Short-Term Solutions

If a textbook cannot be acquired through an existing source, the DSS office must produce an accessible format. Typical production formats include:

• Large Print
• Audio Tapes
• E-text
  • HTML format
  • ASCII text format
  • Word-processing document format
  • PDF format
  • Other formats
• Braille
  • Literary Braille
  • Scientific Braille (Nemeth)

The production of accessible formats is time-consuming and expensive. Production is necessary because accessible formats are not available from the publisher (yet).

Large print production is one of the easier formats to produce. Most textbooks are smaller than 8.5 by 11 inches. The pages of the book can be enlarged on a copier to accommodate a full-sized 11 by 14 inches. This has the effect of creating a base font size in the neighborhood of 16 to 18 points. If the student has access to a CCTV, large print production may be unnecessary.

Recordings for the Blind and Dyslexic (RFBD) is a good source for books-on-tape. However, if RFBD does not have a title, the amount of time it takes for them to produce the book-on-tape (3-12 months) is prohibitive for a student who needs the book sooner rather than later. Recording a book onto tape is a fairly involved and time-consuming process. Nevertheless, some institutions have recording programs in place. Sometimes the readers are volunteers, and sometimes they are paid. Since the book is produced in-house, tapes can be distributed to the student as they are produced.

For other types of accessible formats, converting the book from paper to digital media is the first step. Many institutions use scanning equipment and software to process printed books in this way.

Once the e-text has been produced, students can use it as an end product with text-to-speech software, screen enlargement software, or refreshable Braille.

Braille is by far the most involved accessible format that a DSS office may produce. Braille can be produced manually or semi-automatically using an e-text file (as detailed above) as a starting point.

Some materials in the science, engineering, and mathematics fields cannot be produced adequately in e-text and require manual production, usually by a trained Braille transcriptionist. A standard printed page usually consists of about 2-3 Braille pages. Costs of manually transcribed books can run upwards of $10,000 per book, and the time it takes to produce them is usually 3-12 months. As you can see, a student registering for a class six weeks before the semester begins does not allow for much lead-time.

There are some software programs that can automatically translate pure literary text into Braille accurately, but any material that moves beyond this format requires more processing.