Held on Saturday the 29th of April 2006
Princeton, USA
Scribe: Carsten Frederiksen
Status: Final Version
Revision: For final approval at the General Meeting 2007, Melbourne, Australia
Web site: Posted to the Web site August, 2006
Published: August, 2006
The President of the DAISY Consortium, Elsebeth Tank, opened the meeting at 9:00 a.m. She welcomed the participants to the General Meeting in Princeton, USA, and thanked everyone for coming.
The President informed the meeting that according to the Articles of Association of the DAISY Consortium a General Meeting shall be held once a year and has to be called no later than six weeks in advance of the meeting. This General Meeting was called on the March 17 and the call was forwarded to all Members by email as required in the articles.
Furthermore, the deadline for Members to submit motions for the General Meeting is three weeks before the meeting and the formal documents for the meeting must be forwarded to the Members no later than two weeks before the meeting. The documents on the agenda have all met the requirements of the articles and were forwarded to all Members by email on April 12.
This General Meeting of the DAISY Consortium has been duly convened.
It was noted as the meeting began that some Friends of the Consortium were present. The presence of DAISY Friends is not in accordance with Articles of Association. The President asked the voting Members if the presence of the Friends was acceptable. The membership accepted their presence, and they were permitted to attend the meeting.
1.1 Members Present
1.2 Apologies
The President conveyed that no apologies had been received.
1.3 Confirm Minute Taker
Carsten Frederiksen was accepted as scribe.
1.4 Confirm Voting Representatives
The President clarified that to constitute a quorum at least 50% of the Full Members must be present at the General Meeting. All thirteen Full Members of the DAISY Consortium were present. The General Meeting had a quorum.
The voting Members representatives were:
Frederiksen, Carsten, Executive Assistant
Kahl, Kathy, Web Developer, Programmer, Technical Document Editor
Kerscher, George, Secretary General
Leith, Lynn, International Training & Technical Support Coordinator
1.5 Acceptance of Agenda
Elsebeth Tank, President of the DAISY Consortium, proposed that the sequence of agenda items 9.1 and 9.2 be reversed, to facilitate a decision on the membership fees before the approval of the budget for 2006-2007.
The agenda was approved with this change.
Requests for time to present on specific topics were received by the President. She informed those present that there would an opportunity for presentations to be made at the end of the meeting.
RESOLUTION: That the minutes of the previous General Meeting, held in London, April 2nd, 2005, be confirmed.
The minutes were approved and received.
The Annual Report was distributed by e-mail in advance of the General Meeting.
The President briefly explained that the Consortium has invested in a major project, the Urukawa project, and in marketing, communications and fundraising. The work plan provides more details on these projects.
Elsebeth Tank invited comments and questions. None were forthcoming.
RESOLUTION: That the Annual Report for the year 2005 be adopted.
The resolution was adopted.
4.1 Financial Report 2005 (paper 3a, paper 3b and paper 3c)
The Treasurer, Bernhard Heinser, briefly explained the financial reports. There was a net surplus of US$ 20,000 in 2005. There was a budgeted deficit of US$ 17,000. This resulted in capital holdings of US$ 499,000 at the end of the year.
Bernhard Heinser explained that not all Associate Members had paid their membership fees in 2005. In most cases these organizations are in developing countries. This is the reason for the suggested changes in membership fees proposed for this meeting.
The Treasurer also stated that most of the staff costs are related to projects, but in the past, have not been directly included in the project costs. Beginning in 2006 a time tracking system was implemented to allocate these costs to the projects.
Bernhard Heinser invited comments and questions. None were forthcoming.
RESOLUTION: That the Statement of Accounts, recording income and expenditure for the calendar year 2005, be received.
The resolution was approved and received.
4.2 Account and Audit 2005 ( paper 4)
RESOLUTION: That the Balance Sheet for the year ended on December 31st 2005, be received.
The resolution was received.
The Secretary General, George Kerscher, introduced the two year Work Plan. The plan will be updated every quarter and provided to the Board. George Kerscher explained that the plans, as always, are very ambitious and contain more work than can possibly be done in the allotted time. He then went through some of the strategic highlights of the plan.
The Consortium's standards setting work is crucial, as new technologies are continually emerging. The DAISY Consortium will produce a strategic white paper on these technical issues to ensure that DAISY remains in the standards forefront. To this end, plans to meet with major technology players such as Apple, Microsoft, Adobe and Oasis will be set. Kerscher stated that a technical summit with 20 - 30 participants (the Consortium's most highly skilled technical people) will be organised to identify the DAISY technical directions for the future. A paper is expected to be ready by the end of 2006.
The Consortium will continue to address and take part in the maintenance and development of related standards, including standards in the publishing industry. There is a growing interest among American publishers as a result of NIMAS (National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard). The Consortium will continue to put forth the DAISY standard as an open standard. The American Audio Publishers Association (AAPA) and the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) are developing standards, and the DAISY Consortium will, whenever possible, attempt to influence these developments.
George Kerscher invited comments and questions. None were forthcoming.
The Secretary General stated that the vision of the global library is now closer to becoming a reality. One of the greatest road blocks has been the legal framework of international copyright law; however, WIPO is addressing the import of accessible materials in the exceptions. Commercial publishers are concerned about piracy, but they do not consider the DAISY Consortium and its Members, and proponents of exchange of accessible materials world wide to be a threat. In many countries exceptions to the copyright law permit the distribution of accessible materials within a country, but the DAISY Consortium and organizations such as IFLA and WIPO, with which the DC collaborates, will continue to work toward international copyright exceptions that permit the exchange of accessible reading materials between countries and around the world.
Board member Hiroshi Kawamura, representing the Japanese DAISY Consortium, informed the meeting participants that the United Nations and other international organizations are now striving to make their publications accessible. He suggested that DAISY could work with international organizations such as the World Blind Union to facilitate this. The current format of UN publications is PDF. George Kerscher pointed out that this endeavor is not in the work plan, and that the United Nations should be regarded as a publisher. He recommended that the DAISY Consortium should encourage the UN to adopt the DAISY standard.
The Secretary General informed the meeting that this summer the DAISY Consortium, through the DMFC Project, will release a number of conversion tools that support migration to and from the DAISY/NISO - 2005 Standard. This software is open source.
Work on the reengineering of the DAISY Web site has been underway since last fall. Plans are for the new site, with a new look and feel to be launched in June. The goal is to ensure that all DAISY Members are well informed and provided with a well organized information resource via the Web site. Throughout 2006 improvements will continue to be implemented.
The Secretary General closed by encouraging all DAISY Members to participate in the Consortium's projects.
George Kerscher invited comments and questions. No further comments were forthcoming.
RESOLUTION: That the Strategic plan and work plan be approved.
The resolution was approved and received.
The President explained that DAISY is established under Swiss law and that the discharge of the Board is a legal requirement. By discharging the Board, the General Meeting takes over the responsibility for the work and the decisions made by the Board in 2005.
RESOLUTION: That the General Meeting discharges the Board for the year 2005.
The resolution was approved and received.
Elsebeth Tank introduced and welcomed the new Members of the DAISY Consortium. On behalf of the Board she expressed pleasure in seeing the organisation grow stronger and even more global. Since the emission of the list in the agenda even more Members have joined.
7.1 List of new members and friends
New Full Members in 2006, to date:
New Associate Members in 2005:
New Associate Members in 2006, to date:
New Friends in 2005:
New Friends in 2006, to date:
8.1 Proposal to alter Statutes in accordance with new Categories of Friends (paper 6a, paper 6b and paper 6c)
George Kerscher introduced the proposal to alter the statutes in order to include two new categories of Friends in addition to the existing category. Members and Associate Members are non-profit organizations. The three categories of Friends, "Friends and Developers" (reflects the existing Friend category), "Publishers, Educators and Advocates", and "Individual Supporters", will include for-profit companies, educators, advocates and individuals who wish to support the work of the DAISY Consortium. The two new categories will have lower fees and will be eligible to receive information, support, and other defined benefits.
George Kerscher invited comments and questions. None were forthcoming. The motion was adopted.
RESOLUTION: That the two new categories of Friends, in addition to the category of "Friends and Developers", be included in the DAISY Consortium group of Friends.
The resolution was approved and received.
8.2 Proposal to alter Statutes to allow Online Registration (paper 7)
George Kerscher introduced the proposal to automate the process of including new Members. The aim is to facilitate the inclusion of new Members.
GK invited comments and questions. None were forthcoming.
RESOLUTION: That the DAISY Consortium provides automated services for membership applications.
The resolution was approved and received.
9.1 2007 Fees: Full Members (entrance fee and annual fees), Associate Members, Publishers, Educators, and Advocates, and Individual Supporters (paper 9)
Bernhard Heinser summarized the proposal presented. The new third category of Friends is not reflected in the paper, but will be integrated.
There are no changes in the fees for Full Members. There is however an important change for associate Members from developing countries. The DAISY Consortium wishes to retain all present Members as Members of the Consortium, and to promote membership in additional countries. The proposed fee model is based on the World Bank classification, which is determined by the annual per capita income in the countries. There will be no changes in the high income group, but the membership fee for the higher middle income group will be a reduced fee of 60%, the lower middle income group a reduced fee of 30% and the low income group a reduced fee 15% of the full membership fee. The model includes the cessation of the Developing Countries Grants which have been made available to Associate Members in developing countries.
In the Friends categories, the fee for Friends and Developers will remain the same, for "Publishers, Educators and Advocates" it will be US$ 1000, and, for "Individual Supporters" the proposed fee is US$ 100.
Bernhard Heinser invited comments and questions. None were forthcoming.
RESOLUTION: That the proposed DAISY Consortium fees for Members and Friends for 2007 are adopted.
The Resolution was approved and received.
Bernhard Heinser recommended the implementation of the new lower fees as of this year for Associate Members in the low income category. The proposal was debated and Elsebeth Tank proposed to implement this for those Member organizations that are not in a financial position to pay the fee as set in previous years and have not yet paid the membership fee for 2006. HK added that as for the organizations which have already paid there will still be an opportunity to apply for a Developing Countries grant.
RESOLUTION: That the membership fees of Associate Members in the low income category, which are not able to pay and have not paid in 2006, should pay the reduced proposed fee according to the fee model of 2007. Associate Members in the low income which have already paid may apply for a Developing Countries Grant for 2006.
The Resolution was approved and received.
9.2 Draft Budget 2006 - 2007 (paper 8a and paper 8b)
The Treasurer, Bernhard Heinser, explained the financial perspectives of the DAISY Consortium. The number of Members is growing and DAISY is investing to improve and strengthen communication, marketing and fundraising activities. The number of paid staff has increased and the approach of the Consortium is changing in support of these changes. These changes have to be reflected in the organisation and the Board has therefore established a working group review potential new models.
The income portion of the Consortium's budget has been based on membership fees. The current budget reflects the need to invest both work and money in marketing and fundraising activities. Internally there is a need for improved communication to our Members and recruitment of new Members. Externally there is a need to disseminate DAISY technology beyond libraries serving the blind and print disabled and to raise funds for critical DAISY projects. Investments in these activities are reflected in the 2006-2007 budgets. Budgeted income through fundraising is US$ 100,000.
A reduction in DAISY Consortium capital is budgeted for the end 2006. The budget for 2007 has not yet been finalized because of the rate of change in developments and the resulting difficulty in determining how these changes will affect the Consortium and its plans and activities. A first draft for a 2007budget will be presented at the meeting of the Board in October 2006.
Bernhard Heinser invited comments and questions. None were forthcoming.
RESOLUTION: That the Statement of Accounts, recording income and expenditure for the calendar year 2005, and the budget for 2006 be received.
The resolution was approved and received.
Elsebeth Tank introduced the Acting Project Manager of the DAISY for All project (DFA), Misako Nomura, Japan, and stated that the importance of the project is underlined by the fact that more than half the DAISY Consortium budget is allocated for this project.
Misako Nomura informed the meeting of the DFA website and presented the main project activities of 2005:
The project manager of DFA is Hiroshi Kawamura, who fills this role as a volunteer. There are six paid employees, as follows:
Workshops introducing DAISY and DAISY Focal Point Training have both been conducted to meet the DFA goals of Focal Point Establishment. Training has been provided in India and Thailand in 2003, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Nepal in 2004, Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Indonesia in 2005. The Philippines, Bhutan, Pakistan are planned for 2006.
AMIS is available in the following languages: Hindi, Tamil, Urdu, Arabic, Indonesian, Vietnamese and Bengal. The download site for the AMIS English Version is: http://amis.sourceforge.net/. AMIS is open source software and is available at no cost.
DFA took an active role in the Second Global Forum on disability at the WSIS. At the Opening Ceremony, the first lady of Tunisia, in her opening address, introduced by Hiroshi Kawamura, the leader of the focal point of the Civil Society Disability Caucus. DFA played a major role in organizing the forum. George Kerscher was also a key person at this event. The forum was successfully conducted and raised awareness for the need of information accessibility for persons with disabilities. More information on the WSIS and persons with disabilities can be found at theDINF website.
The President Elsebeth Tank warmly thanked the project manager for the good work being done and once again stressed the importance of the project.
On behalf of the DAISY Consortium Hiroshi Kawamura thanked the Nippon Foundation for its generous financial support over its five year commitment. He also informed the meeting of a conference to be held in Phuket, Thailand, scheduled for January 2007. Hiroshi also thanked the DAISY Consortium membership for its kind support of DFA.
Elsebeth Tank invited comments and questions. Margaret McGrory asked for the number of DAISY titles produced within DFA and Misako Nomura informed that the number so far is 3000.
Elsebeth Tank announced that the DAISY Consortium has been kindly invited by the Australia New Zealand Accessible Information Group (ANZAIG) to hold its 2007 General Meeting in Melbourne, Australia. The date of the meeting will by May 3rd, and Board Member Tim Evans, representing ANZAIG, heartily invited the DAISY membership to attend the meeting.
13.1 STD Editor and STEB Generator (paper 10)
Elsebeth Tank informed the meeting of two software programs that provided to the DAISY Consortium by DBB. Both programs may be particularly useful to Members in developing countries.
13.2 Presentations
Mary Schnackenberg, of the Royal New Zealand Foundation of Blind, introduced a pilot project on DTB distribution models: distribution of physical objects or Internet distribution. The goal of this project is to accommodate clients who are not computer literate and provide them with Internet access to DAISY books, with no computer interface, and no knowledge of computers being required. Currently RZNFB is using the postal system for cassette distribution, but the long distances cause delays in services - it may take three to six days to get material to borrowers and the same time span for materials to be returned. This reduces the number of copies of books on the shelves available to clients. Today 95 percent of all households in New Zealand have access to Internet, but less than ten percent have access to the Internet and knowledge of screen readers. RZNFB has looked for an "automated postman and player" to accommodate "senior citizen" friendly services over the telephone. From the end of May until early September 2006 there will be a trial with forty library borrowers involving both magazines and books. In the pilot project, which will take place over a three to four week period, they will receive players and training. Currently it is a download service - it is too soon to test streaming. At this point the player is a prototype.
Mike Townsend of Torch Trust for the Blind in the UK, informed the meeting of a joint project of Torch Trust and the Royal National Institute of the Blind to produce the bible in DAISY format in British English, structured by book, chapter and verse. The hope is to have it available by the end of 2006. The project also includes an introduction in Malawi with a player called Megavoice, an inexpensive (US$ 25) audio device that is solar powered. The sales of the bible in the United Kingdom will subsidize the African project.
Elsebeth Tank applauded the success of the Swedish DAISY technical conference, which underlined the need for more information and knowledge on DAISY technical issues. Board Member Stephen King informed the meeting of plans for a technical conference in the United Kingdom in 2007. This conference is expected to bring around 300 people together for two or three days, covering topics such as copyright and conversion from DAISY 2.02 to DAISY/NISO - 2005. The call for papers will be issued in the late autumn of 2006. The registration fee will be in approximately £ 250.
Board Member Kjell Hansson informed the General Meeting that the presentations of the DAISY technical conference held in Stockholm, March 2006, will be made available in DAISY format, audio and text. Anyone interested in receiving a copy may send an e-mail to Kjell Hansson.
In conclusion President Elsebeth Tank thanked the Members present for their participation in a successful meeting, the organizers for providing an excellent setting and the staff for their commitment and hard work