[nfb-talk] Could Politics Damage The Talking Book Program?

[Kenneth Chrane]

Could Politics Damage the Talking Book Program?

Braille Monitor 
May 2007

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Could Politics Damage the Talking Book Program?

>From the Editor: It's no secret in the blindness community that the single 
most broadly used and passionately loved program serving blind Americans is 
the
Talking Book program, operated by the National Library Service for the Blind 
and Physically Handicapped (NLS) of the Library of Congress. Nothing else
comes close in general usefulness and popularity. Moreover, as the 
population ages, the incidence of blindness will rise, and the demand for 
the program
will inevitably increase sharply.

For several years now at our annual conventions we have heard NLS Director 
Frank Kurt Cylke and his staff describe the technologically complex, 
logistically
demanding project of designing, developing, and producing the next 
generation of Talking Book delivery systems. As cassettes followed flexible 
disks and
8 1/3, 16 2/3, 33 1/3, and 78-RPM records into the attic or the museum, the 
compelling question has been what technology can NLS develop to protect 
copyrighted
material, be simple to use, and offer today's range of text manipulation 
features at a reasonable cost. Since seven hundred thousand machines must be 
built
and tens of thousands of books and periodicals placed on the gadget chosen, 
it's essential that NLS get the solution right the first time. Not 
surprisingly
the development process has been long and very careful. The conversion will 
also be very costly, regardless of how responsible the planning has been.

In recent weeks the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has prepared a 
study of the NLS conversion program. The report is apparently critical and 
clearly
demonstrates that those assessing it neither understand the program nor 
appreciate the challenges to be overcome. Though the study has been 
circulated
among those who will determine NLS funding in future budgets, it is not 
being published, which would enable interested parties outside government to 
comment
on it and assess its merits.

On March 22 the Subcommittee on Legislative Branch Appropriations of the 
House Committee on Appropriations conducted a hearing. The NLS is requesting 
nineteen
million dollars of additional funding in each of the next four years to 
cover the cost of the transition to digital recordings and equipment for the 
Talking
Book program. When we learned about the hearing, we called on local 
Federationists to rally outside the hearing room to make sure that members 
of Congress
got the message that this program is essential to the blind community. Fifty 
blind men and women gathered in the hallway to deliver that message, and 
President
Maurer was in the hearing room to observe the proceedings of the 
subcommittee. James Billington, the librarian of Congress, made comments of 
support, and
of course Frank Kurt Cylke argued strenuously for the appropriation.

We can only hope that Mr. Billington is as supportive behind the scenes as 
he was in public. He has not always been zealous in protecting the NLS 
program.
Moreover, the Library of Congress has recently lost out on acquiring 
forty-eight million dollars in funding for its efforts to digitize library 
programs
in general, and some have wondered if the critical GAO report might have 
been influenced, at least in part, by the Library of Congress's need for 
additional
funding.

Following the subcommittee hearing, President Maurer wrote a letter to the 
staff members of the subcommittee, transmitting to them a draft document 
prepared
by staff members of the National Library Service for the Blind and 
Physically Handicapped responding to the allegations contained in the GAO 
study. We
can only hope that they will read and understand this document and protect 
the funding necessary to bring the Talking Book program into the 
twenty-first
century. Here is President Maurer's letter:

March 28, 2007

Dear_____:

Marc Maurer
Several weeks ago I received a call from a man who identified himself as Mr. 
Dolak of the Government Accountability Office. He said he wanted to ask me
about the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped 
(NLS). Inasmuch as this is the first time the Government Accountability 
Office
has ever asked me about the National Library Service, I expressed 
considerable curiosity about the purpose for the inquiry. Mr. Dolak said 
that he would
give me a report about the matter but that he was not free to do so at the 
moment. To date I have not received any report from the Government 
Accountability
Office. However, I have set about seeking to determine the reason for the 
inquiry. My search for substantial background and detail about the GAO 
inquiry
has provided quite a lot of information. What I have learned causes me to 
feel that what has occurred is potentially alarming and perhaps even more 
serious
than that. The National Library Service for the Blind and Physically 
Handicapped has been doing a very creditable job in conducting its ongoing 
programs
and planning for its future needs. Somebody appears to want to discredit 
this program either through a failure to comprehend the elements of it or 
through
a deliberate wish to misrepresent it.
The NLS is the primary source of reading matter for the blind of the United 
States. It is virtually the only source of Braille material, and it is the
only really substantial source of recorded books and magazines. Some small 
collections of recorded material may be obtained from commercial entities or
from nonprofit organizations, but the only truly large, widely diversified 
collection of literature is maintained by the NLS. This means that literacy
for the blind is dependent on this program and that any interruption or 
suspension of the service provided by it would be devastating.

I have learned from individuals within the Library of Congress that a report 
from the Government Accountability Office has been created. The report is 
sixty-five
pages long. It contains statements that clearly indicate fundamental 
misunderstanding of the nature of the program and of the planning that has 
been conducted
in seeking to modernize the Talking Book portion of it. Presently books are 
distributed to blind people on cassette. Cassettes are ceasing to be a 
readily-available
medium for distributing recorded material. Another medium must be adopted 
soon. The NLS has conducted a multi-year program of study to devise a new 
system.
Part of the problem addressed by the NLS is the need to protect the 
intellectual property of the copyright holders. Another element of the 
puzzle addressed
by the NLS is that many, many of its patrons are blind people who have not 
had training in blindness-related techniques or in the use of high-tech 
electronic
equipment. The NLS distributes material to more than 600,000 blind people a 
year. I estimate that well over 50 percent of this population has not had 
the
kind of training that would be required for using high-tech, complex 
playback equipment. Consequently, the book delivery system must be not only 
robust
but simple to use. Apparently the Government Accountability Office did not 
consider the nature of the population to be served when drafting its report.


In the last few hours I have obtained a draft response prepared by staff 
members of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically 
Handicapped
to the Government Accountability report. I think that the response to the 
report is accurate. I am providing you a copy of it, and I would be 
available
to respond to questions about it if you wish. I have participated in the 
planning for the modernization of the Talking Book program, and I believe I 
have
sufficient background and knowledge to offer an informed opinion about what 
has happened in the effort to create this new Talking Book delivery system.

Sincerely,
Marc Maurer, President
NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND

cc: Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Chair
Subcommittee on Legislative Branch Appropriations, House Committee on 
Appropriations

Congressman David Obey, Chairman
House Committee on Appropriations, United States House of Representatives

Ms. Carrie Apostolou, Professional Staff Member, Committee on Appropriations

Mr. Chuck Turner, Staff member, Committee on Appropriations

Dr. James Billington, Librarian of Congress
Library of Congress

Dr. Deanna Marcum, Associate Librarian for Library Services
Library of Congress

Mr. Frank Kurt Cylke, Director, National Library Service for the Blind
and Physically Handicapped
Library of Congress

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