RECORDING FOR THE BLIND AND DYSLEXIC
ANNOUNCES AUDIOPLUS™ TEXTBOOKS
After more than 50 years as the nation’s largest provider of textbooks and educational materials in accessible formats for students with print disabilities, RFB&D continues to lead the learning revolution with the development of digital textbooks on CD-ROM. Using the next generation of technology to provide better service to its members, RFB&D is now in the process of introducing new digitally recorded audio textbooks on CD-ROM. RFB&D’s growing digitally recorded AudioPlus™ textbooks will be available to its members nationwide in September 2002. RFB&D anticipates a core collection of nearly 6,000 titles in digital format.
RFB&D’s AudioPlus™ textbooks will offer significant benefits to members, including:
• Instant Access. Using a specially adapted player or software on a multimedia PC, a reader can go directly to a page
or move from chapter to chapter at the press of a button—there is no need to fast-forward or rewind through page
indicator beep tones, as required with analog tape.
• Better audio quality. Digitally recorded textbooks stay true to the original recording, and increasing or decreasing
the speed at which the book is played never alters pitch.
• Convenience. Digitally recorded textbooks can be delivered on CDs that can hold more than 40 hours of recorded
material. That means the contents of a standard textbook—requiring as many as twelve four-track analog cassettes—
will now fit on one CD.
Developing digital audio technology is a large research and development project requiring significant funding to re-engineer and test recording processes and systems in 32 RFB&D recording facilities across the country. RFB&D believes AudioPlus™ digitally recorded textbooks are well worth the investment because of the state-of-the-art technological benefits members will enjoy. The ability to move quickly from one part of the text to another using computer-programming instructions will be invaluable.
