Published by APC Magazine 1997-08-01

Publication debuts on disk, book and braille

Stephen Withers In a world first that brings a new twist to the term "multi-media," an Australian book has just been released simultaneously in print, audio, braille and disk.

Public Relations, Newsletters and Internet Usage for Organisations by Nick Renton is published on paper by Kangaroo Press and in other editions by the new Library and Information Services business unit of the Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind.

Unit manager Linley Wallis said that the RVIB became involved when Renton consulted the Institute about parts of the book concerning people with disabilities. Obtaining the necessary permissions for alternative formats usually takes months or even a year, and the production process can also be time consuming, especially for braille editions when the manuscript cannot be obtained from the publisher on disk, so Renton's book marks a major breakthrough. The visually impaired have "the same rights to a modern public library as any other user," said the Library Board of Victoria's deputy president Professor Margaret Cameron.

Ramona Mandy, a braille instructor at the RVIB, explained that visually impaired people like herself seek independence and integration, and that part of this is timely and full access to publications in a format they can use. Braille, audio cassettes and computer disks each have their pros and cons, and suit different people and purposes.

Braille requires considerable concentration and is bulky, but provides random access and needs no power source. Cassettes are easy to use and can be played during another activity, but require equipment and batteries, and make it difficult to locate a particular passage.

Computerised text makes it easy to locate specific material and can be used in conjunction with speech synthesis, but a power source and relatively expensive equipment is needed.

Publishing Renton's book in multiple formats meets the needs of different groups, and its simultaneous publication by the RVIB is "a huge step to achieving the equality we're all aiming for," said Mandy.

(c) 1997 Australian Consolidated Press. All rights reserved.