Ooh, didn't realise that SBP had been over-run with orders. Do we know how many orders they took? -----Original Message----- From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of James O'Dell Sent: 19 April 2005 18:01 To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [access-uk] Re: Ethics of book sharing services > James, > > The Harry Potter books are the only books, to my knowledge, to have > been made available in audio format, unabridged, at the behest of the > author. Not for reasons of accessibility though, probably down to a very worthy preference for unabridged audio and the story being told as the author intended, which I share. The > delay in the publication of the audio version last time wasn't an > accessibility issue. It was due to problems finding time in Stephen Fry's > schedule. The American audio version was available almost immediately. It becomes an accessibility issue if it prevents people from accessing the book at all, particularly given the buildup to its publication and the fact that blind children wouldn't ahve been able to share the book with sited piers when it was originally published. > Problems with the Scottish Braille telephone answering service are > not > the responsibility of the author or publishers, even if the initial > responsibility to create accessible format versions is. Exactly. The Scottish Braille Press did an admirable job. the reason I mentioned them having to deal with all of those invoices etc was to point out that, as a charity, they were overwhelmed with orders for this book, and that just shows the difference in scale between people like Scottish Braille Press and the big publishers, and that they can't be expected to manage the whole book industry for blind people on their own, as so many publishers seem to expect them to. > The fact that these books are made available to the mainstream > market > is. > a step forward. The fact that they are unabridged is one step more. > They're still expensive and the timing last time around wasn't ideal, but > let's not waste time bashing one of the few authors/publishers where some > progress is being made. Yes, progress is being made, but I doubt much of this is really aimed at improving access, we are just riding on the back of mainstream provision. If we can't get the same access, at the same time, at the same price, with mmaterial as commercially popular as Harry potter, that is guaranteed to sell well, what hope have we got with lesser-known works? The people who deserve the real credit are people like Michael Palin, who has worked with the specialist libraries to make his books accessible. He may be nearing the end of his travelling career, but I could imagine him recording his books and making the electronic versions available to NLB even if BBC Audio Books were to lose interest. Cheers James ** To leave the list, click on the immediately-following link:- ** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=unsubscribe] ** If this link doesn't work then send a message to: ** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ** and in the Subject line type ** unsubscribe ** For other list commands such as vacation mode, click on the ** immediately-following link:- ** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=faq] ** or send a message, to ** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the Subject:- faq http://www.bbc.co.uk/ This e-mail (and any attachments) is confidential and may contain personal views which are not the views of the BBC unless specifically stated. If you have received it in error, please delete it from your system. Do not use, copy or disclose the information in any way nor act in reliance on it and notify the sender immediately. Please note that the BBC monitors e-mails sent or received. Further communication will signify your consent to this. ** To leave the list, click on the immediately-following link:- ** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=unsubscribe] ** If this link doesn't work then send a message to: ** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ** and in the Subject line type ** unsubscribe ** For other list commands such as vacation mode, click on the ** immediately-following link:- ** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=faq] ** or send a message, to ** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the Subject:- faq