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Re: What Alt Format works for you?

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From: Karen McCall
Date: Nov 14, 2024 7:25AM

There are two perspectives on this question.

The first thing I suggest if the person was an avid reader is to join Audible. There is "instant success" at being able to read again even though you are listening to a book. While Audible doesn't focus on educational books, for seniors who love to read, it is a good bridging tool. Often books are on sale, so there is a cost to joining Audible.

So is Project Guttenberg which is free although their content is HTML based or was the last time I used the site. A tool like the HumanWare Victor Reader Stream can read the Project Guttenberg books, It is only one such tool and happens to be the one I've used for several years. The buttons make it easy to use.

The Audible books can go on a mobile phone or the Victor reader Stream.

These tools sometimes give people who have just experienced vision loss time to adjust while still being able to read and do something positive.

Personally, I prefer Word format for academic and educational publications simply because JAWS lets me move around the content faster, has more support for things like footnotes, endnotes, comments and track changes. I now convert all PDFs into Word so that I can access the content quickly. The Victor Reader Stream supports Word format so if I only want to read content, it can travel with me. I do have Word apps on my iOS device but I can use the Stream without being connected to the Internet.

Delays in getting alternate format are still significant intentional barriers to content. We know how to make digital content accessible but for some reason we still face systemic barriers.

Cheers, Karen