Alternative-formatted textbooks difficult to obtain

By: Derek Simons

Posted: 1/8/07

UMKC graduate student Kyle Warwick, 33, has a print disability. To study, he needs his textbooks in an audible format.

"My first semester here, in spring 2006, was very difficult," said Warwick. "I didn't get the materials until many weeks after my courses had started. This affected my grades."

Several factors can contribute to the length of time involved in the process. If the publisher cannot provide an alternative formatted textbook, the university must find its own solution. Besides the physical equipment and staff hours needed to prepare the books, sometimes course textbooks are not available at the UMKC bookstore until the last moment. There are also copyright law issues.

"When a student brings us a textbook, first the binding must be removed," said Scott Laurent, director of the UMKC Office of Services for Students with Disabilities (OSSD). "The pages are scanned, encoded into the correct format, and burned onto a compact disc. The book is then re-bound and returned with the accompanying CD to the student."

The office used UMKC's Roo Prints for binding and scanning last spring, Laurent explained.

"We started outsourcing in the fall because Roo Prints was often swamped with work at the beginning of each semester," he said.

Laurent has followed closely the changing technologies and laws involved with providing this service. The University started using scanning and text recognition three years ago. Before then, part-time assistants were paid to read textbooks into a tape recorder.

"We now guarantee a two-week turnaround time, but often it is much faster," said Laurent. "The accuracy of the text has improved to 95-98 percent with our new software, and the costs greatly reduced."

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, universities have the legal obligation to provide "reasonable accommodation" to all students. Communication must be "as effective as" that provided to non-disabled persons. The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) considers the three basic components of effectiveness as "timeliness of delivery, accuracy of the translation, and provision in a manner and medium appropriate to the significance of the message and the abilities of the individual with the disability."

The Association of American Publishers (AAP) takes the position that, under current copyright laws, it is illegal to create electronic copies of the books. The publisher's permission must be requested for each and every copy, accompanied by the purchase receipt of the textbook and proof of disability.

This puts universities in a difficult position. Some states have passed laws to resolve the conflict, but not Missouri. The Association of Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) is working with the AAP to create a national agreement. AHEAD considers alternative formatted textbooks to be "fair use" and thinks it should be covered by the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) of 1998.

"The AAP is not trying to crack down specifically on people with disabilities, but we must protect authors' rights," said Edward McCoyd, the AAP director of Digital Policy. "Hopefully, within the year, a standard will be established that is less frustrating for everyone. For now, we agree to disagree."

In the meantime, Laurent has adopted AHEAD's position and considers the University's first obligation to be to the students by observing the ADA. Textbooks are scanned by Accessible Images, a division of the Kansas City Rehabilitation Institute, and the TIFF images are encoded using Abbyy Finereader by newly-hired OSSD staff.

Warwick's frustration, however, continues.

"In class I am aided by a note taker," he said. "Once, when the note taker was not present for a lecture, I requested a copy of the PowerPoint from the professor. He refused, fearing copyright infringement. I would like to see the chancellor take a clear stand on these issues."

dsimons@unews.com