Information Regarding RFB&D
Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic Information
The following information regarding RFBD (Recording For the Blind and Dyslexic) was provided by Jim Marks, Director of Disablility Services at the University of Montana. Jim serves on RFBD's Board of Directors and has been using RFBD since 1982.
"RFBD cannot convert every book to audio because there are too many books and too few resources for conversion. I ve read that about 40,000 books are published each year, and only 2,000 of these find their way to an alternative format, therefore, RFBD must select its books carefully. Part of the decision making centers on finding books that are widely used. This way, services for one RFBD borrower will provide access to others. The more a book is used, the more likely it will be used by other print disabled readers. Another part of the decision making centers on converting books that cannot be readily converted by other libraries of alternate formats. For instance, e-text does not work well for math and science texts with lots of symbols that screen reading technology cannot manage. RFBD audio can, therefore, fill a niche. It has always been the case that borrowers submit book conversion requests to RFBD, and RFBD then decides whether to record the book to audio. Today, however, RFBD tries to get a jump on the market by looking at high usage or esoteric books and recording them before individual requests come up.
For higher education, RFBD provides about 2 to 3 books out of every 5. The books not provided by RFBD can be picked up through other sources such as Bookshare or the Library of Congress National Library Service.
One may also use human readers or scan and read technologies to round out the access. No one source will ever do the trick. In other words, do not count solely on RFBD to assure compliance with civil rights. Readers with print disabilities must have several tools in the toolbox."
Annemarie Cooke, Sr. External Relations Officer with RFBD added "RFBD stopped being an on demand recording service years ago. We work with major textbook publishers on all educational levels to ensure we record books that will likely be best sellers in the education market. If we don t have what you need at the beginning of the semester, please take the bull by the horns and get the files from the publisher. It takes anywhere from a couple of weeks to months and months to record books, depending on how many volunteers are available to read a particular subject (e.g. American Lit vs. electrical engineering.)"
For further informaton
If you would like additional information on RFBD, please visit their website
You may also contact the ADA Center at 282-3599.