2, 4, 6, 8 ... Authors Guild Discriminates!

Posted by Paul Schroeder on 4/8/2009 5:54:20 PM

Yesterday afternoon about 200 people, including a number of AFB staff members, attended the Reading Rights Coalition (RRC) protest at the Authors Guild in New York City. The protest was part of the campaign to obtain access for the blind and others with print disabilities to e-books available for Amazon's new Kindle 2 e-book reader. I was glad to play a part in this tremendous event that brought blindness groups together with others in the disability community. I reminded the crowd that we cannot allow authors and publishers to decide what people with disabilities are permitted to read. The event was a huge success!

For those of you who weren't able to make the protest, we still need your help. The RRC has also organized a petition as part of the campaign. You can read and sign the petition at: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/We-Want-To-Read.

Please note: If you are using screen access technology, the first three fields on the form to sign the petition may not be announced. They are, in order: (1) a drop-down menu from which to select your prefix (Mr., Mrs., etc.); (2) an edit field for your first name; and (3) an edit field for your last name. The rest of the fields should announce themselves as you tab to them.

I was number 2,111 on the petition. Here's what I wrote:

"I am unable to independently read print books without using technology to convert the print because I am blind. I love to read, sometimes relying on braille, often using technology to read text-to-speech. The notion that the world of ideas, of thought, of history, in short the world of books, could be taken away from people like me by short-sighted authors and publishers is abhorrent. We must assert our absolute right to read."

Please be sure to add your voice to the campaign!

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