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Accessible Textbooks Clearinghouse

This page serves as a clearing house for information related to textbook accessibility for students with disabilities. Please send any related information, URLs, etc. to Jim Allan at jimallan@tsbvi.edu.

• Accessible Textbook Initiatives
• Daisy & Digital Talking Books
• Braille Bill Information
• Court Cases (Higher Ed)
• Copyright Information
• Emerging Technology

Accessible Textbook Initiatives

• AAP- Publisher Look-Up Service.  The online search tool will enable Disabled Student Services (DSS) professionals who are seeking text materials in alternate formats for print-disabled students to more easily contact publishers.
• Electronic Clearinghouse For Alternative Format Production Pilot Project Report - Canadian Library Association
• BiblioVault Accessibility Services - The BiblioVault can assist accessibility offices at institutions of higher learning, by providing access to books for students who have disabilities which prevent them from using these books in printed form.
• AHEAD E-text Solutions Group
• Accessible Textbooks and Instructional Materials for Students with Visual Impairments - A Tool Kit from the AFB Solutions Forum
• National File Format Initiative at NCAC
  • National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS) Report -- Version 1.0
  • IDEA Requires Instructional Materials Accessibility/National File Repository
• Textbooks: The Right Book at the Right Time for Students with Visual Impairments
• List Of Publisher Contacts for obtaining electronic versions of books
• AFB Textbooks and Instructional Materials Solutions Forum - a national effort directed at getting usable textbooks in students hands in a timely manner
• California Community Colleges Book Exchange Server-BookEx is an exchange center for books and other documents in alternative formats (i.e. Braille, audio tape, etext).
• Texas Text Exchange - Welcome to the Texas Text Exchange - the first web-based digital library of electronic books for exclusive use by students with disabilities! The TTE has gone NATIONAL!
• Texas Education Agency Report Accessibility of Information in Electronic Textbooks For Students Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired - 1997
• TEA - Report on the Computer Network Study Project - 1999
  • ACCESSIBILITY OF INFORMATION IN ELECTRONIC TEXTBOOKS FOR ALL STUDENTS
• AAP Publisher Contact- Instructional Materials in Multiple Formats 
• Association of American Publishers - information about publishers, conferences, policy, etc. 
• NCAC Policy Group White Paper for Policy, Property & Permissions: A Discussion of Accessible Curriculum Materials on Ordering, Producing, and Obtaining Accessible Versions of Curriculum Materials for K-12 Students with Print Disabilities

Daisy & Digital Talking Books (DTB)

• The Future of Talking Books- Our Experience with the Daisy Project - TSBVI Presentation at AER '98
• DAISY Consortium- The international consortium for the new digital talking book standard
  • DAISY 2.x Specifications
  • Platform Independence and Inter Operability In DAISY Talking Books
  • DAISY Work At TPB - Establishing A New Talking Book Model
• Digital Recording Synchronized With Structured Text How
• Digital Talking Books Production And Implementation Plans
• Digital Talking Book Production Process
• Digital Talking Books Planning for the Future - From National Library Service
• ANSI/NISO Z39.86 - DTB Specification (from NLS)
• Using Digital Talking Books (DTB) with Students
• IEP Objectives for Using Digital Talking Books

Braille Bill Information

• From NFB: Model Braille Law
• From NFB: States with Braille Literacy Laws

Court Cases (Higher Ed)

• California State University, Los Angeles, OCR Case Docket No. 09-97-2002 (April 7, 1997)
• City College of San Francisco, OCR Case Docket No. 09-97-2145 (January 9, 1998)
• California Community Colleges, OCR Case Docket No. 09-97-6001 (January 22, 1998)

Relevant Legislation

• Federal and State Legislation Regarding Accessible Instructional Materials
• Arizona HB 2352
• California AB-422 - Postsecondary access to accessible textbooks
• Kentucky Postsecondary Textbook Accessibility Act, Senate Bill 85 (SB 85)
• Missouri: Guidelines for Electronic Formats of Educational Materials, § 170.132
• New Mexico Article 15
• New York State Education Law Article 15B (Section 715, also referred to as Chapter 219)
  • Memo to Publishers: Implementing Chapter 219 of the Laws of 2003: In relation to publishers or manufacturers of instructional materials for college students with disabilities to also make the materials available, at a comparable price to the printed version, in alternate format
  • Alternate Format Materials Handbook for Postsecondary Disability Service Providers in New York State
• 2003 Disability Law Chart

Copyright Information

• Factsheet on Public Law 104-197, Copyright Law amendment, September 16, 1996 - From Library of Congress
• Internet Copyright Rip-offs What You Should Know And Do

Emerging Technology

• Open eBook- electronic books (eBooks) are lightweight, comfortable to hold tablet devices, able to store large quantities of data and are read as effortlessly as printed books are read today.
  • Open eBook FAQs- standards, accessibility and other information

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Last Revision: October 4, 2006