Electronic Book
Access
Jerry
Kuns , Adrian Amandi
Assistive
Technology Specialists
California School
What
is an Electronic Book?
An electronic book (e-book) is the digital equivalent
to a conventional print or Braille book. People with visual impairments can use
a variety of technologies to gain access to electronic books. These
technologies include personal computers, Braille note-takers, Daisy players, Bookports,
personal digital assistants (pda’s), e-book readers, and mp3 players.
Depending on the format many electronic books can be stored
on a single device, giving a user immediate access to a library of information
anywhere they may be.
Types of Electronic Books
|
File Extension |
Explanation |
Where to? |
|
.txt |
Text document |
Can be opened and
translated by Braille translating program or incorporated into Kurzweil on
PC, also used with note-takers. |
|
.doc |
Microsoft Word document |
Can be opened and translated
by Braille translating program or incorporated into OCR program on PC, also
used with note-takers. |
|
.brf |
Embosser ready file |
Emboss directly from PC,
readable on PC with Braille display, also used with note-takers. |
|
.dxb / .dxp |
Duxbury files (b=Braille,
p=print / interchangeable) |
Emboss directly from
Duxbury, accessible from some note-takers. |
|
.abt |
Edit-PC or Braille2000
files |
Emboss directly from
Braille 2000 |
|
.meg |
Megadots files |
Emboss directly from
Megadots |
|
.html |
Webpage |
Can be opened and translated
by Braille translating program or incorporated into OCR program on PC, also
used with note-takers. |
|
.rtf |
Rich Text Format |
Can be opened on PC using
word processor, also with note-takers. |
|
.kes / .ark |
Kurzweil / Open Book
respectively |
Can be opened on PC in
their respective program. |
|
.mp3 |
Sound file |
Can be played on PC and
most note-takers, can also be burned to CD for play in stereo. |
|
.dtb / .dtd |
Daisy file format |
Can be played on Daisy
player, on PC with Daisy software, also with some note-takers. |
Where can you find electronic books?
E-books can be downloaded from a variety of web-sites. Many
web-sites are designed for properly formatted accessible books, others are
set-up to be read online and are not quickly downloadable. Some sites have
subscription fees, some do not, the below table will hopefully provide a quick
reference for some of the sites we have found accessible.
|
Source |
Fee |
Content Available |
Formats Available |
How do I sign-up? |
|
Public Library |
Free |
Books (all varieties) |
CDs, downloadable mp3’s,
downloadable text files |
Contact your local public
library. |
|
Web Braille |
Free if visually impaired |
Books, Magazines Braille
Music, |
.brf |
Fill out form at https://www.nlstalkingbooks.org/
or call 1-888-657-7323
to connect to a local library, more contact information available at http://www.loc.gov/nls/contact.html
|
|
BookShare |
|
Books and Periodicals |
Daisy and .brf |
Register via website,
provide proof of disability, and submit payment |
|
|
Free if visually impaired |
Books and other Braille
Materials |
.brf .abt .dxb |
Complete form at referenced
url and obtain a password to download books. |
|
Project Gutenberg www.gutenberg.net or http://www.promo.net/pg/ (has quick
search author and title edit boxes on home page) |
Free |
Books, speeches, videos,
music (recorded and sheet), pictures |
.txt, mp3, mpg (video) |
Begin searching or browsing
at website, no sign-up necessary. |
|
ManyBooks.net |
Free |
Books |
.rtf, .pdf as will as other formats available for
sighted and some levels of low vision |
Begin searching or browsing
at website, no sign-up necessary. |
|
The Online Books Page |
Free |
Books |
.txt |
Begin searching or browsing
at website, no sign-up necessary. |
|
Louis APH Data Base |
Fee, either $25 quota per
book or fee based on non-APH item |
Textbooks & Books |
.brf |
Fill out
Agreement to Use the APH File Repository at http://sun1.aph.org/louis/reposagree.html
|
|
Clearinghouse for
Specialized Media and Technology (CSMT) |
Free if TVI or transcriber |
Textbooks, Audio Books,
etc. |
.brf, .mp3 |
Fill out
Member Registration Form at https://csmt.cde.ca.gov/Newacct.aspx
|
|
Recording for the Blind
& Dyslexic |
|
Textbooks, Audio Books |
CD |
Provide
documented proof of visual impairment, http://www.rfbd.org/certification.htm
|
|
Low Vision Classics |
Free |
Books |
Web Presentation (Great for low vision) |
Begin searching or browsing
at website, no sign-up necessary. |
Web Braille and JAWS
1. Start JAWS
2. Open Internet Explorer
3. Go to Address Bar (ALT + d)
4. Type www.loc.gov/nls/braille
(this will work only if you have already obtained user name and password, see
above for sign-up information)
5. In “Connect to www.loc.gov”
pop-up, type your user name and password and press “ok”
6. Go to links list (Insert + F7), press “o” until you
hear online catalog, press enter
7. Press Control to stop JAWS from talking
8. Find the first edit field (e), Author, last name first “edit”
9. Turn forms mode on (enter)
10.
Type the name of
the author you are looking for, i.e. Rowling
J.K.
11.
(Tab) to the Title edit field, type in the name of
the book you are looking for, i.e. Order
of the Phoenix
a. You may type
only an author or a title, both are not required.
12.
(Tab) to the Keyword edit field, type in web Braille
13.
Press enter to
select the search button
14.
Use navigation
commands (arrow keys, n, insert+enter, insert+F7, etc.) to find the book you
are looking for. In this case, and most cases in which you provide author and
title correctly only one book will be provided. In this case (n) for next block
of text is probably the fastest way to find each volume, a links list
(insert+F7) will also do this easily, however a JAWS user will have to listen
to the entire file extension to hear what volume they are selecting.
15.
If using (n)
and/or (arrow keys) you will need to select the url location by pressing
(enter), if you did a links list this will happen automatically.
16.
Read the download
agreement using navigation commands.
17.
(Tab) to I Accept, Best for PC users, press
(enter)
18.
(Tab) to save button in “File Download” dialogue
box, press (enter)
19.
Select where you
want to save file in “Save As” dialogue, and rename if desired (remember for
multiple volume books, manage the names appropriately to keep them in order)
20.
File is ready to
read, emboss, or transfer to a note-taker
Bookshare and JAWS
1. Start JAWS
2. Open Internet Explorer
3. Go to Address Bar (ALT + d)
4. Type www.bookshare.org
(this will work only if you have already obtained user name and password, see
above for sign-up information)
5. Go to links list (Insert + F7), press “l” until you
hear log in, press (enter)
6. Press Control to stop JAWS from talking
7. Press (e) repeatedly to find the email edit field (e) or press (alt+e)
8. Turn forms mode on (enter)
9. Type your Bookshare e-mail account
10.
(Tab) to the password edit field, type your Bookshare
password, press (enter)
11.
Press (e) to find
Search for Title or Author edit box
12.
Turn forms mode
on (enter)
13.
Type the title or
author you are looking for i.e. Order of
the Phoenix, press (enter)
14.
Use navigation commands
to find desired book, in this case “Harry Potter and the Order of the
15.
The following step will differ between individual
accounts and institutional accounts.
16.
Go to links list
(Insert + F7), press “p” until you hear please
select a student, press (enter)
17.
Use navigation
commands to select appropriate student, links list words great.
18.
Go to links list
(Insert + F7), press “d” for DAISY
Digital Talking Book Format, or “b” for BRF
Braille Digital Format, press (enter)
19.
(Tab) to save button in “File Download” dialogue
box, press (enter)
20.
Select where you
want to save file in “Save As” dialogue, and rename if desired (remember for
multiple volume books, manage the names appropriately to keep them in order)
21.
When download is
complete select open button in
“Download complete” dialogue box, or open file from directory.
22.
Select unpack in “Bookshare.org Book Unpack”
dialogue box.
23.
Enter your
Bookshare.org website password, press (enter)
24.
Select where you
want to save file in “Select Save File Folder” dialogue, (Tab) to the open button and press (enter)
25.
Select Yes in “Delete Packed Book” dialogue
26.
Select No in “Bookshare.org Book Unpack”
dialogue
27.
File is ready to
read, emboss, or transfer to a note-taker
Web Braille / Bookshare and the
BrailleNote
Please reference “Lesson 16 – Web Braille,” and “Lesson 17
– Downloading Bookshare Books with KeySoft Version 5 and Up,” from the
Beyond
1. There are dozens, if not hundreds of sites online that
have books in html format. The pages
are often accessible with a screen reader, however the content is only
accessible while online. Individual pages, chapters, or sections are separated
by internet links on separate pages, making it difficult to gather an entire
text to read offline. To discover some of these sites, type “e-books” into a
search engine.
2. Audio Books In addition to the public library there are now many
internet sites that sell, rent, and allow download of recorded books. Many of
these books are read by professional actors and are expertly produced. Recorded
books are an excellent way to read, a literate student should not rely solely
on recorded text as they need to experience the words, sentences, etc. for
spelling and grammar, however recorded books can always be part of a learning
environment. Some recorded books websites are listed below:
3. Excellent
Resource
a. Finding
eBooks on the Internet, Second
Edition by Anna Dresner,
i.
National Braille
Press, www.braille.com
4. Beyond the
Text, a comparison chart of e-book
and digital talking book (DTB) hardware and software
a.
b. http://ncam.wgbh.org/ebooks/comparison.html#content
5. Hardware, to read electronic books on a computer a screen reader or screen magnifier is needed depending on the user. If DAISY files
are being used than DAISY software is needed.
a. To read e-books on a note-taker, DAISY capability has
to be built into the software.
b. We are aware of many other book readers, including
APH’s BookPort, Humanware’s VictorReader, cell phones and e-book readers.
c. The BookPort and VictorReader are capable of handling
both narrated and text to speech digital talking books, while other devices may
only be able to read narrated DAISY files. Proposed DAISY 3 standards may
require readers to support both narrated and text to speech files, however this
is not currently an expectation.
d. Cell phones, gaming systems, and e-book readers may be
accessible to students with no vision if appropriate screen reading capability
is available. Depending on built in magnification possibilities these may also
may accessible to low vision students.