Achievements
Combined Online Library
after years of hard work DFI has finally succeeded in setting up DAISY India Library. It is a national level repository and distribution platform for books in accessible formats. It is the one stop source of accessible books in India for persons with print disabilities. It integrates all accessible books produced in India as well as the complete collection of Bookshare – the world’s leading accessible library for the print disabled.
Copyright Amendment Act 2012
The much awaited amendment to the copyright act of India 1957 was finally passed in May 2012 by parliament. The necessary presidential and gazette approvals followed in the first half of June 2012. The amendment marks a significant breakthrough. The XRCVC and Inclusive planet prepared and circulated an FAQ on the amendment and its consequences. Mr. Rahul Cherian, Dipendra Manocha and Sam Taraporevala presented their case at the joint consultative meeting of the copyright office in New Delhi on Monday the 8th of October 2012. Subsequently, the Office of Copyright has by Gazette notification notified rules with regards the same. Hence, the exception clause will be governed by the adherence to certain rules – Rule 76, Rule 77, Rule 78. Thanks to the good work put in by late Rahul Cherian, Dipendra Manocha and Sam Taraporewala, all persons with print disabilities in India will now have their right to read. This achievement is dedicated to Rahul, whose contribution was priceless, but was unable to see its culmination.
Combined Catalogue
January 4th 2012 became a special day for all of us as the Online Braille Library website was launched by the Minister Social Justice and Empowerment. The online Braille library, NIVH project is the home for our combined catalogue also. This combined catalogue contains the catalogues of all the DFI member organizations, and each organization checks this catalogue before beginning production. The titles which are already available in the catalogue can be shared between the member organizations, thereby avoiding duplication. Thus, DFI is able to maximize the limited resources of its members, ultimately benefiting thousands of persons with print disabilities in India. This combined catalogue is now being replaced by DAISY India Library which allows users not just to search the titles but also download them from anywhere, anytime.
Awareness
The DAISY Forum of India through its member organizations has been successfully increasing awareness about DAISY at various levels in different parts of the country. As a result, Education Boards of Govt. of Maharashtra, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and other states have been made aware of DAISY, and some of the state Governments have agreed to publish their school textbooks in DAISY format. Other education boards such as NIOS and RCI have also agreed to publish their course material in DAISY format. This is a major step, and an ongoing effort, pioneered by the Policy Intervention Committee under the leadership of Dr. Sam Taraporewala. The result of the increased awareness at the end user level is evident from the increased demand of DAISY player tools from the end users, which is an effort by the Awareness Committee led by Mr. Praful Vyas.
Increase in availability of accessible books
DFI has also succeeded in increasing production of DAISY books by manifold. In the year 2012 alone, more than 2500 titles were added in the combined catalogue of DFI. This is a result of the efforts of the Capacity Building Committee led by Mr. Prashant Ranjan Verma, which has conducted series of DAISY production trainings and Training of Trainers, who in turn are training many more in DAISY production centres.