Digital books for blind people being prepared
Kathmandu, January 24:
DAISY- the Digital Accessible Information System for the people with print disablities (those who are blind or have difficulty in reading) will not come up with desired output unless the actual population and status of blinds in Nepal is known.
Birendra Raj Pokharel, coordinator for DAISY for Nepal Program said, “Information regarding blind persons is important to implement DAISY technology. Moreover, the government support to make the system accessible through subsidy in production, and distribution process and should prioritise the mainstream education, so that the software can be utilised.”
In the DAISY system the books are recorded or stored on to CDROM and played in MP3 system or DAISY system.
“We are working to open reading centres, DAISY software will be made available in the computers of school and college libraries. We are now focused on the production side of the DAISY books to meet the demand of reading centres,” he said.
He said that eight people have been trained in the DAISY production. The Nepal Association of the Blind and the Nepal Association for the Welfare of the Blind have undertaken the responsibility of producing school and college level text books.
“Several books can be recorded on one compact disc at the cost of Rs 100. It has high storage capacity, is low priced and easy to navigate between pages, paragraphs, chapters while listening,” said Pokharel, adding that as this would bring big change for the blinds, the concerned authorities should give due importance to it.