SETTING UP AN ALTERNATE FORMAT PRODUCTION SYSTEM By Robert Lee Beach Assistive Technology Specialist Kansas City Kansas Community College

Things to consider  Scalability  Timeliness  Quality

Determine the need  Evaluate the institution  Evaluate the student population

Evaluate the institution  How is your institution structured and what section are you responsible for  What are the major/popular areas of study  Are there lots of research materials needed  Is the institution a resident or non-resident facility

Institution (continued)  Are there popular study and/or hang-out areas for students  What technology services are available, especially network systems  What is the institution’s schedule (semester or quarter)

Evaluate the student population  What disability groups do you serve  What are the numbers of students you serve that “could” need alternate text  What are the study habits of your students  do they study on campus or at home  do they study in groups or alone

Students (continued)  Do students tend to have their own technology (laptops)  Is there a format that students currently ask for

Select the types of alternate formats to provide  Auditory  Visual  Tactile  A combination

Explore the many alternate format options available  Audio CD  Audio files (MP3)  Braille (hard copy or electronic files)  DAISY (audio only, text only, text/audio)  Kurzweil files  Large print  Tactile materials  WYNN files

Evaluate the options for source files  Publisher files  Word  PDF  Scanned in-house

Publisher files  Can be Word or PDF  Can take a while to receive  Will not require an expensive scanner  Word files are usually very messy and require lots of editing  PDF files will require OCR software (ABBYY or Omni)

Scanned in-house  Can obtain almost immediately  More control over quality  Requires an expensive scanner  Requires OCR software (ABBYY or Omni)  Have to cut a book (who pays for it)

Visit other places  Visit institutions that are producing similar formats  What are they doing  How did they get there  Enroll in the AHEAD E-Text Institute  Join the Alternate Media list from HTCTU

Select your computer system(s)  Lots of storage space  On hard drive  On external drives  On a network  Lots of memory

Computer System (continued)  Two large monitors  Very fast processor  A backup system  Lots of USB ports  CD/DVD burner drive  SDHC card slots

Select your production software  Adobe Acrobat Professional (PDF editing software)  OCR package  ABBYY FineReader  Omni Page Professional  Text file editing software  Microsoft Office  Open Office

Production Software (continued)  Text file to audio file conversion  Text-To-Audio  Text Aloud  Audio CD burner software  Built into Text-To-Audio and Text Aloud  Nero  Roxio

Production Software (continued)  Braille translation software  Duxbury Braille Translator  Braille 2000  Tiger Translator  DAISY generator/converter software  Dolphin Producer (conversion tool)  Dolphin Publisher (publishing tool)  eClipse Writer Personal (conversion tool)  eClipse Writer Professional (publishing tool)  DAISY Pipeline

Production Software (continued)  Kurzweil 3000  Tactile image production software  Adobe Illustrator  Tiger translation software  WYNN Wizard

Select the production hardware and other equipment  Book cutting and binding equipment  Scanner  High-speed  Full duplex  Good page handling  Large page capacity  Color  CD/DVD duplicators

Equipment (continued)  Braille embosser  Interpoint capability  Wide page handling  Examples  Juliet Pro 60  Tiger (many models)  Index (several models)  Printer  Auto duplexing  Large format would be nice  Are there other areas on campus with this equipment that you can share

MISC. furniture  Computer tables and work chairs  Lockable Storage cabinets for books, CD/DVDs, etc.  Location/Space

Develop your work flow  Procedures for students to request books  Will they request via online form or in person  Does request go to alt format personnel or DSS advisor  How will requests be tracked and reported  What resources will be explored (RFB&D, Bookshare, etc.)  Process for obtaining source files  Will student, advisor, or alt format personnel request  How will they be received and tracked

Work Flow (continued) File management system File formats to use Folder structures for holding files File naming system Backup schedule Process for cutting and rebinding books Procedures for scanning books Procedures for running the OCR process Standards and practices for editing the text files

Standards and practices for generating the alternate format  Audio files  Audio CDs  Hard copy Braille or electronic Braille files  DAISY books  Kurzweil or WYNN files  Large print  Tactile images

Procedures for distributing the final product  Web-based distribution  Student pickup system

Policies for archiving finished projects  Where to keep them  How long to keep them  Who can have access

Determine who will do the work  Full-time staff position  Part-time staff position  Shared staff position  Student workers  Combination

Setup the physical work area  Make it effective and efficient  Make it comfortable  Make it attractive