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News Release
Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic
(RFB&D) and HumanWare work together to serve Americans who
are blind, low vision or have learning disabilities.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Princeton, New Jersey,
and Longueuil (Canada), November 21, 2006
 RFB&D,
America's educational library of recorded textbooks for people
unable to readprint due to a visual or perceptual disability,
has strengthened its partnership with HumanWare. The acclaimed
Victor Reader player will now be co-branded with the RFB&D
logo and clearly labelled for RFB&D members to play books
from RFB&D's AudioPlus® digital book collection.
RFB&D's AudioPlus books produced by RFB&D offer members
an enhanced talking book that not only offers the clear fidelity
of CD digital audio, but, when played on the HumanWare Victor
Reader DAISY CD players, also offers the reader the ability to
navigate audio much like a printed book. At the press of a button,
the Victor Reader can move through the audiobook chapter by chapter,
section by section, go directly to a page from the table of contents,
and even enter electronic bookmarks.
"I can actually comprehend what I've read when I listen
to RFB&D's recorded textbooks," says Ashley Jo Strac,
an RFB&D member who was diagnosed with dyslexia when she was
nine years old. "It is the closest thing to reading a book
like a sighted person," says Aerial Gilbert, who is visually
impaired and also an RFB&D member.
The players selected by RFB&D include the Victor Reader ClassicX
+, a portable sturdy player for heavy use, and the Victor Reader
Wave, a compact player with LCD screen. Both players have new
face plates, which were specially designed by HumanWare for people
with learning disabilities. From now on, descriptive labels will
be printed beneath each key to make use easier for this specific
clientele.
HumanWare, the leading innovator of DAISY-compatible CD digital-talking
book players, has been producing its Victor Reader series of players
worldwide since 1999.
"We work very hard to produce RFB&D's AudioPlus digitally
recorded books on CD, and our partnership with HumanWare ensures
that we deliver the books to our members on the Victor Reader,
the best possible digital audiobook player," says Stephanie
Turner, RFB&D Manager of Market & Product Initiatives.
"It's a partnership where everybody wins the book producer,
player manufacturer, but, most of all, our members who depend
on audiobooks for their education and life-long learning."
"HumanWare is in the business of providing solutions, not
just products, and providing complete solutions require strong
partners," says Gerry Chevalier, Victor Reader Product Manager.
"RFB&D members need a complete audiobook solution that
can only be provided because of the winning partnership of the
Victor Reader combined with RFB&D's AudioPlus books and the
amazing customer support provided by RFB&D."
To demonstrate their strong partnership and its confidence in
Victor Reader products, RFB&D has allowed its logo to be featured
on all Victor Reader ClassicX + and Wave models used by its members.
This partnership is a commitment by both companies that they will
continue to work together to provide the best audiobook reading
experience to RFB&D members for many years to come.
About RFB&D
RFB&D (www.rfbd.org)
serves more than 141,000 students from kindergarten through graduate
school and beyond with its one-of-a-kind collection of more than
109,000 educational titles. RFB&D's AudioPlus digitally recorded
textbooks on CD provide unprecedented navigation, ease of use
and proven effectiveness as learning tools for students with print
disabilities. Students rely on RFB&D's unique accommodation
to access the printed page and to achieve educational success.
All of RFB&D's accessible titles are recorded by volunteers
working in 29 RFB&D recording studios nationwide.
About HumanWare
HumanWare (www.humanware.com)
is the global leader in assistive technologies for vision. HumanWare
provides products to blind and low vision people and students
with learning disabilities. HumanWare's many innovative products
include BrailleNote, the leading productivity device for blind
people in education, in business and in their personal lives;
the Victor Reader product line, the world's leading digital audiobook
players, and SmartView Xtend, the first fully modular and upgradeable
CCTV-based video magnifier.
For further information:
RFB&D
Mark Zustovich
tel.: (609) 520-7993
email: mzustovich@rfbd.org
HumanWare Canada
Nicolas Lagace
tel.: (450) 463-1717
email: nicolas.lagace@humanware.com
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