Design and Public Policy Considerations for Accessible E-book Readers

摘要

Throughout most of human history, access to written information 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 invention 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 recording 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 creation of "talking books" gave blind readers, or others with visual disabilities, full access to the scope of printed material available to the rest of the general public.