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Standards and Legal Update: Where are we with publisher files?

By George Kerscher

Senior Officer, Accessible Information
Recording For the Blind & Dyslexic (RFB&D)
Secretary General to the DAISY Consortium
Chairperson of the Open eBook Forum (OeBF)
Co-chair Steering Council, Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)

"In the Information Age, access to information is a fundamental human right."
- George Kerscher Bangkok 2002, presentation at the United Nations

ABSTRACT

In this session I will provide up-to-the-minute information regarding standards and legal initiatives surrounding access to published information in print. This will include details about the DAISY standards, the ANSI/NISO Z39.86, developments surrounding the National File Format, and state legislation focused on higher education. I will discuss the importance of promoting XML and what we should strive towards. I will close with some thoughts about the tools that are needed and efforts to develop those tools.

DAISY Multimedia Standards at the Heart of Access to the Printed Word

  • DAISY standards are firmly established worldwide as the replacement for the audio cassette.
  • DAISY 2.02 is the current recommendation for distribution of content in the DAISY format; ( the CSUN Program CD is a good example of this.
  • Production tools are widely available.
  • Training is available worldwide.
  • Many different hardware and software players are on the market -- don't miss the duels of 18 products on Friday afternoon.

Transition to DAISY 3, the ANSI/NISO Z39.86 Standard

  • DAISY 3 has some outstanding enhancements over DAISY 2, most importantly is the use of XML and a rich vocabulary designed for books converted from print.
  • All of the supporting details also need to transition to DAISY 3: players, production tools, training, etc.
  • The DAISY 3 validator and XML text can be implemented early in the transition.
  • Finally once all components have transitioned, DAISY 3 will become the current recommendation.

DAISY 3, the ANSI/NISO Z39.86 is targeted at a minor revision in 2004

  • This Spring, minor revisions to the standard will be completed.
  • Implementors have been invited to review changes and meet with the maintenance committee.
  • The voting on the revision is expected to be completed during the Summer.
  • Modifications to the navigation will make implementation more efficient.
  • DAISY 2.02 will be upgradable to DAISY 3.
  • There are several minor improvements to the XML vocabulary.

Progress Toward a National File Format in the USA

  • The Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) established a National File Format Technical Panel.
  • Center for Applied Special Technologies (CAST) was the coordinating organization, Skip Stahl was the lead on the project.
  • The NFF Technical Panel submitted a set of recommendations to OSEP in October 2003.
  • The recommendation is known as the National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS.
  • The NIMAS is an application of DAISY 3, the ANSI/NISO Z39.86 standard.
  • OSEP is expected to make a decision regarding the Technical Panel's recommendation; this would officially establish the national standard in the K-12 arena.
  • The reauthorization of IDEA requires the NIMAS, and will make the provision of files a legal requirement.
  • The same standard is being promoted in the United Nations at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).

Provisions in the proposed NIMAS -- application of DAISY 3, ANSI/NISO Z39.86

  • Publishers would provide to authorized entities XML files conforming to DTBook, the XML vocabulary defined in DAISY3, ANSI/NISO Z39.86.
  • Language refers to the current recommendation, because everybody knows the standard will evolve.
  • A base level of markup is described, but publishers have the option to fully apply the tag set.
  • Images are allowed to be distributed to authorized entities; to legally enable this, publishers themselves are identified as authorized entities.
  • The images are contained in the PDF the publishers have, so PDF files will be distributed along with the XML.
  • Authorized entities are expected to add value to the files
  • Authorized entities distribute to end users.

Exactly how Would Authorized Entities use NIMAS XML files in the ANSI/NISO Z39.86DTBook Vocabulary?

  • Authorized entities can enhance the files and move them from the base level to a fully conforming file set.
  • NIMAS conforming files can be pulled directly into a DAISY 3 conforming production tool.
  • Synthetic speech could be generated, as in the CSUN program.
  • Human narration could be synchronized with the audio, see the duels on Friday for examples of this.
  • Braille translation software supports the NIMAS standard, visit the Duxbury booth.
  • A project to produce an open source DAISY Multi Format Converter is in the initial stages; This could provide outputs in Word, WordPerfect, Large print, and any other format for which a module is created.
  • Apply a simple style sheet (CSS) and they can be viewed directly in Web browsers, such as IE, but you will not get the full power of DAISY.
  • Creation of powerful information systems with all the features we want depend on accurate XML conforming content.

Higher Education Adoption of the National File Format (NIMAS)

  • The most recent state higher Ed. law, the New York Chapter 219, references the National File Format, NIMAS
  • The Kentucky law SB 85 requests files in the National Standard.
  • The older law, California AB422, was passed before the ANSI/NISO Z39.86 became a standard in the USA.
  • I am encouraging all future legislation to reference the National File Format, NIMAS, DAISY 3, or the ANSI/NISO C39.86 standard -- it's all the same thing!

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