Bringing the Information Age to the print-disabled
The European Union is placing an increasingly strong emphasis on social inclusion. The MultiReader project, funded through the EU's Information Society Technologies Programme, aimed to contribute to the objective of social inclusion for disabled persons. Specifically, MultiReader sought to improve access to electronic information for print-disabled persons. Whether blind, deaf, dyslexic or otherwise print-disabled, access to information is key to being an active member of society and guarantees a high quality of life. Due to the wide variety of disabilities affecting print-disabled persons, it was necessary for City University, MultiReader Coordinator, to implement a pan-disability approach. Central to their efforts was the sampling of several different user groups rather than just one. The primary deliverable of MultiReader is a matrix pitting the varying needs of print-disabled persons against the different types of media used to convey information. For each type of media (i.e. text, audio, image or video files), the enhancements used to communicate the information to print-disabled persons are defined. The enhancements include subtitles, Braille, magnification, audio descriptions and so on. The validity of this matrix was ensured by effectively involving the user groups and employing a reiterative process. The matrix can be exploited by electronic information providers in the education, entertainment, news and other realms. The matrix will improve their understanding of the print-disabled audience and help them respond accordingly to their special needs. City University is looking for technology-enabled information providers to apply the knowledge acquired during MultiReader. Further information about the project can be found at: http://www.multireader.org
