The "Harry Potter" experiences as relayed by DAISY Members around the globe are retold here. They demonstrate the need for the Global Library and the collaboration already underway.
Bookshare.org produced "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" in DAISY and .BRF (braille file) formats and had it online within four and a half hours of the print being in the bookstores - it went live on their server at 4:30 a.m. Pacific Standard Time. They had reserved a print copy, stood in line at the bookstore, returned to their facilities, cut off the binding, scanned the pages, OCR'd the text, validated the content, and finally produced the DAISY and .BRF files. While the book was being produced, the members held an online "Harry Potter" party with readings and conversation and updates from the Bookshare office. Within 24 hours they had had 600 downloads by their members. Bookshare members' commitment and excitement will soon not be limited to the United States! We are getting closer to the Global Library. See the Bookshare.org Feature article, .
DBB (The Danish National Library for the Blind) has produced the first six books in the "Harry Potter" series in DAISY, e-book, and braille formats. However, as is the case with many of our members who produce DAISY books in languages other than English, the translation is not yet completed. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" will be translated into Danish in November. As soon as it is published DBB will produce it in these same formats. They anticipate that the publisher will provide the electronic file as has been the case with each of the other six in the series. DBB plans to have it available in all three formats within two to three weeks of receiving the publisher files.
Media Association for Blind and Vision Impaired Persons, a lead member of MediBuS (Media Association for Blind and Vision Impaired People), the German DAISY coalition, will be producing the German translation of the "the Deathly Hallows", but it won't be available in bookstores until October 27th. They are hoping that the publishing house will provide them with the printed book in advance so that they can produce the DAISY book for release at the same time as the print. Production will continue daily with a single narrator until it is completed. All libraries in the MediBuS group (8 in Germany, 1 in Switzerland and 1 in Austria) will receive a copy a day later for duplication and distribution. The Media Association also provides a German language DAISY book lending service on CD to German language individuals in other countries. At present they have 20 members in Australia, 40 in Denmark, 15 in Israel, 5 in Chile and 2 in Canada.
The Dutch, Spanish and Korean translations have not yet been published. Dedicon, in the Netherlands, is expecting to produce the DAISY formatted "the Deathly Hallows" when the print publication is released November 17th. ONCE, the Spanish National Organisation of the Blind, expects it will produce the Spanish DAISY formatted book when the translation is available five or six months after the English publication date. KBL, the Korean Braille Library, does not yet have a publication date for the translation into Korean.
The National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) in the USA produced this last "Harry Potter" book in braille and DAISY formats. The DAISY Z39.86-2002 DTB was available for download just under a month after the release of the print book. Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic (RFB&D) in the USA received an advance copy of the print from the publisher and was required to keep it under extremely tight security. More than twelve volunteer narrators were involved, recording different sections of the book simultaneously. They began shipping copies of the DAISY production the morning the print book was released.
RNIB, the Royal National Institute of Blind People in the UK, published "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" in braille and DAISY formats on the same day the print was published. They offered the book in both formats for sale as well as loan in the UK, with the purchase price set the same as the recommended print retail price. In the UK people with a print disability truly had the same book, at the same time, and at the same price as those who are sighted. The cover artwork for all formats was the same. RNIB readers are also able to stream DAISY books direct to their PC. One chap reports that at 9:30 on the morning of publication he was able to hear Stephen Fry narrating the DAISY book while his daughter was simultaneously reading her print copy which had just arrived in the mail.
However, RNIB's "Potter" story goes beyond this, moving us closer to the Global Library. The RNIB agreement with the publisher allows them to sell copies of the DAISY "Deathly Hallows" to organizations in the "Commonwealth" and the European Union. Several organizations, including Vision Australia, TPB in Sweden and RNZFB in New Zealand have purchased the RNIB DAISY book. This made it possible for these organizations to provide "Harry Potter" to their library patrons soon after publication without investing production resources, freeing up time and effort to produce other DAISY titles. In addition, RNIB provided NAB, the National Association for the Blind in India, with a copy of the book. NAB is working with RNIB on reciprocal activities and assisting them with another project.
The DAISY production of the Swedish translation of this book is under production at the Swedish Library Service (BTJ). TPB, The Swedish Library of Talking Books and Braille, will make it available through Internet download from the TPB archive to every library in Sweden. Library users in Sweden will be able to read this DAISY "Potter" in English or Swedish, or both!