Another option is to file a discrimination complaint.  The university
could negotiate a deal with the publishers for digital books.  Its policy
of permitting instructors to decide upon a textbook on the first day of
class could be determined to be discriminatory.  This school likely has
priority registration so that blind students can identify required texts
and obtain them in alternative formats or get them produced.  If the
university's employees have decided not to disclose their course materials
or decide upon them for blind students until the first day of class, the
blind student is at an unfair disadvantage because it is very difficult to
have books produced in a timely manner with such a late start.

Another issue is with the scanning system.To be highly effective, scanned
texts need to be cleaned up.  Scanning is a partial solution.  it is not
the total answer.

kelly



On Fri, 19 Nov 1999, wang.. wrote:

> When I was in the college, I faced the exact same problem.  But I did feel
> easy with several courses' matterial because the books were written by the
> instructors.  So they simply gave me the books on the floopy disks.
>
> Today all books are published electronically.  There is no additional cost
> at all for the publisher to issue the electronic version of each book for
> the visual impaired people.  The only concern is how to protect the
> copyrights.  I think this can be resolved through leagal system.  Regular
> publication can still be copied by Zerox machine.  Since millions of
> dollars are required to spend on building accessable ranps and ATM
> machines, why U.S. government can not tell the publishers to issue
> electronic versions for the blind only, this does not cost the publishers
> any additional money since we still pay the same price for the electronic
> version of the books.
> Ren
>
>
> On Thu, 18 Nov 1999, Gary Bowers wrote:
>
> > Southern Illinois U. student hopes to provide disabled students with
> > tailored texts
> > ( University Wire ) Daphne Retter; 10-28-1999
> >
> >
> > (Daily Egyptian) (U-WIRE) CARBONDALE, Ill. -- In three years as a
> > graduate student at SIUC, Jeanie Akamanti says she has never started a
> > semester with all the texts and readings for her classes.
> >
> >
> > Because personal health problems, Akamanti, a graduate student in social
> > work, has to use books on tape for reading materials in her classes.
> > When instructors do not supply a syllabus or a book list with enough
> > time to make arrangements to obtain the text on tape, Akamanti and other
> > disabled students can fall behind.
> >
> >
> >
> > Akamanti is looking for more efficient ways to provide books on audio
> > tape for disabled students. Tapes are provided to students with a
> > variety of disabilities, including blindness, dyslexia and learning
> > disabilities.
> >
> >
> >
> > After years of frustration with the slow process of getting books taped
> > in time, Akamanti has put together an idea for a new policy to provide
> > adapted-format texts for disabled students in a more timely manner.
> >
> >
> >
> > "I want to walk in on the first day of class and have complete access to
> > materials just like any other student," she said.
> >
> >
> >
> > Currently, students who need books on tape must provide a list of
> > textbooks needed for the semester to DSS four to six weeks before
> > classes begin.
> >
> >
> >
> > DSS then attempts to order the texts on tape from Readings for the Blind
> > and Dyslexic, an organization with nearly 80,000 audio taped books
> > available to individuals with documented disabilities. If the books are
> > not already available on tape, DSS will hire students to record the
> > texts.
> >
> >
> >
> > Up to six months before the start of classes, Akamanti has tried to
> > contact professors to obtain book information. But she said each
> > semester some instructors have failed to provide a syllabus or a book
> > list in time for her to start classes with all of her materials.
> >
> >
> >
> > Akamanti's proposed policy would require students to submit a written
> > request to their department and DSS eight weeks prior to the start of
> > classes. Department heads then would be responsible for supplying text
> > information to DSS six weeks before the beginning of the semester.
> >
> >
> >
> > Akamanti has presented the policy to DSS and sent it to former
> > Chancellor Jo Ann Argersinger, Associate Vice Chancellor of Diversity
> > Seymour Bryson and interim Chancellor John Jackson, in the last 14
> > months.
> >
> >
> >
> > "As long as SIU does not determine guidelines, there is no motivation
> > for either instructors or departments to achieve responsible and
> > responsive communication conducive to special needs students obtaining
> > texts on tape," Akamanti wrote in a letter to Argersinger.
> >
> >
> >
> > Lisa Belville, a senior in English from Marion who is legally blind,
> > depends on audio-taped texts for classes and said Akamanti's policy
> > would be a positive move for the University.
> >
> >
> >
> > "A lot of the problems could be addressed if they could just have a
> > deadline," she said.
> >
> >
> >
> > Kathleen Plesko, director of DSS, said frustrated students got DSS
> > looking for options.
> >
> >
> >
> > "The concern about how to get materials more quickly shined a light on
> > the need to do something better," she said.
> >
> >
> >
> > But Plesko said Akamanti's proposal is not a practical way to solve the
> > problem.
> >
> >
> >
> > "If I thought it would work, that would be the easy way for me," Plesko
> > said. "But I don't think it would work, and I don't think it's in all of
> > our students' best interests in the long run."
> >
> >
> >
> > Plesko said there are several reasons instructors would not be able to
> > supply the texts six weeks before the semester begins. She remembered
> > one professor who spent his summers reading every new textbook in his
> > field to decide which book he would use.
> >
> >
> >
> > "It was about his wanting to have the best texts available and the most
> > current, and that's right," she said. "There shouldn't be a policy that
> > would preclude that kind of conscientious decision-making."
> >
> >
> >
> > Plesko said budgets for some departments are not determined until Aug.
> > 1, which means some faculty members may be in the midst of negotiations
> > or not even hired by August. Plesko questioned the practicality of a
> > proposal that would require the department to make textbook decisions in
> > the absence of faculty members.
> >
> >
> >
> > For Belville, the argument that departments wouldn't be able to
> > determine which texts will be used six weeks before the semester starts
> > is not good enough.
> >
> >
> >
> > "It would mean that [professors] would have to get on the ball, and they
> > don't want to," she said.
> >
> >
> >
> > Currently, professors must get book information to the bookstores three
> > months prior to the semester. Chris Aheart, textbook manager for Saluki
> > Bookstore, said some instructors make the deadline and some do not.
> >
> >
> >
> > "To be honest, the majority of [book order forms] don't get returned for
> > the fall in a timely fashion," Aheart said.
> >
> >
> >
> > Interim Chancellor John Jackson, who has been contacted on multiple
> > occasions by Akamanti, said he is eager to find an appropriate solution
> > to the problem, but the proposed policy is not feasible.
> >
> >
> >
> > "I think I understand her sense of frustration," he said. "But it' s
> > hard to get the faculty to do something."
> >
> >
> >
> > Plesko said the concerns of Akamanti and other students are valid, and
> > she responded to the complaints swiftly.
> >
> >
> >
> > "I don't question for one minute our students' right to have their
> > material in whatever format they need," she said. "There are answers to
> > that problem that do not require a policy change."
> >
> >
> >
> > Plesko said most of the problem will be addressed by a software system,
> > known as An Open Book, that reads computer texts with a voice
> > synthesizer that can then be recorded on audio tapes. Students with
> > similar software on home computers can use the scanner at DSS to place
> > readings on disks their computers then can read.
> >
> >
> >
> > Using An Open Book will be so much faster than hiring readers that
> > Plesko said DSS will be able to deal with late book lists and last-
> > minute changes without putting the students behind in their work..
> >
> >
> >
> > By the start of the spring semester, Plesko expects to have a new
> > scanner, a new computer and the software fully operational. Plesko said
> > 80 percent of the volume of materials for which DSS currently uses
> > student readers will be done more quickly and easily with the new
> > software.
> >
> >
> >
> > The remaining 20 percent of the material will continue to be taped by
> > hired readers.
> >
> >
> >
> > "The scanner is not going to be able to do everything," she said. "Like
> > where the text is formatted in weird ways or where the book is heavy on
> > illustrations, or math text books where there is a lot of symbolic
> > language, we will still be using real readers too."
> >
> >
> >
> > Akamanti said An Open Book will be an improvement, but the policy change
> > is still needed. Many of her difficulties have stemmed from the wrong
> > material being taped. Because the tapes were not finished as quickly as
> > Akamanti would have liked the first time, having them taped again could
> > make her fall behind in the class.
> >
> >
> >
> > "If they were given this information a month prior to the start of the
> > semester and she could give me, at the beginning of the semester,
> > everything scanning on a disk in time that I could go back and I could
> > check it and make sure it is right, I think it would be a wonderful
> > idea," Akamanti said.
> >
> >
> >
> > Owen Zimpel, a graduate student in rehabilitation from Minnesota who is
> > legally blind, used An Open Book at home while he got his master' s and
> > said he could not have accomplished what he has without it.
> >
> >
> >
> > "I made it through 60 credits in two years even," he said. "Without [the
> > technology] I never would have been able to handle the course load."
> >
> >
> >
> > But Zimpel still believes Akamanti's policy can be of use to DSS and
> > disabled students. He said being able to read ahead can be essential to
> > a student who cannot use printed text.
> >
> >
> >
> > "I cannot simply grab a book and start skimming or skip to the bold
> > stuff or the headings which makes us slower," he said. "That is not
> > equal access unless you know ahead of time what to read."
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > (C) 1999 Daily Egyptian via U-WIRE
> >
> >
> > VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
> > To join or leave the list, send a message to
> > [log in to unmask]  In the body of the message, simply type
> > "subscribe vicug-l" or "unsubscribe vicug-l" without the quotations.
> >  VICUG-L is archived on the World Wide Web at
> > http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/vicug-l.html
> >
>
>
> VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
> To join or leave the list, send a message to
> [log in to unmask]  In the body of the message, simply type
> "subscribe vicug-l" or "unsubscribe vicug-l" without the quotations.
>  VICUG-L is archived on the World Wide Web at
> http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/vicug-l.html
>


VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
To join or leave the list, send a message to
[log in to unmask]  In the body of the message, simply type
"subscribe vicug-l" or "unsubscribe vicug-l" without the quotations.
 VICUG-L is archived on the World Wide Web at
http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/vicug-l.html