Ebook Accessibility Issues for OverDrive and Adobe

Last spring, when text-to-speech (TTS) stopped working on OverDrive ebooks because of a software change by Adobe, millions of print-disabled patrons found themselves with fewer options for accessing digital library materials.

In response, the Reading Rights Coalition (RRC)—a group of 32 organizations representing those with print disabilities—asked the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) in July to take action. In the letter, the RRC cited the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

Los Angeles city librarian Martín Gómez responded that LAPL would suspend “all purchasing of Adobe Digital Editions ebooks until the TTS option is restored.” (Other ebooks, such as those purchased from NetLibrary, do not use the Adobe Digital Editions platform and remain accessible.)

The situation puts OverDrive in a difficult position, caught between its reliance on Adobe software and library customers. “We've been a little frustrated,” said Steve Potash, OverDrive CEO, adding that the company has “been persistent in urging Adobe to make [accessibility] a high priority.” And though he hopes TTS and other accessibility features will soon be restored to the Digital Editions software, Potash also said that OverDrive is “working on other avenues should there be no movement from Adobe.”

To complete the circle of mutual dissatisfaction, Adobe's general manager for ePublishing Business Bill McCoy similarly expressed dismay.

In a frank blog post, McCoy said that he considered it “a regrettable situation” and “a black eye for me personally that Adobe's solution does not presently provide accessibility support.”

Nick Bogaty, Adobe senior business development manager, said that the company was actively engaged with two different strategies. First, the company is working on restoring TTS to its Digital Editions software, along with a number of other accessibility enhancements, though these won't be available to end users until sometime in 2010.

More immediately, however, Adobe is looking to a number of partnerships with vendors of accessibility support products. These developers will be given access to the Digital Editions software developer's kit (SDK), which should allow them to jump-start the print-disabled user's access to ebooks.

Bogaty acknowledged that this temporary solution would require library patrons to purchase products made by these companies but said that it was the most expedient solution for the time being, given that “they can release hardware and software faster than we can build support into Adobe Digital Editions.”

However, Eve Hill, senior VP of the Burton Blatt Institute and a lawyer for the RRC, remains frustrated. Responding to McCoy's blog post, she said, “It's sort of as if they're treating the print disability as a charity,” something to be addressed “only after the real market.”

Hill said the RRC will be working with other libraries in the coming months to increase awareness of digital accessibility issues, just as it had worked with the American Library Association earlier this year to influence a resolution on compliance with accessibility guidelines.

While careful to say there were no plans for legal action from the RRC, Hill pointed out that libraries have an obligation to provide equal access to materials and could potentially face legal challenges if they don't do so and require their vendors to do the same.