On the January 4 the Marrakesh Treaty came into force, meaning libraries and educational institutions in New Zealand can now make and share accessible format works for New Zealanders with a print disability. But what does this mean in practice for libraries? And how can libraries ensure they met all the requirements under the new legislation? The LIANZA Accessibility SIG and LIANZA Standing Committee on Copyright have you covered.
Webinar
You can join the LIANZA webinar on the Marrakesh Treaty and it's implications for libraries on Wednesday Feb 26 at 2pm hosted by the LIANZA Standing Committee on Copyright, the LIANZA Accessibility SIG and guests at this Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/699965855 The meeting will also be recorded and made available on the LIANZA YouTube channel.
Please enter any questions you might have into this spreadsheet in advance to give the committee a chance to prepare.
Please enter any questions you might have into this spreadsheet in advance to give the committee a chance to prepare.
What is the Marrakesh Treaty?
The Marrakesh Treaty is an international treaty which aims to help people who are blind, visually impaired or otherwise print-disabled have access to books and other literary works in accessible formats. Over 60 countries have ratified the Treaty which allows the international sharing of accessible format works between these countries. This will allow access to more written works in formats such as Braille, large print or audio and help visually impaired people’s 'right to read'.
An estimated 90% of all written works published worldwide are not available in formats accessible to people with a print disability. This barrier affects an estimated 168,000 New Zealanders. Kris Faafoi, Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs stated that, 'the Marrakesh Treaty means an end to a ‘book famine’ experienced by many of New Zealand’s blind citizens, as they will now be able to access an international virtual library through global collaboration.'
The treaty’s provisions are designed to address problems such as long waits for authorisation or accessible format copies from a copyright owner, unreasonable restrictions imposed on accessible formats, and barriers to cross-border exchange of available accessible works that often result in duplication of production efforts.
An estimated 90% of all written works published worldwide are not available in formats accessible to people with a print disability. This barrier affects an estimated 168,000 New Zealanders. Kris Faafoi, Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs stated that, 'the Marrakesh Treaty means an end to a ‘book famine’ experienced by many of New Zealand’s blind citizens, as they will now be able to access an international virtual library through global collaboration.'
The treaty’s provisions are designed to address problems such as long waits for authorisation or accessible format copies from a copyright owner, unreasonable restrictions imposed on accessible formats, and barriers to cross-border exchange of available accessible works that often result in duplication of production efforts.
What types of works are covered?
Published literary, dramatic, musical, or artistic works, or a part of the work. This includes books, periodicals, newspapers, sheet music, computer programs and photographs and plans.
What are Print Disabilities?
Print disabilities are impairments that prevent a person from enjoying a printed copyright work to the same degree as a person who does not have that impairment. This doesn’t include people who need glasses to read but does include people with conditions such low vision, Dyslexia and anyone who has difficulty in holding or manipulating books or is unable to focus or move his or her eyes.
What are Accessible Formats?
An accessible format is any format that allows a print-disabled person to access the work.
Some examples of accessible formats include but are not limited to Braille, large print and audio books. Librarians will be able to scan copyright works, such as books and journal and run through optical character recognition (OCR) software.
Some examples of accessible formats include but are not limited to Braille, large print and audio books. Librarians will be able to scan copyright works, such as books and journal and run through optical character recognition (OCR) software.
What is the process involved with scanning a work?
Once the work has been scanned and run through the software the text may need remediation. What this involves will depend on the specific needs of the client involved. Usually, this involves at least correcting OCR (optical character recognition) errors, adding navigation information (chapter and heading levels, page numbers, etc.), and adding alt-text for image descriptions. Once these are done, there may be further format changes needed, such as conversion to Braille or MP3 audio.
This makes the work accessible to anyone who is blind or has low vision. OCR copies allow a PDF to be converted from text to voice or manipulated by changing font size or background colour. The gold standard for the production of accessible digital books by commercial publishers in various formats is EPUB3 and we envisage that purchasing a born accessible copy directly from a publisher or author will be the cheapest and fastest way for libraries to provide access to these works. It may take some time and investment for New Zealand publishers to start publishing in accessible formats, however we believe that the passing of this legislation will provide a much needed boost to publishers to invest in producing born accessible content.
For the past 18 months, a core group of ‘Born Accessible’ key leads have been working towards the goal of improving access to e-books for people with a print disability so they can more easily participate in reading, both for pleasure and in formal education. Key leads come from the Blind Foundation, Blind Citizens NZ, and Auckland Libraries with support from Blind and Low Vision Education Network NZ, Publishers Association NZ and Copyright Licensing New Zealand.
This makes the work accessible to anyone who is blind or has low vision. OCR copies allow a PDF to be converted from text to voice or manipulated by changing font size or background colour. The gold standard for the production of accessible digital books by commercial publishers in various formats is EPUB3 and we envisage that purchasing a born accessible copy directly from a publisher or author will be the cheapest and fastest way for libraries to provide access to these works. It may take some time and investment for New Zealand publishers to start publishing in accessible formats, however we believe that the passing of this legislation will provide a much needed boost to publishers to invest in producing born accessible content.
For the past 18 months, a core group of ‘Born Accessible’ key leads have been working towards the goal of improving access to e-books for people with a print disability so they can more easily participate in reading, both for pleasure and in formal education. Key leads come from the Blind Foundation, Blind Citizens NZ, and Auckland Libraries with support from Blind and Low Vision Education Network NZ, Publishers Association NZ and Copyright Licensing New Zealand.
How does this affect librarians?
Changes to the Copyright Act means that librarians at Prescribed Libraries are now able to:
- Make and provide an accessible format copy
- Import an accessible format copy
- Reproduce and provide accessible format copies imported into New Zealand under the Act
- Export an accessible format copy
What are the conditions?
Before any library creates, imports, reproduces or exports an accessible format copy it must first register with MBIE on MarrakeshTreaty@mbie.govt.nz
The information you need to provide to MBIE is the full name of your organisation and the contact details for a person who MBIE can contact if they have any questions. Your contact details will not be published.
The library must also:
Librarians should be aware that there is significant concern by authors and publishers that these electronic files may find their way on to the Internet and have an impact on the ability of authors to sell their books. You should make sure that you remind the print disabled person that you are making the copies for, that any further copying, posting on social media and sharing of these works with others will be a breach of copyright.
How can I find out more?
The full Marrakesh amendments to the copyright act can be found here.
If you have a specific questions you’d like answered please email the LIANZA Standing Committee on Copyright: lianzacopyright@gmail.com
The information you need to provide to MBIE is the full name of your organisation and the contact details for a person who MBIE can contact if they have any questions. Your contact details will not be published.
The library must also:
- Notify the copyright owner that it intends to make a copy
- Respect the integrity of the original work
- Only provide the accessible format copy to a person with a print disability or someone acting on their behalf or another authorised entity
- Keep records and permit the copyright owner to inspect these
Librarians should be aware that there is significant concern by authors and publishers that these electronic files may find their way on to the Internet and have an impact on the ability of authors to sell their books. You should make sure that you remind the print disabled person that you are making the copies for, that any further copying, posting on social media and sharing of these works with others will be a breach of copyright.
How can I find out more?
The full Marrakesh amendments to the copyright act can be found here.
If you have a specific questions you’d like answered please email the LIANZA Standing Committee on Copyright: lianzacopyright@gmail.com
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