Hello,
I thought I would share some advocacy work that I have been doing in the
past few weeks. the American Printing House for the blind recently made
available on the Internet a catalog of books from more than 200 agencies
for the blind. these agencies are not listed in the Union catalog of
the National Library Service. the two catalogs taken together now
constitute nearly all of the books recorded and braille transcribed in
the United States. There is just one problem with the catalog at the
printing house: it doesn't work with Lynx, the most commonly used web
browser by the blind. here is the message I sent out earlier this week
and the e-mail between me and Christine Anderson of the printing house.
kelly
Today, Monday, I spoke to Christine Anderson at the American
Printing House for the Blind in Louisville regarding its new web-
based catalog that is not compatible and accessible with most
versions of Lynx. What is not disclosed on the APH web site
)http://www.aph.org) is that the Printing House had gone through
a year long selection process in choosing software that would be
compatible with Lynx and other software predominately used by
blind persons. Blind APH staff members tried all of the software
under consideration, rejecting many because of access issues.
During this process the selected software was used with Lynx and
it preformed flawlessly. From then until now, both Lynx and the
searching software underwent two upgrades. Apparently, changes
in both programs exacerbated a bug that was later discovered in
Lynx, which has since been corrected. Unfortunately, the
searching software is not backward compatible with older versions
of Lynx. With technology changing so rapidly, this is an
example of how even with the best intentions and a process in
place to test and choose technology that is accessible, one may
end up with a result that is not accessible. While the Printing
House could switch searching software, the situation is not so
easy. What is now on the Internet used to be a fee-based service
available only to agencies, principally because of the cost of
access. In terms of increasing usability, prices were lowered to
$90 a year for individuals. This year the database of books
produced by more than 200 organizations, few on the Union catalog
of NLS, was placed on the internet via the world wide web. The
software had to work with data structures that the users and end
agencies want that is also current. For example, the National
Library Service for the Blind uses a system designed in the
1970s. Hence importation of NLS data is difficult to impossible
with modern systems. After a certain point in the technology
selection process, there is no turning back, as deadlines
approach and costs mount. That is because one must design
relational databases around the one that was selected and data
must be compiled to meet the needs of the chosen product. After
a certain point, there is more, much more, than removing one
piece of software and installing another. To change now would be
a time consuming and expensive process.
Christine Anderson said, "On that Friday in mid-October at 5:00
when I learned that the catalog did not work with Lynx, I nearly
vomited. I had spent years, since 1992, working to bring APH
products and services closer and closer to the actual blind
person in the community and now that wasn't going to be
possible."
The software that is being offered free is a version of Commo,
authered by Fred Brucker, that has a searching capability that
will work with the aph database. It is pre-configured and comes
with an automatic install program, so following long sets of
instructions is not necessary. The reason it is not available on
the web is because aph must licensed each user and offering
support to users is easier when one knows who they are. The
reason why the catalog is not available like a BBS system, like
most other library catalogs where specialized software is not
needed for the end user, is because the Printing House is
actually providing access to its former dial-in service, which
shipped software to users. The intent is that this is only a
transitional measure for the next year or so until Internet
access is fully available to blind end users. The long range
goal is to move all users to the Internet catalog, so putting
resources into the dial-in service to be more usable is not
productive.
The long range vision is to create a one-stop shop for all the
creators of materials in accessible formats in the United States
and Canada. Currently the National Library Service for the
Blind's catalog of titles is not on the APH catalog. this is
because of data formatting incompatibilities. Within the next
three years, NLS will be moving to a new system and reformatting
its data. At that time, full integration will be achieved and
the blind end-user will be able to locate within seconds the
availability of a recorded or braille book.
Is my acceptance being reasonable or selling out? I believe that
it is the first. I was highly critical of the Printing House at
first because I based my assessment of its efforts for access
solely from what it published on its web site. Unfortunately,
this did not tell the full story, as described here. I
encouraged Christine Anderson today to describe and explain
efforts, to aid the end user in learning about the decision-
making process and how things came to be. I explained to her
that many people with disabilities have had experiences with
large agencies that have been less than positive and were often
provided vague and general responses that often said something
similar to "we are concerned and care" while in the end not
providing the tools for the blind end user to be independent. I
explained my skeptical was based on my experience as the public
statement on the web site lack significant details that would
allow me to understand the agency's position and evaluate the
problem. In my opinion, the Printing House did what could be
reasonably be done in ensuring access, managing a large project
to completion, and working to correct the problem once it was
discovered. Additionally, this is not a legal issue. If the ADA
were to apply, and no court in America has considered the issue
of online services, the process used in product selection and
evaluation and the alternatives available for the end user now
would greatly mitigate any claim of web inaccessibility. For
example, people can even call on the printing house's toll-free
800 number for a catalog search. Eventually, as Internet Service
Providers upgrade their systems in the next year, the problem
will resolve itself.
A larger issue is the question of how someone should determine if
web tools are accessible. Access to technology is a balance
between several factors. Changes in this balance can quickly
make the completely accessible unavailable to people with
disabilities. In this case, many things were done right in
considering and allowing for accessibility for the blind computer
user, but in the end these efforts failed. Does the group have
ideas or suggestions that could aid organizations wishing to
ensure access to people with disabilities? Specifically, could
the Printing House done some things differently? To what lengths
should an organization go in ensuring access, considering that
budgets are not limitless and deadlines are a present reality?
Should the Printing House not have put the catalog on the web at
all until the problems were fixed or put it out so at least some
blind end users could benefit from this resource? After having
learned more, I am satisfied with the effort and the process. In
this era where micro-processors are doubling in speed every nine
months rather than every 18 and the whole world is running twice
as fast, is there a better way of developing and determining if
technology is accessible when apparently the best efforts that
followed much of our advice result in failure?
Kelly
From [log in to unmask] Nov 8 11:53:50 1997
Date: Tue, 04 Nov 1997 14:41:05 -0500
From: CHRISTINE ANDERSON <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: search results -Reply
Dear Kelly,
I am sorry you are discouraged with our Web site! I hope we can e-mail
each other and work something out. We are committed to continuing to
work on Louis and accessibility issues.
There are several points to address with your Louis problems.
The first problem you are having is that Louis does not work with the
version of Lynx that you are using. No matter what you enter, you will
always get zero records.
When we tested Louis before we opened it up to the Internet, we found
that there is a problem with Lynx. We contacted the Lynx developers
and they fixed the problem. Are you using Lynx through a network or
through an Internet provider? Can they download the latest version of
Lynx for you? It is available at http://sol.slcc.edu/lynx/current/
As I said above, no matter what you enter in the search boxes, if you use
Lynx 2.7.1, you will always get a zero for the number of records found.
Basically, when you submit search, nothing happens. The same problem
is occurring when you try to access the help button. Unfortunately,
there is no way to embed a message to tell you that. These problems go
away if you use the latest version of Lynx. I typed Gore Vidal in the
keyword search and retrieved 19 records.
As I mentioned above, the Louis interface will continually evolve. We
presented the interface you see because it offered a chance for users to
search interactively. In a sense, it is a combination of the NLS search
choices, but on one page. It is currently set-up this way so that if you get
zero records for a search, you can fill in other boxes. For example, if
you search a common author's name like John Smith, you will retrieve a
large number of records. This interface allows you to add a title, subject,
keywords, copyright date, or medium to reduce the number of records
you will retrieve. Because many of our titles are very similar (for
example, English grammar), we thought this interface might be more
useful to our users. However we appreciate your input, and will look at
other options.
After receiving your e-mail, I discussed your ideas with NLS (and told
them you like their interface). They said they receive complaints because
users have to wait awhile between the layers of their search. It does
seem like a trade-off between simplicity and time spent waiting is always
the case on the Internet.
If you are unable to obtain the latest version of Lynx, and do not have
access to JAWS, please contact me and I will send you free software to
dial directly into Louis. This is a direct dial-in access. It is the same Louis
database, but not on the Internet and with a different interface. You
might find it easier to use than the Internet access, as it is similar to NLS's
interface.
I hope this helps. Please let me know if you are able to obtain the latest
version of Lynx, or if you would like the direct dial-in software.
Thank you for your input. I look forward to hearing from you again.
Christine Anderson
Resource Services Manager
From [log in to unmask] Nov 8 11:54:16 1997
Date: Wed, 5 Nov 1997 22:10:28 -0600 (CST)
From: Kelly Pierce <[log in to unmask]>
To: CHRISTINE ANDERSON <[log in to unmask]>
Cc: Kelly Pierce <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: search results -Reply
Christine,
I look forward to working together on this too. I use Lynx through an
Internet service provider, Ripco Communications. the version of Lynx that is
on the system was released in April of 1997, just seven months ago. You have
stated several times that persons should use the "current" version of Lynx.
Which version of Lynx are you speaking of? Further when was it released?
Most computer users and of course service providers upgrade about once a
year. It is unrealistic to assert incompatibility with technology that is
only seven months old, given that all the search engines as well as the major
newspapers in America with search capacity all support the last major release
of lynx. Additionally, I am not clear why these organizations, as well as the
National Library Service for the Blind, can offer Lynx compatible search
capacity and APH cannot. This is particularly critical when one considers
that Lynx is the predominant means by which blind computer user browse the
World Wide Web.
One of the many cool things about the information explosion and the online
world is the multiple options it offers. It is possible to set up an
all-in-one form as well as more focused forms and allow the end user to decide
which means is most useful for him.
Thanks for the offer for the specialized software. I hope we can work out the
web access issues that would obviate this need. After all the web is
universal and more convenient than a dedicated software solution.
kelly
From [log in to unmask] Nov 10 20:36:05 1997
Date: Mon, 10 Nov 1997 09:45:35 -0500
From: CHRISTINE ANDERSON <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: search results -Reply -Reply
Dear Kelly,
When we implemented the Louis software, we were assured by the
vendor that it was up to the latest Internet standards. And, it is. The
problem with access is not due to the Louis software, but to a bug in the
Lynx software. When we contacted Lynx, they diagnosed this as a
problem with their software, not ours, and fixed it. As I stated in the last
e-mail, this version is available at http://sol.slcc.edu/lynx/current/
It would be a wonderful thing if all software was bug free! Unfortunately,
that is not always the case. We were not pleased when we discovered
this bug, but we were relieved that Lynx was willing and able to fix it.
If your provider is unable or unwilling to download the Fall 1997 version
of Lynx, we are offering, (at no expense to you) free direct dial-in
software.
I sympathize with your preference for Internet access. Since you are
committed to Internet access as the optimum choice, perhaps you should
inquire whether your vendor is willing to download the Fall 1997 version
of Lynx. If not, perhaps you may want to switch Internet Service
Providers. I know of one provider who is offering this version; there may
be others as well.
Sincerely,
Christine
From [log in to unmask] Nov 10 20:36:56 1997
Date: Mon, 10 Nov 1997 20:28:33 -0600 (CST)
From: Kelly Pierce <[log in to unmask]>
To: CHRISTINE ANDERSON <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: search results -Reply -Reply
Christine,
All software has bugs in it of one kind or another. the issue is the
interaction of these bugs with other tools. You fail to to describe why your
searching tool is not compatible with the current install base of Lynx while
other searching tools are. Further, if APH was committed to offering the
software to its second best alternative access, it could provide it on its web
page or e-mail it to end users as file attachments in addition to the
telephone or e-mail request. You do not describe why you require a formal
request rather than offering the option of a file download. This appears to
be an unnecessary administrative burden placed upon the blind end user who
cannot use the service in the same manner as sighted users until his isp gets
around to installing the patches.
Since the policy seems to be dependent on a formal request for the catalog
software, consider this e-mail message to be such. Please send my software,
as described on your web page as necessary to access the catalog, to:
Kelly Pierce
3257 N. clifton Ave.
Chicago, IL 60657
Finally, I am quite concerned about the process APH uses in making purchasing
decisions on technology. specific to this issue, it seems that APH relied on
a software salesman on the compatibility and accessibility of the product
rather then blind computer users. What is the process in making a technology
purchase? At what point in the process is accessibility considered? Are
accessibility impact statements prepared in evaluating software for possible
purchase? the web site indicates that the access problems were discovered
only after when APH purchased the software and did more extensive testing of
it. Why was this not done earlier and why was this product chosen compared to
others?
I remain concerned that the alternative access to the catalog is not as
available as it could be and that APH seems not to have learned from its Louis
mistake through which the organization for independently reviewing and
evaluating technology and software in the early stages of consideration and
decision making. For a national organization with a mission to serve the
blind, complete access to the same services in the same manner as
non-disabled persons should be an essential consideration in making technology
decisions.
Kelly
From [log in to unmask] Nov 29 09:58:31 1997
Date: Tue, 11 Nov 1997 21:07:17 -0500 (EST)
From: [log in to unmask]
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: webwatch-l new catalog at american printing house
i HAVE THE VES RSION, AND THIS STILL DOES'NT WORK!!! PLEASE SEND
ME A COPY OF THE SOFTWARE, AND THE DIAL IN NUMBER. THANK YOU dANA MILLAR
From [log in to unmask] Nov 29 09:59:02 1997
Date: Thu, 13 Nov 1997 10:48:35 -0500
From: CHRISTINE ANDERSON <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Cc: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: webwatch-l new catalog at american printing house (fwd) -Reply
Dear Dana,
Kelly forwarded your e-mail to me. Would you work with us to try and
diagnose this problem? If so, we will need more information about what
is happening from your side. For example, could you obtain the version
number of Lynx that you are using? In Lynx, type the equal sign to get
the version number. We've tried several versions successfully since
Lynx.dev made the change for us.
We would also like to investigate whether this could be a
searching problem rather than a Lynx problem. Could you be more
specific about how it is not working? Are you getting any response from
the system at all? What did you try to type in the search boxes?
Hopefully we can fix the Lynx problem. If not, we'd be happy to send
you a copy of the telecommunications software for direct dial-in. Please
let me know if you want it mailed immediately, or if you would rather work
with us to resolve the Lynx issue first. We will need to mail the software
to you, as this is not shareware or freeware. Rather, APH has bought a
number of licenses for this software, which we are distributing free to
users. We are always careful with licensed software, but in this case
we want to make sure and pay for each copy we use, since the man
who developed this software developed it specifically for speech access
users. Please send me your shipping address and we will send a copy
at no charge.
If you need information in Louis and do not want to wait until either the
Lynx issue is resolved or you receive telecommunications software, you
are always welcome to call us at 800-223-1839 between 8:00 and 4:30
EST and ask Resource Services to search for titles. If you are looking
for more than five titles, we ask that you fax the request to
502-899-2363. To accurately source your title, we need the full title,
author, publisher, copyright year, and ISBN.
Sincerely,
Christine
APH
From [log in to unmask] Nov 29 09:59:51 1997
Date: Mon, 17 Nov 1997 10:43:57 -0500 (EST)
From: Will Smith <[log in to unmask]>
To: Kelly Pierce <[log in to unmask]>
Cc: David Poehlman <[log in to unmask]>, webwatch <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: webwatch-l new catalog at american printing house
Hi Kelly and everyone,
Well, I'm not a happy camper with APH at the moment. I went back and
tried to duplicatemy first success but this time things are a bit
different and running the lynx.beta I was unsuccessful. A friend of mine
who may be on this list accessing the APH Louie search facility, but he
uses speech and braille output together. You might wish to drop Rick
Roderick a note at [log in to unmask] Perhaps he can provide some
guidance but if like me you're using speech only I believe APH owes us a
better and more reliable interface. If I get the time I'll play around
with it some more but I don't like the set up for searches one bit right
now.
Will
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