Varpness.com

// November 25th, 2009 // Uncategorized

Disabled World, an online news magazine featuring articles related to disabled persons around the world, recently reported that the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Syracuse University have decided not to adopt the Kindle DX electronic book reader to replace school textbooks. Pamela McLaughlin, director of communications and external relations at Syracuse University stated that, “At this time… we have no plans to purchase any more of these units in light of the fact that they are inaccessible to blind students.” Ken Frazier, the Syracuse University’s director of libraries, said that the Amazon Kindle DX “missed the mark. It is relatively easy to envision an improved e-book reading device that meets the needs of the entire university community.

Such a device would include universal design for accessibility, higher-quality graphics, and improved navigation and note-taking.”

Did you catch that one as well? That’s right, Syracuse University believes that in order to replace their regular hardback books with electronic books, they must first be more accessible to the blind… by featuring “higher-quality graphics!”

Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, praised the universities’ decisions since the Kindle “cannot be used by blind students and therefore denies the blind equal access to electronic textbooks.”

So what happens when the Kindle does have a full audio navigation system that allows blind students to easily select books and have the books read to them through the Kindle’s text-to-speech feature; will these universities then begin using the Kindles? I think not. After all, the disabled students who are paralyzed and cannot use their hands also deserve equal access to ebook readers, do they not? Yes, so Amazon also needs to include a microphone jack so quadriplegics can navigate Kindle’s interface using their voice; or perhaps it will include a camera to follow the student’s eye movements.

As you can see, there will never be a truly “universal” device that can be accessed by everyone, and why should there be? After all, the universities aren’t requiring that all of their textbooks include braille alongside the written text, are they? Of course not; that would be an absurd waste of money. So why is it that while many schools and universities are under pressure to tighten their budgets, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Syracuse University are ignoring a way to reduce their textbooks costs across the board? Here’s a shocking plan: purchase the Kindles for your students with vision, and continue to purchase the braille books for your blind students, just like you always have been. Or would it be wrong for some people to use cool technology if everyone can’t use it?

Oh, and in case you’re wondering, the image featured here is from a protest staged by the National Federation of the Blind against the Author’s Guild. The text-to-speech feature of the Kindle 2 and the Kindle DX has been criticised by the Author’s Guild because they say the feature cuts into the profits of audiobook sales. What is so odd about this protest, is that according to the National Fderation of the Blind’s own President Marc Maurer, the Kindle is not supposed to be accessible to blind people, remember? That’s why he was in favor of two universities’ decisions not to use Kindles for textbooks.

Also, it should be noted that while many of those protesters were blind, none of the signs they were holding were accessible to the blind. There is no word yet if the NFB is planning a protest of their own protest.