Access and Technology Resources
Compiled by Jennifer Geagan (jennifer@wid.org)
Blindness Group Publishes Guidebook on Making Printed Materials Available to People Who Cannot Read Standard Print
"A Guide to Making Documents Accessible to People Who Are Visually Impaired" published by the American Council of the Blind provides information on how to make a variety of materials including documents like bills and bank statements accessible to people who do not read conventional print. The book also includes recommendations for using specific formats for different purposes and situations including Braille, large print and electronic media. This practical, user-friendly book demystifies the world of making documents accessible for everyone and is available on-line for free at http://www.acb.org/accessible-formats.html or can be purchased in regular print, large print, Braille, or on cassette tape. For more information, please contact the American Council of the Blind, 1155 15th St. NW, Suite 1004, Washington, DC 20005 or email info@acb.org.
Two Free Web Site Accessibility Tools from Canada
A-Prompt (Accessibility Prompt) is a free software tool designed to improve the usability of HTML documents by evaluating Web pages for barriers to accessibility and then providing developers with quick, simple ways to make the necessary changes. For more information, visit http://aprompt.snow.utoronto.ca/index.html.
The "Simplified Web Accessibility Guide," produced by Soaring Eagle Communications, introduces and presents the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines from the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) in a user-friendly question and answer format. This publication is available in both HTML and PDF formats at http://www.webaccessguides.org.
New Report on Scientific and Technological Research for Visually Impaired People from the UK
Royal National Institute for the Blind in the UK has produced a new report, "Keeping Step? Scientific and Technological Research for Visually Impaired People." This new publication is available for free on-line and incorporates research done by the RNIB to help designers understand the needs of visually impaired people and to show what could be done to make new systems easier to use. The report provides an overview of the current state of the art in this important area and is divided into topics including consumers; daily living; mobility and orientation; access to information; multiple impairments; inclusive design; public terminals; typefaces and legibility; convergent systems; and future research. To access the report, visit http://www.tiresias.org/keeping_step/index.htm.
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