[bookport] Re: FW: Action alert: Urgent-please call toll free-NLS digital books
- From: "David Tanner" <david-tanner@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <bookport@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 11 Jun 2007 20:32:17 -0500
Well, blind folks in the United States have a right to information too. So,
this is an international mailinglist. If you don't like Americans or want to
limit the discussion of the loss of library services in the U. S. then maybe
you should start a Book Port list for your own country!
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bruce Toews" <dogriver@xxxxxxxx>
To: <bookport@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, June 11, 2007 1:18 PM
Subject: [bookport] Re: FW: Action alert: Urgent-please call toll free-NLS
digital books
: Correction. It is universal to blind Americans, assuming all blind
: Americans use NLS. To those of us in, say, Canada, this means absolutely
: nothing.
:
: Bruce
: On Mon, 11 Jun 2007 11:04:38 -0700, "Robert Acosta"
: <boacosta@xxxxxxxxxxx> said:
: > MessageWalt,
: > Of course it does. The new Bookport is supposed to allow us to download
: > NLS books. Also, the librrary is a universal thing with blind people.
: > Robert Acosta
: > ----- Original Message -----
: > From: Walt Smith
: > To: bookport@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
: > Sent: Monday, June 11, 2007 8:14 AM
: > Subject: [bookport] Re: FW: Action alert: Urgent-please call toll
: > free-NLS digital books
: >
: >
: > This has absolutely nothing to do with the Book Port and I, for one,
: > resent its being posted here.
: >
: >
: >
: >
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: > From: bookport-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
: > [mailto:bookport-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Becky Barnes
: > Sent: Monday, June 11, 2007 10:36 AM
: > To: juno-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
: > Cc: Bookport List
: > Subject: [bookport] FW: Action alert: Urgent-please call toll free-NLS
: > digital books
: >
: >
: >
: >
: >
: > -----Original Message-----
: > Sent: Saturday, June 09, 2007 4:35 PM
: >
: >
: > Please pass on...
: >
: > Action Alert! Please Call Toll-Free and/or Make Contact Today! Full
: > $76.4
: > Million Needed to Digitize the Talking Book Service
: >
: > Dear ACBNY Advocate,
: >
: > This Action Alert was written by Lisa Helen Hoffman and Pratik Patel
: > who
: > urge you to please take action!
: >
: > The Library of Congress asked Congress to appropriate about $76.4
: > million,
: > over the next four years, to digitize the NLS Talking Book Service.
: > This
: > request was addressed by the House Subcommittee on the Legislative
: > Branch,
: > and their recommendation to the full Committee on Appropriations will
: > include $7.5 million to the Library of Congress for the implementation
: > of
: > the digital talking book program by NLS.
: >
: > This budget item will be brought before the Appropriations Committee
: > on
: > Tuesday, June 12. Your calls and letters are of the utmost importance.
: >
: > The last item on this message is an alphabetical list of all the
: > Appropriations Committee members along with their contact information.
: > Please contact the Washington, DC office of your Congresswoman or
: > Congressman, along with the representatives from New York who are on
: > the
: > full APPROPRIATIONS Committee, and give her/him the following message:
: >
: > 1. The Library of Congress needs the full $76.4 million in order to
: > complete the project of digitizing the Talking Book Service over the
: > next
: > four years. $7.5 million is simply not enough. NLS needs $19.1
: > million
: > this year, and for the following 3 years, to finish this job.
: >
: > 2. Since the tape players that are currently used are no longer being
: > manufactured, and cassette tapes are obsolete, the Talking Book Service
: > must
: > be digitized. People who are blind or visually impaired can not use
: > off the
: > shelf technology because the presence of touch screens and the absence
: > of
: > Braille and/or tactile labels make commercially available players
: > impossible
: > for people who are blind or visually impaired to operate.
: >
: > 3. Let her/him know how important this service is to you and that you
: > rely
: > on the Talking Book service for your reading material.
: >
: > For more background information on this issue, this message includes a
: > message and a letter from Melanie Brunson, Executive Director of ACB
: > National, along with the May 30, 2007 Washington Post article.
: >
: > To reach your Congresswoman or Congressman toll-free, call the Capitol
: > switchboard at 1-888-281-0661 or You can find your representatives by
: > zip
: > code at
: > http://www.vote-smart.org
: >
: > Call or contact the representatives immediately!
: >
: > Together we can make a difference!
: >
: > Lisa Helen Hoffman
: > Pratik Patel
: >
: > Background Information
: >
: > Message to the Membership of ACB from Melanie Brunson, Executive
: > Director of
: > ACB National
: >
: > Hello All,
: >
: > Just wanted to give you a quick progress report. The House Subcommittee
: > on
: > the Legislative Branch marked up its funding bill today. Their
: > recommendation
: > to the full Committee on Appropriations will include $7.5 million to
: > the
: > Library of Congress for the implementation of the digital talking book
: > program
: > by NLS. This is less than half of the amount requested by NLS. The
: > subcommittee chair, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, (d-fl) stated that the
: > bill
: > will also
: > include language giving the Librarian discretion to move some funds
: > from
: > other sources if it is deemed appropriate to fund this program.
: > However, it
: > is
: > not clear whether this discretion would also allow the Librarian to
: > take
: > funds from NLS to fund something else. As of this writing, the actual
: > legislative
: > language is not available, but this is a question we will have to look
: > into.
: >
: > The full Appropriations Committee will probably consider this bill
: > within a
: > week or so. That means we have some work to do. Members of Congress,
: > especially
: > House members on the Appropriations Committee, need to know how
: > important
: > the talking book program is to the blind community. Please contact your
: > representative
: > if you have not already done so. The transition to digital talking
: > books is
: > not just a nice thing to do to provide more bells and whistles that
: > appeal
: > to techies. It is a necessity because the cassette players currently in
: > use
: > are no longer being manufactured. The entire industry is phasing out
: > the
: > cassette.
: > It is only a matter of time before something has to be done anyway that
: > will
: > enable NLS to adapt to industry trends. Please help us support the
: > continued
: > availability of talking books for the blind. If you have any questions,
: > please contact me either by email, or by calling the ACB national
: > office.
: >
: > Melanie Brunson
: >
: > ******************
: >
: > Letter to: Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Chair, House Subcommittee on
: > the
: > Legislative Branch from Melanie Brunson, Executive Director of ACB
: > National
: >
: > June 5, 2007
: >
: > Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Chair, House Subcommittee on the
: > Legislative
: > Branch
: >
: > 118 Cannon House Office Building
: >
: > Washington, DC 20515
: >
: > Via Fax (202) 225-8456
: >
: > Dear Rep. Wasserman Schultz,
: >
: > I am writing on behalf of the American Council of the Blind to urge you
: > to
: > grant the appropriation requested by the National Library Service for
: > the
: > Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) to fund their transition to
: > digital
: > talking book production. Our organization represents tens of thousands
: > of
: > blind and visually impaired individuals from every state in the union.
: > Our
: > members rely on reading material provided by NLS for a wide variety of
: > reasons, including
: > professional development, education, information to aid in their civic
: > participation, as well as entertainment. It is vital to the interests
: > of the
: > blind community throughout this country that this program be preserved.
: > To
: > accomplish this, it is necessary that the technology used to produce
: > and
: > distribute talking books be brought into the 21st century.
: >
: > We have followed the deliberations of NLS over the course of the past
: > several years during which the plan to transition to digital talking
: > books
: > was developed. In fact, members of our organization participated
: > directly in
: > the creation and implementation of these plans as future consumers of
: > the
: > digital talking
: > book program. We are impressed and pleased by the level of consumer
: > involvement used by NLS in developing the proposed digital system. We
: > are
: > confident that the technology that has been chosen for future
: > distribution
: > of talking books, and the proposed implementation schedule, will
: > effectively
: > meet the needs
: > of their blind and visually impaired patrons for decades to come.
: >
: > We are aware that a recent report issued by the Government
: > Accountability
: > Office has generated some controversy regarding the proposed solution
: > NLS
: > has adopted for digital talking books. We wish to suggest that this
: > report
: > appears to be significantly flawed both in its presentation of fact and
: > its
: > conclusions.
: >
: > We believe that Congress has not been well served by this analysis and
: > hope
: > you will disregard it.
: >
: > The technology is recognized by industry experts as solid and, unlike
: > similar "off-the-shelf" digital technology, is readily usable by blind
: > and
: > visually impaired people of all ages and abilities. Such usability by a
: > diverse population with widely varying capabilities is absolutely
: > essential
: > to the integrity of this program.
: >
: > We have been awaiting this transition for some time. Please do not make
: > us
: > wait any longer. Please authorize the appropriation requested by the
: > National Library Service for the digital talking book program.
: >
: > If you require any additional information about this issue, please do
: > not
: > hesitate to contact me.
: >
: > Sincerely,
: >
: > Melanie Brunson, Executive Director
: >
: > Cc: Frank Kurt Cylke, National Library Service for the Blind and
: > Physically
: > Handicapped
: >
: > *************************
: >
: > Washington Post Article
: >
: > Congress should fund the digitization of a vital audio library for the
: > blind.
: >
: > Congress should fund the digitization of a vital audio library for the
: > blind.
: >
: > Wednesday, May 30, 2007
: >
: > A HALF-MILLION Americans stand in danger of losing their public
: > library.
: > They are the nation's blind, and their library is Talking Books,
: > through
: > which
: > the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
: > of the
: > Library of Congress (NLS) provides 500,000 Americans with free audio
: > recordings
: > of about as many books. Unlike the "books on tape" that are sold at
: > retail
: > bookstores, these recordings are unabridged, extensive and diverse
: >
: > -- and are designed for people who have no other way of reading print.
: >
: > Unfortunately, today's Talking Books technology is ready to meet its
: > maker.
: > The program currently uses half-speed audiotapes that patrons listen to
: > on
: > special
: > devices. These tape players, like the Talking Books record players that
: > preceded them, are obsolete, and are no longer even being manufactured.
: > To
: > bring
: > the program into the 21st century, the NLS hopes to digitize its entire
: > library and create new players. It has spent 17 years researching,
: > building
: > and
: > testing new products, and it is ready to manufacture a fully accessible
: > flash-drive player. The Library of Congress has asked Congress to
: > appropriate about
: > $76.4 million to produce the players and digitize thousands more books.
: >
: > A forthcoming Government Accountability Office report, however, may
: > derail
: > the NLS's plans. In a draft version of the report completed several
: > weeks
: > ago,
: > the GAO faulted the NLS for not considering existing commercial
: > products
: > such as CD players and iPods instead of creating a new device. This
: > sounds
: > like
: > a reasonable concern, given tales of exorbitant government spending on
: > $792
: > doormats and $400 hammers. But creating special, noncommercial players
: > is
: > crucial
: > to the continued existence of Talking Books. Commercially available
: > products, which often use visual screens and are not labeled in
: > Braille, are
: > not accessible
: > to the visually impaired. More important, to comply with U.S.
: >
: > copyright law, Talking Books can record and distribute only audio books
: > that
: > cannot be played by commercial devices.
: >
: > Should the GAO keep this misguided criticism in its final report,
: > lawmakers
: > should not be swayed by it. Instead, Congress should fully fund Talking
: > Books'
: > digital upgrade, a project that will grant many disabled Americans the
: > same
: > literary access afforded to the sighted.
: >
: > SOURCE: Washington Post
: >
: > **Thanks to our friends at Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation for
: > sending us this article**
: > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
: >
: > *************************
: > House Committee on Appropriations
: > Full Committee - June 7, 2007
: >
: > FL D, Schultz, Rep Debbie Wasserman, 202-225-7931
: >
: > (alphabetical by state)
: >
: > AL D, Cramer, Rep Robert E. Bud, Jr., 202-225-4801
: >
: > AL R, Aderholt, Rep Robert B., 202-225-4876
: >
: > AR D, Berry, Rep Marion, 202-225-4076
: >
: > AZ D, Pastor, Rep Ed, 202-225-4065
: >
: > CA D, Farr, Rep Sam, 202-225-2861
: >
: > CA D, Honda, Rep Mike, 202-225-2631
: >
: > CA D, Lee, Rep Barbara, 202-225-2661
: >
: > CA D, Roybal-Allard, Rep Lucille, 202-225-1766
: >
: > CA D, Schiff, Rep Adam, 202-225-4176
: >
: > CA R, Calvert, Rep Ken, 202-225-1986
: >
: > CA R, Lewis, Rep Jerry, 202-225-5861
: >
: > CT D, DeLauro, Rep Rosa L., 202-225-3661
: >
: > FL D, Boyd, Rep F. Allen, 202-225-5235
: >
: > FL R, Crenshaw, Rep Ander, 202-225-2501
: >
: > FL R, Weldon, Rep Dave, 202-225-3671
: >
: > FL R, Young, Rep C. W. Bill, 202-225-5961
: >
: > GA D, Bishop, Rep Sanford D., Jr., 202-225-3631
: >
: > GA R, Kingston, Rep Jack, 202-225-5831
: >
: > IA R, Latham, Rep Tom, 202-225-5476
: >
: > ID R, Simpson, Rep Mike, 202-225-5531
: >
: > IL D, Jackson, Rep Jesse L., Jr., 202-225-0773
: >
: > IL R, Kirk, Rep Mark Steven, 202-225-4835
: >
: > IL R, LaHood, Rep Ray, 202-225-6201
: >
: > IN D, Visclosky, Rep Peter J., 202-225-2461
: >
: > KS R, Tiahrt, Rep Todd, 202-225-6216
: >
: > KY D, Chandler, Rep Ben, 202-225-4706
: >
: > KY R, Rogers, Rep Hal, 202-225-4601
: >
: > LA R, Alexander, Rep Rodney, 202-225-8490
: >
: > MA D, Olver, Rep John W., 202-225-5335
: >
: > MD D, Ruppersberger, Rep C. A. Dutch, 202-225-3061
: >
: > MI D, Kilpatrick, Rep Carolyn Cheeks, 202-225-2261
: >
: > MI R, Knollenberg, Rep Joe, 202-225-5802
: >
: > MN D, McCollum, Rep Betty, 202-225-6631
: >
: > MO R, Emerson, Rep Jo Ann, 202-225-4404
: >
: > MS R, Wicker, Rep Roger F., 202-225-4306
: >
: > MT R, Rehberg, Rep Dennis, 202-225-3211
: >
: > NC D, Price, Rep David E., 202-225-1784
: >
: > NJ D, Rothman, Rep Steve, 202-225-5061
: >
: > NJ R, Frelinghuysen, Rep Rodney P., 202-225-5034
: >
: > NM D, Udall, Rep Tom, 202-225-6190
: >
: > NY D, Hinchey, Rep Maurice D., 202-225-6335
: >
: > NY D, Israel, Rep Steve, 202-225-3335
: >
: > NY D, Lowey, Rep Nita M., 202-225-6506
: >
: > NY D, Serrano, Rep Jose E., 202-225-4361
: >
: > NY R, Walsh, Rep James T., 202-225-3701
: >
: > OH D, Kaptur, Rep Marcy, 202-225-4146
: >
: > OH D, Ryan, Rep Tim, 202-225-5261
: >
: > OH R, Hobson, Rep David L., 202-225-4324
: >
: > OH R, Regula, Rep Ralph, 202-225-3876
: >
: > PA D, Fattah, Rep Chaka, 202-225-4001
: >
: > PA D, Murtha, Rep John P., 202-225-2065
: >
: > PA R, Peter son, Rep John E., 202-225-5121
: >
: > RI D, Kennedy, Rep Patrick J., 202-225-4911
: >
: > TN R, Wamp, Rep Zach, 202-225-3271
: >
: > TX D, Edwards, Rep Chet, 202-225-6105
: >
: > TX D, Rodriguez, Rep Ciro D., 202-225-4511
: >
: > TX R, Carter, Rep John R., 202-225-3864
: >
: > TX R, Culberson, Rep John, 202-225-2571
: >
: > TX R, Granger, Rep Kay, 202-225-5071
: >
: > VA D, Moran, Rep Jim, 202-225-4376
: >
: > VA R, Goode, Rep Virgil H., Jr., 202-225-4711
: >
: > VA R, Wolf, Rep Frank R., 202-225-5136
: >
: > WA D, Dicks, Rep Norm, 202-225-5916
: >
: > WI D, Obey, Rep David R., Chair, 202-225-3365
: >
: > WV D, Mollohan, Rep Alan B., 202-225-4172
: > -------------- next part --------------
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: > _______________________________________________
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: >
: >
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: >
: >
: > No virus found in this incoming message.
: > Checked by AVG Free Edition.
: > Version: 7.5.472 / Virus Database: 269.8.13/843 - Release Date:
: > 6/10/2007 1:39 PM
:
: --
: Bruce Toews
: E-mail and MSN/Windows Messenger: dogriver@xxxxxxxx
: Website: http://www.ogts.net
: Radio Show and Podcast: http://www.totw.net
: Info on the Best TV Show of All Time: http://www.cornergas.com
:
:
:
:
: --
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