Public policy increasingly plays a role in influencing the work that we do as HCI researchers, interaction designers, and practitioners. “Public policy” is a broad term that includes both government policy and policy within non-governmental organizations, such as standards bodies. The “Interacting with Public

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Jonathan Lazar, Editor | [e-mail]
Design and Public Policy
Considerations for Accessible
e-book readers

Chris Danielsen National Federation of the Blind | [e-mail]

Anne Taylor

National Federation of the Blind | [e-mail]

Wesley Majerus

National Federation of the Blind | [e-mail]

Throughout most of human his-
tory, access to written informa-
tion has been one of the greatest
challenges faced by the blind.
Until the invention of Braille, lack
of access to written knowledge
probably played a large role in
the isolation of the blind from the
rest of society. While the inven-
tion of the printing press in the
mid-1400s began the information
revolution, Braille did not come
along until nearly 400 years later.
The introduction of sound record-
ing later allowed the production
of audiobooks, the first of which
were specifically designed for the
visually impaired. But neither the
introduction of Braille nor the cre-
ation of “talking books” gave blind
readers, or others with visual dis-
abilities, full access to the scope of
printed material available to the
rest of the general public. E-books
have the potential to allow the
blind and others to gain full access
to the printed word, but this will
happen only if e-books and the
applications and devices used to
read them are well designed; if
public institutions that plan to use
e-books demand accessibility; and
if public policy affirms the right of
the visually impaired to have full
and equal access.

Background

When Braille was invented in
the early 1820s, for the first time
in history blind people had the
opportunity to easily read books
by themselves. The code is still
indispensable among the visually
impaired as a means of obtain-
ing literacy and gaining access to
information. But mass production
of Braille books was not immedi-
ately possible. Even when Braille
presses were developed in the
early 20th century, books had to
first be hand-transcribed onto the
metal plates that were used to
press the dots into paper. Today
computer software can translate
text into Braille, so production
is quicker and easier, but Braille
still has its limitations. It is not as
compact as print, so a single novel
may comprise several volumes—
each the size of a conventional
print dictionary.

January + February 2011