Arizona State Sued Over Kindle E-Textbook Usage

Organizations allege Kindle menus aren't blind-accessible

Lynn Blumenstein -- Library Journal, 7/2/2009

• ASU sued by blind organizations
• Kindle menus aren't blind-accessible
• Other universities targeted

Arizona State University (ASU), Tempe, is being sued by the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) and the American Council of the Blind (ACB) over the use of Amazon’s Kindle DX electronic reading device as a means of distributing electronic textbooks to its students, because the new ereader's menu isn't accessible to the blind.

Disabilities Act violation?
The plaintiffs claim that such usage violates Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 because the device cannot be used by blind students. The NFB and ACB also filed complaints with the Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Education and the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.

NFB acknowledges that the Kindle DX features text-to-speech technology that can read textbooks aloud to blind students. The menu limitation, however, makes it impossible for a blind user to purchase books from Amazon’s Kindle store, select a book to read, activate the text-to-speech feature, and use the advanced reading functions available on the Kindle DX, according to NFB.

ASU response
LJAN contacted ASU for an official response. Martha Dennis Christiansen, associate vice president/university student initiatives, did not specifically address the issue in the lawsuit but stated, "Arizona State University is committed to equal access for all students. Disability Resource Centers are located on all ASU campuses. The centers enable students to establish eligibility and obtain services and accommodations for qualified students with disabilities. These efforts are focused on providing the necessary tools so that all students with disabilities have an equal opportunity to be successful in their academic pursuits."

Other universities involved
Five other universities are deploying the Kindle DX as part of a pilot project to assess the role of electronic textbooks and reading devices in the classroom: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland; Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville; Pace University, New York, NY; Princeton University, NJ; and Reed College, Portland, OR. 

NFB and ACB have requested that the other institutionals also be subjected to investigation by federal agencies.

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