Lets Read This One in Braille! How to make full use of the emerging - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Let’s Read This One in Braille! How to make full use of the emerging eBook market for producing high quality Braille books • State of affairs at Dedicon, Netherlands By: Koen Krikhaar Senior account Specialist At DEDICON

Content of presentation • Intro to Dedicon (short) • Braille: the “traditional” way • The ebook market in the Netherlands • The central ebook platform • Gaining trust of the publishers • Changing the production chain • Not only just for making Braille • Looking ahead: the balance between exception and inclusion

Short Intro to Dedicon Mission: Inhoudsopgave • Onderwerp Making information • Onderwerp accessible for • Onderwerp • Onderwerp people with a print impairment.

For all kinds of reading disabilities

Core Activities • Producing • Distributing • Innovating • Supporting

Services and Products • Dedicon has two main branches – Library services (backoffice for 30,000 people / + public libraries) – Educational services (service to 8800 students and 3500 schools)

Innovating services • Implementing Daisy Online Delivery Protocol • Reading on Mobile platforms (Apps) • Developing synthetic voices and T2S products • Production tools for creating Daisy XML/ ePub3 formats • Multimedia forms of reading ( karaoke reading ) • Crossborder sharing (e.g. in ABC/ Tigar) • Testing new products and ways of reading (proefportaal.nl)

Braille: the “traditional” way • Printed books are bought, cut and scanned • PDF files are stored • If Braille is requested, we start OCR • PDF + OCR is send to production house in India • XML is marked up according to our Daisy 3.0 specs • Daisy XML is send back to Dedicon • Last corrections and validation at Dedicon • Creating Print File by automatic dynamic conversion • Storing Daisy Masterfile + Braille Print File

The ebook market in the Netherlands • 30.000 titles as eBook (37% of all titles on sale) • 140 web stores that sell eBooks • 7 eBook ecosystems, such as Kobo, Google and iBooks. • 1.1 million eReaders + 5 million tablets are in use • The total sale of eBooks is around a growing 4% of all booksales. (within online sales it is 22%) • Public Libraries have a growing 5000 eBooks on loan • The total number of new eBooks on the Dutch market is estimated to be around 10.000 titles a year.

The central ebook platform (CB online) Publishers • Ebook files • Metadata • Price • Contracts

Gaining trust of the publishers • Backing of the Dutch Publishers Association (NUV)  We are changing the production chain (not the products)  All is still subject to the collective agreement • Individual publishers still need to give permission to CB online (for their open eBook files to reach Dedicon) • Targetting the 3 largest Dutch publishing houses • Developed a contract with one of them (VBK) , might be model for others  We are not in business of retailing (selling) the eBooks  We have secure servers  We distribute only among our target group  We confrom to the collective agreement

innovating the production chain • Using unprotected (naked) eBook files is a great step forward (both in quality and in speed of delivery)  Developing scripts to convert the ePub2/3 to Daisy XML  From Daisy XML to braille is standard procedure • Looking for ways to make this more efficient, (e.g. by converting from ePub3 directly into Braille) • Looking for ways to turn it into an end-user driven ordering system (Lets read this one in Braille!) • International cooperation  Nordic libraries + SBS are developing a special set of ePub3 to accomplish this  The Daisy Consortium is propelling the TIES program ( Transition to Inclusive EPUB 3 Ecosystem)

Not only for better Braille books! • The ePub / ebook files can be used for other adapted formats ➙ TTS versions ➙ Giant print editions ➙ Multimedia version • Communication with publishers remains a central issue • SIOB and Dedicon will negotiate a new collective agreement in the fall

Striking a balance between exception and inclusion • Focus should be on the whole ecosystem of reading • Printed and electronic Braille-files will stay a special service under the exception • Reading of eBooks might indeed become inclusive  Can the end-user read the commercially available eBook?  How can we as special libraries be instrumental in this? • It might be wise for us special service providers to start thinking more about truly inclusive services and how to bring them about

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