Has anyone who has been following this carefully considered blogging it? And has the board considered contacting them to join the coalition?
On Mon, Apr 13, 2009 at 1:49 PM, Seth Johnson < [email protected]> wrote: > > (Join the Reading Rights Coalition in opposing the Authors' Guild's > attempt to claim the power to control your right to read with a device > that parses and processes text. Last Tuesday a coalition led by > concerned disabilities constituencies stood up for our right to own > and use fully functional computing devices. They are looking for > 10,000 signatures on their petition -- let's push it past that -- and > are planning to continue demonstrations, now on both coasts. I can't > gun outreach right now, but we can all forward the following links and > sign on . . . -- Seth) > > > Reading Rights Coalition (member orgs listed below): > > http://www.readingrights.org/ > > http://www.readingrights.org/take-action-now > > Petition (5,528 signatures at this point) (text pasted below): > > http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/We-Want-To-Read > > Call the Authors Guild: 1-212-563-5904 > > > Next Demo: > > LA Times Festival of Books > http://www.latimes.com/extras/festivalofbooks/ > Saturday April 25 and Sunday April 26 > Time: TBA > Location: UCLA > 405 Hilguard Avenue, > Los Angeles, CA 90095 > > The sign I chose :-) : > > > http://www.keionline.org/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/newyorker3-150x150.jpg > > Video of the April 7 Demo: > > > http://abraham.omnicypher.com/2009/04/authors-guild-protest-thoughts-24-hours.html > > > http://i.gizmodo.com/5202554/photos-and-video-from-the-national-federation-of-the-blinds-kindle-2-protest > > > http://www.cnn.com/video/?JSONLINK=/video/ireports/2009/04/09/irpt.publisher.protest.cnn > > Accounts of the April 7 demo: > > http://www.keionline.org/blogs/2009/04/08/notes-from-kindle2-protest/ > > http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/04/protest-kindle-drm > > > http://www.betanews.com/article/Protesters-confront-Authors-Guild-over-Kindle-texttospeech/1239308961 > > > http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/news_details/article/222/2009/april/10/cant-hear-what-others-can-see.html > > Authors' Guild: Protest "Unfortunate and Unnecessary": > > http://authorsguild.org/advocacy/articles/kindle-accessibility.html > > James Love cites statements of petition signatories: > > > http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-love/people-vs-the-authors-gui_b_183533.html > > > Chronology: > > Feb 9, 2009. Release of Kindle 2 > Feb 24, 2009. Roy Blount Jr., President of the Authors > Guild (AG) wrongly claims TTS would be an infringement > of copyright and a threat to audio books in a New York > Times op-ed. > Feb 27, 2009. Under pressure from the Authors Guild, > Amazon announced it would modify its system so authors > and publishers could turn off the TTS on a title by > title basis > The National Foundation for the Blind initiate a dialogue > with the AG > Authors Guild proposed a separate registration system > which was rejected by reading disabled persons > representatives > Authors Guild then proposed to make e-book TTS available > at additional cost > March 16 Letter from coalition to main 6 publishers > March 19, 2009. Amazon announced on its Kindle Blog that > it will make the menus and controls on the device > fully accessible to blind people > April 7, 2009. The Reading Rights Coalition kicks off its > campaign to reverse the stance of authors and > publishers who have disabled text-to speech with a > protest in New York city (see pictures at the end of > the post) > > Current Reading Rights Coalition Members: > > Please use the Contact Us form (http://www.readingrights.org/contact) > if your organization wants to join this effort. > > 1. AbilityNet > 2. American Association of People with Disabilities > 3. American Council of the Blind > 4. American Foundation for the Blind > 5. Arc of the United States > 6. Association of Blind Citizens > 7. Association on Higher Education And Disability > 8. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law > 9. Burton Blatt Institute > 10. DAISY Consortium > 11. Disability 411 newest! > 12. Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund > 13. IDEAL Group, Inc. > 14. International Center for Disability Resources on the Internet > 15. International Dyslexia Association > 16. International Dyslexia Association – New York Branch > 17. Jewish Guild for the Blind > 18. Knowledge Ecology International > 19. Learning Disabilities Association of America > 20. Lighthouse International > 21. LightHouse – San Francisco newest! > 22. National Association of Law Students with Disabilities > 23. National Center for Learning Disabilities > 24. National Disability Rights Network > 25. National Federation of the Blind > 26. NISH (formerly National Institute for the Severely Handicapped) > 27. National Spinal Cord Injury Association > 28. Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities > 29. United Cerebral Palsy > 30. Xavier Society for the Blind > > --- > > Text of the petition: > > > http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/We-Want-To-Read > > > We the undersigned insist that the Authors Guild and Amazon not > disable the text-to-speech capability for the Kindle 2. > > There are 15 million Americans who are blind, dyslexic, and have > spinal cord injuries or other disabilities that impede their ability > to read visually. The print-disabled have for years utilized > text-to-speech technology to read and access information. As > technology advances and more books move from hard-copy print to > electronic formats, people with print disabilities have for the first > time in history the opportunity to enjoy access to books on an equal > basis with those who can read print. > > Authors and publishers who elect to disallow text-to-speech for their > e-books on the Kindle 2 prevent the print-disabled from enjoying these > e-books. > > Denying universal access will result in more and more people with > disabilities being left out of education, employment, and the societal > conversation. We will all suffer from the absence of diverse > participation and contribution to the debates that occupy us as a > society. > > Furthermore, we oppose the Authors Guild demands that this capability > should be turned off because many more books would be sold if > text-to-speech remained available. Not only does this feature benefit > persons with disabilities, but it also helps persons for whom English > is not their native language. In an increasingly mobile society, > flexible access to content improves the quality of life for everyone. > > There can be no doubt that access to the written word is the > cornerstone of education and democracy. New technologies must serve > individuals with disabilities, not impede them. Our homes, schools, > and ultimately our economy rely on support for the future, not > discriminating practices and beliefs from the past. > > Thank you for your time and consideration in this important matter. > > _______________________________________________ > Discuss mailing list > [email protected] > http://freeculture.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/discuss > -- Kevin Donovan Georgetown '11: SFS 630.849.8285
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