The DAISY Planet: DAISY Consortium Newsletter, December 2009

The DAISY Planet: DAISY Consortium Newsletter, December 2009

The WIPO SCCR 19 meeting held in Geneva, December 14 to 18, just ended with the surprise announcement that the USA has changed its position from being completely opposed to the proposed WIPO Treaty for Improved Access for Blind, Visually Impaired and other Reading Disabled Persons to being completely in favor of it. This is a huge step forward toward copyright exemption for the specialized editions of works that reading impaired and visually impaired persons need to gain access to published books and other materials. The proposed treaty would greatly reduce or eliminate cross-border movement of such versions.

On another note, George Kerscher, long-time advocate for accessible editions and assistive technology, has been elected President of the International Digital Publishing Forum. The IDPF is the organization of publisher and other interested professionals who work with ebooks. Kerscher was one of the founders of the IDPF and is also Chair of the EPUB standards maintenance Working Group and Secretary General of the DAISY Consortium.

RHYW Responds to Proposed WIPO Expansion

RHYW Responds to Proposed WIPO Expansion

This is the text of a news release explaining that ReadHowYouWant can help publishers serve reading impaired persons while making a reasonable profit. This new model encourages publishers to provide accessible editions of new titles in a timely way, which benefits publishers by incrementally increasing their revenues while benefiting blind and visually impaired persons by giving them access to new books when the books are still new.

Humanware Announces December Free Chapter Download Titles

	Free Chapter Download Program December 2009 - 20 New Titles Available Plus 25% Off All Purchases December presents readers with two exciting opportunities! First, receive 25% off all purchases of braille and DAISY titles made at www.readhowyouwant.com/braille through December 31. Simply type in Promotion Code GRY7342W at checkout. The second opportunity allows you to preview 20 titles through the Free Chapter Download Program before purchasing them. First chapters of 20 bestselling and well-reviewed titles are available for download at www.readhowyouwant.com/humanware. Please tell your friends and colleagues about the Free Chapter Download Program and the 25% December discount. ReadHowYouWant offers over 4,000 titles in accessible formats, including Classics and contemporary titles-all eligible for the discount. The titles selected for the month of December are: Adult Titles: Living in the Light by Shakti Gawain (New World Library) The Hamster Revolution by Tim Burress, Mike Song, and Vicki Halsey (Berrett-Koehler) Signs from Above by Doreen Virtue (Hay House) Stop Walking on Eggshells by Paul T. Mason and Randi Kreger (New Harbinger Publications) The Mystery of 2012 by Gregg Braden (Sounds True) Transformation and Healing by Thich Nhat Hanh (Parallax Press) Reinventing Yourself by Steve Chandler (Career Press) How to Lose Friends and Alienate People by Toby Young (DaCapo Press) The Iron Tongue of Midnight by Beverle Graves Myers (Poisoned Pen Press) Attract Money Subconsciously by Peta Stapleton (Michelle Anderson) Children/Young Adult Titles: Extreme Habitats: Ocean Survival by Susie Hodge (Weekly Reader) The Brain Full of Holes by Martin Chatterton (Little Hare) See Jane Win for Girls by Sylvia Rimm (Free Spirit Publishing) The Power to Prevent Suicide by Richard E. Nelson and Judith C. Galas (Free Spirit Publishing) Warning: Volcano! by Autumn Leigh (Rosen) I Wonder Why the Sky is Blue by Thelma Rea (Rosen) Energy for the Future: Fossil Fuels by Andrew Solway (Weekly Reader) Football in the Big East Conference by Adam B. Hofstetter (Rosen) Superstars of Entertainment: Queen Latifa by Jacqueline Laks Gorman (Weekly Reader) Careers in Robotics by Paul Kupperberg (Rosen) The Free Chapter Download Program is a special program brought to you by your friends at ReadHowYouWant and HumanWare. HumanWare, the leader in assistive technologies for people with print disabilities, and digital publishing innovator, ReadHowYouWant, are partnering to help individuals with reading disabilities and visual impairments discover the book reading device and the format that suits them best. People around the world are able to participate in this program, as well as purchase books on RHYW's website, www.readhowyouwant.com. About HumanWare HumanWare (www.humanware.com) is the global leader in assistive technologies for the print disabled. HumanWare provides products to people who are blind and have low vision and students with learning disabilities. HumanWare offers a full range of low vision products including the SmartView Synergy desktop video magnifier, the SmartView Pocket and Nano handheld electronic magnifiers, and the myReader2, HumanWare's unique "auto-reader". HumanWare's other innovative products include the BrailleNote, the leading productivity device for the blind in education, business and for personal use; the Victor Reader product line, the world's leading digital audiobook players, and the ClassMate Reader, the only portable book player to offer synchronized text and audio for individuals. About ReadHowYouWant ReadHowYouWant Pty Ltd and its R&D parent company, Accessible Publishing Systems Pty Ltd are both Sydney, Australia-based privately held companies founded in 2004 by electronic publishing pioneers Christopher Stephen and Greg Duncan. When Chris's sister, who suffers from MS, developed difficulty reading, they began experimenting to determine whether people with reading difficulties could benefit from changing the text format. After more than four years of testing, ReadHowYouWant has successfully developed award-winning conversion technology that reformats existing books into the widest selection of on-demand, alternative format editions on the market today. Each edition has been optimized for maximum readability. The company's goals are to make reading easier and more enjoyable by delivering formats that suit the reader and to give people with reading difficulties access to books in the formats of their choice-at an affordable price, and as soon as the book is published. For more information visit: www.readhowyouwant.com.

PLEXTALK and ReadHowYouWant Partner to provide free digital books to visually impaired readers

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (on Nov 2, 2009)

Contact:

Bradi Grebien-Samkow: bradi@readhowyouwant.com
971-340-9853
Deana Valdez: dvaldez@shinano.comv
310-693-7629

Sydney, Australia, November 2, 2009†PLEXTALK®, the producer of the PLEXTALK® Pocket and other digital talking book players, and digital accessible publishing innovator ReadHowYouWant are partnering to help visually impaired readers discover literary classics in a convenient format that works for them.
Beginning in November, each month readers will be able to go to the PLEXTALK® website, www.plextalk.com to download five free titles from ReadHowYouWant's Classics collection. November's selected Classics titles are The Art of War by Sun Tzu, The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle, The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Herbert George Wells.
"We are very pleased to be able to partner with ReadHowYouWant," said Deana Valdez, Sales and Marketing Manager for PLEXTALK® North America. "Through our PLEXTALK® Pocket partnership with ReadHowYouWant, we are able to offer even greater access to and increased mobility for reading thousands of books available for download from ReadHowYouWant's extensive library."
ReadHowYouWant will be demoing the PLEXTALK® Pocket DAISY reading device at book industry events such as the Frankfurt Book Fair, the London Book Fair, and Book Expo America. Similarly, PLEXTALK® will present DAISY files from ReadHowYouWant's collection on their players at technology industry shows, including ATIA (Assistive Technologies Industry Association) conferences.
"We are delighted to be partnering with PLEXTALK®. The monthly giveaway program of ReadHowYouWant titles at the PLEXTALK® website furthers our mission to make more content accessible and easily available to all kinds of readers," says Tricia Roth, CEO of ReadHowYouWant.
Readers looking for more great books can go to www.readhowyouwant where they will find over 2,000 titles from in the Classics Library in DAISY 2.02 and NISO/2005 formats, as well as synthesized audio MP3 books for $9.99 each. In addition, ReadHowYouWant offers thousands of classic and bestselling titles in downloadable ASCII and Visual braille book files for $4.99 and $9.99. Visit www.readhowyouwant.com/braille for a complete list of titles available in braille, DAISY, and audio.

About Shinano Kenshi Co., Shinano Kenshi Corporation & PLEXTALK®

Shinano Kenshi Co. Ltd. is responsible for the development and manufacture of digital talking book players and other products sold under the brand name of PLEXTALK®. Shanano and PLEXTALK® assistive products are created to improve the quality of life, self-reliance and independence of their users. Shinano Kenshi Corporation is the North American subsidiary of Shinano Kenshi Co., Ltd.

About ReadHowYouWant

ReadHowYouWant Pty Ltd and its R&D parent company, Accessible Publishing Systems Pty Ltd are both Sydney, Australia-based privately held companies founded in 2004 by electronic publishing pioneers Christopher Stephen and Greg Duncan. When Chris's sister, who suffers from MS, developed difficulty reading, they began experimenting to determine whether people with reading difficulties could benefit from changing the text format.
After more than four years of testing, ReadHowYouWant has successfully developed award-winning conversion technology that reformats existing books into the widest selection of on-demand, alternative format editions on the market today. Each edition has been optimized for maximum readability. The company's goals are to make reading easier and more enjoyable by delivering formats that suit the reader and to give people with reading difficulties access to books in the formats of their choice†at an affordable price, and as soon as the book is published. For more information visit www.readhowyouwant.com.

Holiday Friends and Family Discounts on Large Print, Braille and DAISY Books

As you know, ReadHowYouWant is a new book publisher with an important social mission. We believe that readers should be able to choose the format of a book that suits them best. This presupposes a radically inclusive model for publishing that does not discriminate against readers who are unable to read a standard printed book. Our books are available in EasyRead™ large print formats in 16 to 24 point font sizes, braille, and DAISY—an audio format suitable for the blind, visually impaired, and individuals who are unable to hold a physical book.

ReadHowYouWant has a great selection of over 4,000 books—the Classics, Oprah picks, New York Times bestsellers, and titles from best-selling authors including Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, Louise Hay, the Dalai Lama, and more. Over 75 publishers have partnered with ReadHowYouWant, including Wiley, Berrett-Koehler,  Allen & Unwin, and more.

As a special offer to all readers, we are offering a 25% discount on all orders placed between December 1 and December 31, 2009. Go to www.readhowyouwant.com, and choose the books you want to buy. When you check out there will be a box to enter your Promotional Code.

The Promotional Code is RFF7KT76.

Give the gift of reading to all of your friends and family. Please feel free to re-post this code and announcement on your website or blog.  Pass it along to your friends and family.

Purchasing books from ReadHowYouWant allows us to provide books for blind and visually impaired readers at the same time they are available to other readers.

Check out our site and let us know what you think.