Access: National Federation of the Blind and DAISY Consortium Concerned that State Department May Not Require Fully Accessible E-readers

From a DAISY Consortium News Item:

The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) and the DAISY Consortium have submitted a response to a Request for Information (RFI) from the U.S. State Department regarding its planned e-reader initiative. The RFI follows the rescission of the State Department’s June 7, 2012 sole source proposal for a program then called the Kindle Mobile Learning Initiative.

The NFB, the DAISY Consortium, and other organizations had filed a formal complaint with the State Department’s Office of Civil Rights regarding that proposal as most Kindle devices are not accessible to people who are blind or who cannot read print. The NFB and the DAISY Consortium believe that the RFI is a positive step in that it requests specific information about accessibility from potential vendors. The comments express concern that the RFI does not actually require accessible e-reader devices and appears to require compatibility with outdated and inaccessible devices and file formats.

National Federation For the Blind//DAISY Comments

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