(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.
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