Cylke, National Library Service for the Blind and 
Physically Handicapped



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