Congratulations
Today (27 August) the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) congratulates Amazon for improving the new Kindle ebook reader with important features that make it more accessible to blind and partially sighted people. In particular, the addition of audible menus should significantly improve the independent use of the Kindle by everyone who struggles to read standard print.
Accessibility features
Earlier this year the iPad was released with a range of built-in accessibility features. With the Kindle also building accessibility features in as standard, it is a great step forward in making reading accessible to the many people who cannot read standard print, such as those who have sight loss, dyslexia or a disability that makes it difficult to hold a book or turn a page.
Named 'Voice Guide', the audible menus should allow readers who cannot read standard print to navigate the Kindle independently. RNIB and other members of the Right to Read Alliance particularly welcome this feature, which can be used to select an ebook and activate the 'Read to Me' facility, that in turn outputs the text of an ebook as synthetic speech.
Changing expectations
RNIB's Principal Manager of Digital Accessibility, Robin Spinks, says: "New technology is rightly changing the expectations of blind and partially sighted consumers. By embedding accessibility features, products like Amazon's Kindle and the iPad are recognising that all consumers, including blind and partially sighted people, have a right to read and I look forward to a time when all devices come to market with accessibility built-in as standard."
However, while audible menus and the 'Read Me' facility allow people who cannot read standard print to enjoy a greater range of books on the Kindle, a significant proportion still remain closed to them. Unlike the ebooks available on Apple's iBooks app, the ability to convert text to synthetic speech is not available as standard for all Kindle ebooks, as it is sometimes disabled by publishers.
Right to Read Alliance
Chair of the Right to Read Alliance, Anna Tylor, says: "We are delighted that many publishers have chosen to enable text to speech on their ebooks, but it is still frustrating that not all ebooks can be read on the Kindle in this way. Text to speech enabled ebooks vastly increase the range of books accessible to people with print impairments, particularly when unabridged audio editions are not available."
RNIB and the Right to Read Alliance would like to see all ebooks enabled with text to speech, across every platform. To that end, they are delighted to be working with the Publishers Association, the Publishers Licensing Society, the Association of Authors' Agents and the Society of Authors to explore the full range of opportunities and challenges that text to speech enabled ebooks present for each stakeholder community, and are outlining ways forward to ensure that people with print impairments can access the full range of ebooks available using text to speech.
Richard King
Richard King, is blind and uses a screen reader. He says: "With audible menus I'll be able to use the Kindle independently. But until I'm able to read using text to speech on all Kindle books, my reading choices are still limited. It's great that some manufacturers and publishers are making it possible for me to read more books, but I really hope that others will soon do the same, so I can have the same choice as my sighted friends."
As Amazon's Kindle is new to the market, RNIB has not undertaken a full accessibility audit of the product yet. When this is completed more information about its accessibility features will be available from RNIB's website. For more information from RNIB on ebooks visit www.rnib.org.uk/ebooks
-ends-
For further information or to arrange a media interview with an RNIB spokesperson, please contact RNIB Media Relations Team on 020 7391 2223 or email pressoffice@rnib.org.uk. Out of hours call 07968 482812.
Notes for Editors
About RNIB: Every day another 100 people in the UK will start to lose their sight. There are around two million people in the UK with sight problems. RNIB is the leading charity working in the UK offering practical support, advice and information for anyone with sight difficulties. If you, or someone you know, has a sight problem RNIB can help. Call the RNIB Helpline on 0303 123 9999 or visit www.rnib.org.uk
RNIB is a partner in the UK Vision Strategy, a ground-breaking UK-wide initiative which seeks a major transformation in the UK's eye health, eye care and sight loss services. The strategy was launched in April 2008 in response to a World Health Assembly global resolution to reduce avoidable blindness by the year 2020 and to improve support and services for blind and partially sighted people. To find out more visit: ww.vision2020uk.org.uk/ukvisionstrategy
About the Right to Read Alliance: The Right to Read Alliance campaigns for people who have sight problems, dyslexia or other disabilities to be able to buy or borrow books which they can read at the same time as everyone else, without having to pay extra. It has 18 members who are all concerned one way or another with the production of material in alternative formats, either as producers or representing the interests of people who cannot read standard print books. Most of them are charities - there are no commercial companies involved.