Scanning books with an OCR reader to get accessible formats is no longer necessary for new books -- so now distribution and DRM models are all that's needed, says Jim Fruchterman of Bookshare.
Bookshare provides a million downloads a year to 130,000 members qualifying for the service -- but so many people who could benefit from the service -- with less-severe disabilities, or, people who are not U.S. citizens, cannot access the books, not even for a fee. Jim Fruchterman says this is a viable market, and publishers can serve it with resources they already generate.
Duelling moral principles of "rights of ownership" versus "accessibility rights of people with disabilities" have resulted in the "charity" system Fruchterman currently describes, including a copyright exception -- Bookshare doesn't pay royalties as their audience cannot use regular books.
Fruchterman notes: Just as the text problem is resolving, books are going multi-media -- image accessibility will be the new problem, and Fruchterman mentions the Diagram Center as a resource.
Jim Fruchterman, A technology entrepreneur, is a former rocket scientist who has founded two of the foremost optical character recognition companies and developed successful social enterprises. Jim is active in public service, with two stints on U.S. federal advisory committees. In 2006, he received a MacArthur Fellowship. Jim was named an Outstanding Social Entrepreneur in 2003 by the Schwab Foundation and participates in the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
In 1989, Jim founded Arkenstone, a nonprofit social enterprise, to produce reading machines for the disabled community based on the Calera technology. Jim co-founded Calera Recognition Systems in 1982. Calera developed character recognition that allowed computers to read virtually all printed text.
Following the sale of the Arkenstone product line in 2000, Jim funded Benetech, with an explicit goal of using the power of technology to serve humanity. Benetech received the Skoll Award for social entrepreneurship under Jim’s leadership. Jim also received the Robert F. Bray Award from the American Council of the Blind.
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