Oh dear, yet another business has been forced to take money from the
handicapped sector, laughs! Now the legal briefs will be filed in private
asking for extensions beyond 2017 which is what Amazon continuously does with
their products. Businesses seem to have the mistaken impression that by
catering to the handicapped or disabled population, they will somehow lose
money by incurring extra expenses. They completely overlook the fact that by
servicing the blind and low vision community they will also be servicing a
growing community of people who are growing older and whose eyes are growing
older along with them. So far Apple is the only company that seems to have
received the memo and lately even some of their store services have been a
little inaccessible with screen readers.
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-philly-comp-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-philly-comp-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of David Goldfield
Sent: Thursday, November 26, 2015 1:27 PM
To: blind-philly-comp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-philly-comp] NFB and Scribd Agree to Make Reading subscription
Service Accessible
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
John G. Paré Jr.
Executive Director for Advocacy and Policy
National Federation of the Blind
(410) 659-9314, extension 2218
(410) 917-1965 (Cell)
jpare@xxxxxxx
National Federation of the Blind and Scribd Agree to Collaborate to Make
Reading Subscription Service Accessible to the Blind
Baltimore, Maryland (November 19, 2015): The National Federation of the
Blind and Scribd, Inc. have agreed to work together to provide access
and make content available in Scribd’s subscription reading service and
website accessible to the blind by the end of 2017. Available on desktop
and mobile devices, Scribd’s service provides users access to ebooks,
audiobooks and other published content for a flat monthly fee. As part
of an agreement between the two organizations, Scribd will rearchitect
its website to make most subscription content compatible with screen
access software for the blind. Screen access software converts
text-based content into Braille or spoken words. Scribd will also
facilitate access to other types of documents in its collection when
requested by blind users.
Mark A. Riccobono, President of the National Federation of the Blind,
said: “Lack of access to the printed word has traditionally been one of
the most significant barriers faced by the blind, but electronic books
and documents, when they are designed to be accessible to us, can
provide access to more information than we have ever had in all of human
history, leading to better education and employment outcomes, and
helping us to live the lives we want. We are thrilled that blind readers
will soon have access to Scribd’s vast digital library, and we commend
Scribd for agreeing to work with us to make this happen. My wife
Melissa, my daughters Oriana and Elizabeth, and I are blind, and we,
along with my son Austin, eagerly look forward to delving into this new
treasure trove of literature and information as a family.”
Trip Adler, CEO of Scribd said: “We are committed to building the
library of the future and making it accessible to all. Our collaboration
with the National Federation of the Blind is an important step in making
this a reality, and we look forward to ensuring our technology is usable
for the blind community.”
The agreement resolves litigation filed last year by the National
Federation of the Blind and Heidi Viens, a blind mother from Colchester,
Vermont. There is no admission of liability or wrongdoing by any party
to the agreement. The plaintiffs were represented by Laurence Paradis,
Haben Girma, and Rebecca Rodgers of the firm Disability Rights
Advocates; Daniel F. Goldstein and Gregory P. Care of the Baltimore firm
Brown, Goldstein and Levy, LLP; and Emily J. Joselson and Michele B.
Patton of the Middlebury, Vermont firm Langrock, Sperry & Wool, LLP.
###
About the National Federation of the Blind
The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles
between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want;
blindness is not what holds you back.
You are invited to visit the moderator's Web site at WWW.DavidGoldfield.Info
for additional resources and information about assistive technology training
services.
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You are invited to visit the moderator's Web site at WWW.DavidGoldfield.Info
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