Digital book readers a boon to blind

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This article was published 02/01/2003 (8379 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

STEVE Fedorowich remembers the excitement he felt when the audio cassette machines that read books to the blind were introduced in 1977, replacing the old books on record. Now he is eagerly looking forward to the next advancement in technology.

The Canadian National Institute for the Blind is upgrading their old four-track tape player talking books, and will soon offer clients the Victor Reader, a digital talking book player.

Lions Clubs of Canada and Lions Clubs International have raised over $1 million for the CNIB National “That All May Read” Library Campaign that began in February. The money will go towards the purchase of 2,000 Victor Readers in Canada.

Locally, Lions Clubs of Manitoba have donated $35,000 to the campaign.

The campaign is expected to run for five years and raise $33 million. In addition to the purchase of Victor Readers, CNIB will also be converting their national book collection to digital format and doubling the number of available titles to include over 120,000.

Fedorowich, a CNIB rehabilitation teacher, is one of the Manitobans testing the new digital reading machines. He is legally blind after losing his sight in 1972. The 56-year-old remembers the old four-track readers, and record books that came before that.

“The new machines are a wonderful invention. They are so much more user-friendly,” says Fedorowich. “And there are two types. The adult reader has a simple format and operates much like a CD player. The student model allows indexes and downloading to a computer.”

The machines read books recorded on CD in the Daisy format — a format available only to those registered with CNIB. Clients can also download the Daisy format to their computer and then download books from the national CNIB web-site.

“The readers are great for those without computers,” says Fedorowich.

He calls the new equipment a huge step forward.

“For myself, I look forward to digital books and resources. They are so much faster than braille and so much easier to review than tapes.”

A few new players have been tested over the past six months and they have been a hit, says Kris Owen, communications director of the CNIB, Manitoba division.

“They are much less cumbersome and you don’t have to fast forward or rewind to find what you’re looking for. You can bookmark and jump where you need to go. It’s amazing,” says Owen.

According to a national CNIB survey completed in 2002, the average CNIB library user reads 60 books per year, while the average sighted person reads one and a half books per year. About one and a half million copies of material (including braille and audio) are borrowed from the national CNIB library each year.

The CNIB continues to work towards equal access to information for the blind by building on their library for the blind. But there are some challenges. With recent advances in technology, the audio cassette is becoming obsolete. It can take up to 18 months for a textbook to be converted to an alternate format. And, overall, only three per cent of printed material is available in alternate format for the blind.

“With this (digital technology) it will be up to 10 per cent,” says Fedorowich. “It’s a giant step forward. It’s wonderful. It’s really going to make a difference.”

For further information, visit the CNIB’s web-site at www.cnib.ca. To support the campaign, call the CNIB at 774-5421.

PHOTO LINDA VERMETTE/WINNIPEG FREE PRESS