ALPSP member, i-Publishing Consultants, has been working with the national charity, Calibre Audio Library, to develop an app - CALdownload - which will transform access to books for the blind, partially-sighted and those with reading difficulties.  On 20 June they were presented with the 2017 Stationers’ Company Innovation Excellence Award for Social Development. This award recognises new communication programmes that enhance social development and which have a focus on community projects, education and the environment. The judges said they

".. appreciated not only the use of developing technology but also recognised its importance in terms of the social good. This was seen as an app that has the potential to change people’s lives by utilising digital technology to make Calibre’s existing audio programme products more accessible to those with sight difficulties."

While audio books for those who cannot read print have been available via CD or memory stick these rely on a physical item (the CD/memory stick) being sent to and from organizations like Calibre which inevitably requires input from someone other than the end user. Making access to audio books available as a download service, via an encrypted, copyright-compliant app, with spoken audio prompts puts control firmly in the hands of the user, providing them with instant access, control and valued independence that they have not previously had. Moreover, while the application doesn’t require any sight (because of the use of intuitive application-specific gesturing), it has been designed to also support those with macular degeneration (with limited and decreasing levels of sight), and other conditions where people have limited sight providing the largest possible visual clues depending on the size of the device in use. For a disadvantaged community, this is a hugely powerful and unique development.

About Calibre Audio Library

Calibre is a national charity providing a subscription-free service of unabridged audio books for adults and children with sight problems, dyslexia or other disabilities, who cannot read print. Calibre provides enjoyment through reading to a membership for whom literature would otherwise be lost. Calibre members often describe this service as their “lifeline”. Their formal statement of purpose is to:

"…bring the pleasure of reading to people with sight problems and print disabilities, by publishing, purchasing and lending audio books."

Only 4% of published books are available in accessible formats and the Calibre vision is to end reading exclusion for print-disabled people. Calibre records and publishes over 300 audio books annually that are not available for purchase or loan and are exclusive to Calibre members.

One of their guiding principles has always been to supply books in a format that can be played on affordable, easy-to-use equipment (for example listening to audio books on portable equipment such as a purpose-built and reasonably priced memory stick player, so that books can be taken into the garden, on holiday or on long journeys). An important aspect of Calibre’s service is the desire to keep pace with developments in technology and the way this is used by the population at large – and this is what prompted the development of the app.

Calibre’s current membership demographic is elderly – most over 60 and 57% over 80. The current postal service does not suit the needs of many visually impaired people in a younger age group who, with the use of technology, can be more independent in their lifestyle choices. Importantly, the development is agnostic in terms of operating system, ensuring that as many people as possible have access to it, regardless of the type of technology they use.
www.calibre.org.uk

About i-Publishing Consultants

i-Publishing Consultants Ltd is based in London and was established in October 2006. We are a team of experienced consultants representing a broad range of skills and achievements across multiple sectors. We enable organisations to profit from creating new products, optimising their information management and engaging effectively with their communities of interest. We work particularly with publishers, membership and not-for-profit, professional services and cultural heritage organisations.

We bring considered thought as well as imagination to our project processes, to enable organisations to innovate with minimal risk and to maximum benefit. We work in close partnership with clients to accelerate knowledge and skills transfer, from business analysis through solutions design to technical implementation and support. We regularly give presentations, manage seminars, round tables and workshops at conferences, for clients and with partners, as part of our industry engagement and solutions delivery processes.

Our team represents a broad range of sector expertise from government and financial services to education, broadcasting, publishing, not for profit and membership organisations.

Our skills include:

• application and web development          
• business analysis
• business and organisation strategy
• contracts and copyright
• digital marketing, including community engagement
• digital strategy and training
• information security
• publishing systems and processes
• relationship and project management
• system integration and software engineering
• stakeholder engagement
• technology evaluation and selection

www.i-Publishingconsultants.com

For more information contact: Jo Burges, i-Publishing Consultants Ltd; +(0)753 4090509  jo@i-publishingconsultants.com