![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Have you ever heard of the Marrakesh Treaty? If not, you're in good company. It's an international treaty adopted in 2013 by member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
With libraries around the world closed to walk-in clients due to the pandemic, accessibility of reading matter these days is an issue for everyone, and at a time when many of us suddenly have plenty of time to read! But inaccessibility has been an everyday reality throughout history for anybody who is print-disabled, as only about 7% of published works are available in accessible formats.
The Marrakesh Treaty removes certain legal barriers to making and sharing accessible format works, when done on a not-for-profit basis to provide services to the print-disabled. Of course, librarians have always been good at co-operative and reciprocal arrangements for pooling scarce resources. Under the treaty's provisions, libraries are free to co-ordinate the production of works in accessible formats. That means less duplication, less re-inventing the wheel because without such an agreement, the same book might be converted multiple times in different countries. Or even in different organizations within the same city.
In Canada, a guide for libraries to get started in implementing the treaty was recently issued as part of National AccessAbility Week, May 31 to June 6:
https://www.eifl.net/system/files/resources/201808/getting_started_marrakesh_en.pdf
One thing I hadn't realized (or maybe just hadn't considered) before was how wide an interpretation is given to the term "print-disabled". As well as blind or low-vision people, it can include people with learning or developmental disabilities such as dyslexia or autism or with physical problems like Parkinson's or paralysis that may impair the ability to hold a book or turn the pages.
As I juggle my various pairs of glasses - progressive bifocals, reading glasses, midrange glasses (sometimes nowadays referred to as "computer glasses") and sunglasses, I'll certainly want to keep up to date on this file.
The document cited above is a manageable 19 pages long but has plenty of links to other helpful resources. For readers in Canada, the most useful starting point might be the Centre for Equitable Library Service:
https://celalibrary.ca
Let's all work to alleviate the book famine!
With libraries around the world closed to walk-in clients due to the pandemic, accessibility of reading matter these days is an issue for everyone, and at a time when many of us suddenly have plenty of time to read! But inaccessibility has been an everyday reality throughout history for anybody who is print-disabled, as only about 7% of published works are available in accessible formats.
The Marrakesh Treaty removes certain legal barriers to making and sharing accessible format works, when done on a not-for-profit basis to provide services to the print-disabled. Of course, librarians have always been good at co-operative and reciprocal arrangements for pooling scarce resources. Under the treaty's provisions, libraries are free to co-ordinate the production of works in accessible formats. That means less duplication, less re-inventing the wheel because without such an agreement, the same book might be converted multiple times in different countries. Or even in different organizations within the same city.
In Canada, a guide for libraries to get started in implementing the treaty was recently issued as part of National AccessAbility Week, May 31 to June 6:
https://www.eifl.net/system/files/resources/201808/getting_started_marrakesh_en.pdf
One thing I hadn't realized (or maybe just hadn't considered) before was how wide an interpretation is given to the term "print-disabled". As well as blind or low-vision people, it can include people with learning or developmental disabilities such as dyslexia or autism or with physical problems like Parkinson's or paralysis that may impair the ability to hold a book or turn the pages.
As I juggle my various pairs of glasses - progressive bifocals, reading glasses, midrange glasses (sometimes nowadays referred to as "computer glasses") and sunglasses, I'll certainly want to keep up to date on this file.
The document cited above is a manageable 19 pages long but has plenty of links to other helpful resources. For readers in Canada, the most useful starting point might be the Centre for Equitable Library Service:
https://celalibrary.ca
Let's all work to alleviate the book famine!
