41
versions, and they should be prepared to arrange for their delivery. It is also helpful to
periodically remind those who handle inquiries that these alternate format publications
must be provided to those who would benefit from them. While some of the typical
marketing strategies companies may employ will be effective for this audience, it will be
helpful to become familiar with the unique avenues of communication among members of
this community.
For example, it could be valuable to mention in all print materials that an accessible
version of the document is available and give information about how to obtain it. Sighted
people who know a blind person may notice that you are promoting accessibility, and they
may point it out to blind friends or family. But generally, a notice in a print bill is not a
reliable method of alerting a blind person that accessible bills are available. A more
effective strategy is to include a notice on a web site highlighting the company's
commitment to alternate format document provision. Mentioning such a commitment in a
television or radio commercial, or announcing it on e-mail listservs or in publications
geared toward this consumer group, is also effective.
Outreach efforts must especially be undertaken to inform this consumer group of the
company's commitment to independent access to information. To enable you to target the
blind and visually impaired people who need accessible publications, here are some
resources and points of contact to assist you with marketing.
A large database with resources related to agencies and organizations that serve people
with various disabilities, including blindness and visual impairment, is maintained by
ABLEDATA.
Companies are encouraged to attend consumer conventions, such as the annual one
sponsored by the American Council of the Blind. Conventions offer the opportunity to
exhibit and demonstrate products to consumers. You can also publicize the availability of
accessible documents by advertising in convention programs or by including accessible
flyers in convention packets. For more information, send e-mail to info@acb.org.
A variety of organizations publish magazines or newsletters, and depending upon the
accessible document that has been produced, some of the following options are worth
exploring.
The American Council of the Blind has more than 70 state and special-interest affiliates,
and many of their representatives may be contacted online. Some of them may have
newsletters, or other communication methods, to enable companies to market to their
members. Find the American Council of the Blind state and special-interest affiliates by
linking to the ACB Affiliates
page on the ACB web site.
Contact information for the regional libraries of the National Library Service for the Blind
and Physically Handicapped
may be located by visiting the library's main page. Regional
libraries may publish newsletters in which it could be appropriate to announce the
availability of accessible publications.
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46
Representatives of state rehabilitation agencies are sometimes able to share relevant
information with consumers with whom they work. Many of the agencies are listed online
in the AFB Directory of Services for Blind and Visually Impaired Persons in the United
States and Canada.
Here is a list of some of the magazines geared toward blind and visually impaired readers:
The Braille Forum, published monthly by the American Council of the Blind
The Braille Monitor, published monthly by the National Federation of the Blind
Dialogue, published quarterly by Blindskills, Inc.
Matilda Ziegler Magazine for the Blind,
published monthly by the E. Matilda
Ziegler Foundation for the Blind
Community radio reading services present information particularly geared to the needs of
people who are print impaired. To explore possible publicity opportunities, visit the
International Association of Audio Information Services,
telephone: (800) 280-5325.
The Internet can also assist with publicizing the availability of alternate format documents.
For example, the American Council of the Blind hosts ACB Radio,
which is a webcasting
service allowing people to listen to audio content via computer. If you are interested in
exploring publicity opportunities,on ACB Radio’s four channels of audio content, send e-
mail to info@acbradio.org.
There are scores of e-mail listservs that focus on specific topics of interest to blind and
visually impaired people. Sending an e-mail message describing the accessible publication
and providing contact information is an excellent way to advertise. Directing a message to
owners of general lists where issues of concern to blind people are discussed could be
valuable, too. Or it might be even better to send a message to those lists that relate to the
subject of the alternate format document. Regardless of which e-mail lists you may decide
to contact, asking the list owner to post a message for you avoids the appearance of
spamming a list with irrelevant messages. Mailing Lists
and Blindness-Related E-mailing
Lists
are two online resources which present compilations of listservs focusing on blindness
issues. Obtain subscription instructions for all ACB mailing lists
from the ACB website.
The following appendices provide more specific information about how to produce
documents in each of the four alternate formats -- large print, braille, audio versions, and
electronic documents. Each appendix is brief and assumes that readers are familiar with
the corresponding section of the guide and the resources listed there. A few of the most
important resources are repeated in these appendices for your convenience.
These collections of resources are by no means comprehensive. The sites listed here are
offered as pointers to help get you started, or to direct you to sources containing more
technical details.
34
APPENDIX B: Resources to Assist with Production of Large
Print
Although large print documents can be produced in-house, there may be times when the
expertise of an outside contractor can be helpful. There are three primary collections of
company listings to consult.
There is a database maintained by the American Foundation for the Blind. See the AFB
Directory of Services for Blind and Visually Impaired Persons in the United States and
Canada.
The American Printing House for the Blind maintains the Accessible Media Producers
Database,
which consists of companies that produce documents in accessible media.
Finally, the National Library Service maintains Sources of Custom-Produced Books,
which
is a comprehensive directory.
The Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired has also placed a short list of
Suppliers and Publishers of Educational Resources in Large Print
online.
The American Printing House for the Blind has developed a font, called APHont,
specifically for low vision readers. According to the organization's web site, the font
embodies characteristics "of size and shape that have been shown to enhance reading
speed, comprehension, and comfort for readers of large print." APHont Suite, the complete
set of APHont, will be ready for sale in the spring of 2002. Please be aware that the
American Printing House for the Blind makes no claim that APHont is the appropriate
typeface for students who are just learning to read.
Although accessible web pages should be created using cascading style sheets, an
interesting reference exists to give sighted people a sense of How a Large Print Reader
Could View Text on the Web.
Of general interest may be Large-Print.NET
that bills itself as The Large Print & Low
Vision Resource Network.
APPENDIX C: Resources to Assist with
Production of Braille Documents
There are many commercial organizations that can generate braille documents. Some
companies are national in their focus, while other braille transcribers are local
42
entrepreneurs who can be hired to proofread braille files or create a full product. There
are three primary collections of company listings to consult when seeking a contractor.
AFB Directory of Services for Blind and Visually Impaired Persons in the United States
and Canada
provides a comprehensive listing.
The American Printing House for the Blind maintains the Accessible Media Producers
Database,
which consists of companies that produce documents in accessible media.
Finally, the National Library Service maintains Sources of Custom-Produced Books,
which
is a comprehensive directory.
Some other sites have compilations of resources worth considering, though company
listings may overlap among all of these sites.
http://www.acb.org/resources/transcribers.html"> American Council of the Blind's
Braille Producers and Transcription Groups list
Duxbury Systems' list of world wide braille producers
National Braille Press' text file of individual transcribers who produce an individual
copy of a braille document
Duxbury Systems has compiled a list of Sources of Braille Production Equipment,
and the
National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
has compiled a similar
list of Braille embossers in one of its reference circulars.
Duxbury Systems Vendors of Graphics Products
available to those who may be interested
in producing tactile graphics.
There are a few free braille translators that may be useful. These software packages can
generate basic braille files that can be forwarded online to end users and/or proofreaders,
as well as to contractors. Such individuals or contractors can then emboss the files on paper
and provide them to a company for distribution to blind or visually impaired customers.
These free braille translators can usually do a decent job of providing basic braille texts. Be
sure to read any accompanying documentation carefully to be sure that you can install and
run the package on your computer system. Two of these free braille translators are:
TurboBraille,
and NFBTRANS.
APPENDIX D: Resources to Assist with
Production of Audio Formats
Since audio versions of documents can often be recorded without specialized equipment, we
present only a few resources here. When searching for companies with which to contract
37
for small recording jobs, it may be helpful to contact local organizations, focusing on those
for-profit companies included in the three main resources below. The American
Foundation for the Blind
and the American Printing House for the Blind
both have
experience in producing recordings for blind people, and there certainly are other
companies with specific relevant experience. There are three primary collections of
company listings to consult.
AFB Directory of Services for Blind and Visually Impaired Persons in the United States
and Canada
provides a comprehensive listing.
The American Printing House for the Blind maintains the Accessible Media Producers
Database,
which consists of companies that produce documents in accessible media.
Finally, the National Library Service maintains Sources of Custom-Produced Books.
The
NLS publication The Art and Science of Audio Book Production,
although somewhat
technical in nature, may be a helpful resource for those who are contemplating audio-
format productions in-house.
APPENDIX E: Resources to Assist with
Production of Electronic Documents
A number of resources are listed here to assist with the generation of accessible World
Wide Web pages and the provision of electronic documents in specialized formats for the
World Wide Web. Resources have been grouped together for easy reference. You will find
that many of these sites are worth exploring due to the quality and breadth of information
they contain. Visit the sites often because information is updated and expanded frequently.
Miscellaneous General Web Sites Concerning
Accessibility
Here are three resources that offer useful information about overall issues related to
information access for people with disabilities:
The Information Technology Technical Assistance and Training Center
Microsoft's Accessibility Homepage
TRACE Research & Development Center
36
Web Page Accessibility Provisions and
Guidelines
Many sites offer advice with regard to ensuring accessibility of the World Wide Web for
people with disabilities. Federal agencies and some states have specific mandates that must
be followed, and an agency's resources and directives certainly should be considered and
addressed first. Here are several sites to consult.
As a result of recent regulations implementing Section 508 of the Vocational Rehabilitation
Act
the federal government has published provisions that relate to web page accessibility.
Also become familiar with the World Wide Web Consortium's Web Accessibility Initiative.
Some of the specific pages on this site that may be especially important are: HTML
Techniques for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0
and information about web style
sheets.
Note that the Web Accessibility Initiative's Content Accessibility Guidelines are evolving;
be sure to consult the most up-to-date version.
Three other references are:
The IBM Accessibility Center Web Accessibility Checklist
The TRACE Research & Development Center's Designing More Usable Web Sites
Web Accessibility in Mind
Web Page Accessibility Tutorials
A number of tutorials outlining the technical details of making web pages accessible are
located on sites like these:
The federal government's collection of resources on its Section 508 site.
The HTML Writers' Guild Course on Accessible Web Design
The Information Technology Technical Assistance and Training Center's Course on
Web Accessibility for Section 508
Web Accessibility Initiative
Tools for Web Page Assessment
46
Some of the tools for validating or assessing web pages are listed below in alphabetical
order. Each tool has its strengths, so it is worthwhile to read about each of them before
deciding which one(s) to use. Some tools are free, while others are not. Regardless of the
tool(s) you use to assess your web pages, keep in mind that no tool can replace human
judgment or feedback from site visitors with disabilities. Accessibility assessment tools can
only help to pinpoint where there might be problems with a site. Take a look at the
following list of validators and other tools to get you started:
AccMonitor, AccRepair, and AccVerify
A-Prompt Project
Bobby WorldWide 3.2
HTML Tidy
InFocus and InSight software
PageScreamer Suite of Products
W3C HTML Validation Service
The Wave
A list entitled Evaluation, Repair, and Transform Tools for Web Content Accessibility
may
also prove helpful.
Miscellaneous Tools for Publishing Online in
Special Formats
When you use Adobe's PDF or Microsoft's Reader format, you are encouraged to take
steps to make the content accessible for that portion of the blind population which is able to
use these formats to some degree. For guidance about how to make documents in these
formats accessible, see the following: How To Create Accessible Adobe PDF Files
Booklet
and the Microsoft Reader - Accessibility Frequently Asked Questions.
The PowerPoint Accessibility Wizard
has been created to assist with the conversion of
Microsoft PowerPoint documents to HTML.
Popchart
from CORDA Technologies is a tool which may help to make information in
charts accessible to blind people.
Here are three web sites that may offer assistance with producing interactive forms. Before
choosing a particular company's product, be sure to consider what assistive technology
blind and visually impaired users are likely to have available and which operating systems
individuals who need to complete the forms are using on their computers. Explore what
these companies have to offer:
Accelio Products and Services Accessibility
41
Adobe Systems Incorporated Information and Resources
Intercon Associates Inc. Accessible FormNet
Multimedia
For general information about audio description, the CPB-WGBH National Center for
Accessible Media
offers tutorials and tools that explain How to Add Audio Description
and
How to Add Captioning
to online videos.
Some efforts to make Flash® accessible to blind and visually impaired people have been
undertaken. For two resources about Flash accessibility, see: Macromedia - Flash
Accessibility
and Making Flash Accessible.
Providing Simultaneous Text and Audio
Access
Several general sites can be consulted for an overview of the state-of-the-art with respect to
offering simultaneous text and audio access to documents in the DAISY/NISO format. The
text markup is an XML tag set using a Document Type Definition (DTD) that will continue
to be enhanced. The audio is contained in computer audio files, such as PCM, WAV, or
MPEG/MP3. The Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language (SMIL) synchronizes
the text with XML markup and the audio file. Of special importance are the DAISY
Structure Guidelines for Producing Content.
A white paper and an article each give an overview describing why this format is valuable.
These documents are: Get Ready: Digital Talking Books Are Coming!
and Surpassing
Gutenberg --Access to Published Information for Blind Readers.
To experience a sample of a basic text in the DAISY/NISO format, look and listen to
Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech in the DAISY/NISO Format.
DAISY
is one of the several consortia involved in establishing standards. The National
Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped also participates in the
development of Standards for the provision of simultaneous text and audio.
Finally, the
Open eBook Forum
has a special-interest group concerned with accessibility as it pertains
to electronic books.
For specific information about SMIL, review the tutorial for the audio format with which
you are working. SMIL Tutorials
are located at the Rich Media Resource Center.
11
During the first few months of 2002, the American Printing House for the Blind anticipates
The release of a Player and a Software Tool to Create Files in the SMIL Format.
To find other companies that are involved in various ways with this technology, such as
those that are developing additional players, explore both the DAISY Friends List
and the
Members List.
Generally, "Friends" are commercial companies, while "Members" are
non-profit organizations.
Return to the ACB Home Page
.
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