Best Practices
Netherlands
Dedicon Netherlands produces alternative format materials under a tripartite agreement with the Federation of Dutch Publishers (NUV) and the National Office for Public Libraries (SIOB). This agreement states the terms and conditions under which Dedicon is able to produce and distribute copyright protected materials for the print disabled. This reflects the integration of what used to be the domain of the libraries for the blind into the domain of the public libraries. Accessible reading is beginning to become an integral part of the public library services.
Under this agreement there is no distinction between types of accessible format, although there is a small distinction between leisure titles and study materials as the latter are exempted from a licence fee. The NUV has advised all members to cooperate and allow production and distribution of material in alternative formats for people with a print disability. In turn, Dedicon is required to ensure that accessible copies are only used by people with a print disability, although this covers not only visually impaired people but also people with other handicaps such as spasm or dyslexia.
To make production of text files and Braille copies easier, Dedicon is able to request the digital file from publishers. Publishers either give these files to Dedicon or sell them for a small fee. Dedicon considers that a standard format for the digital files is easy to convert to the accessible formats. Nonetheless, for reasons of time efficiency, in many cases Dedicon decides not to ask for the digital file but to scan the printed book itself.
Despite the comprehensive agreement between Dedicon, NUV and SIOB, some problems were, however, encountered in the production of some accessible formats. For example, publishers were sometimes reluctant to agree to the distribution of accessible digital texts of leisure reading material, or authors of the book disagreed with the way the books were narrated.
The changes to copyright law in the Netherlands, made in September 2004, removed almost all the barriers by providing a new exception to copyright which is mirrored in the agreement between Dedicon, NUV and SIOB. Dedicon has announced its intention to produce a certain title into alternative format to the copyright holder/publisher. The publisher can prevent this production only if there is already an accessible version commercially available on the market. In practice this opt-out clause is hardly ever invoked by the publisher. However, with the developing market for commercially available talking books, Dedicon witnesses a slight rise in criticism and objections coming from the talking book producers.
On the whole, the new legislation makes the quick production and delivery to print impaired people of new books in accessible formats possible in almost all cases. Dedicon continues to pay publishers a small license fee for leisure reading books, and for all copies that are being sold to the public libraries.
As done for the production of accessible material for use by handicapped people in the Netherlands, Dedicon is also able to assist print impaired people in other countries. Dutch is, however, not a widely spoken language but there is some demand for books and magazines in Dutch from people in Belgium (Flanders) and Dutch emigrants in the United States of America Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Foreigners with a print impairment are allowed to subscribe to the Dutch library for the print impaired services. Dedicon has an arrangement with NUV which permits it to sell accessible copies of books to libraries for the print impaired abroad. However, under the arrangement these copies are exclusively for use by people with a print disability. This safeguard prevents activity that would be detrimental to publishers.
