From February 16 to March 20, 2001 the file specifications for the Digital Talking Book (DTB) was available for comment.  The DTB Standard (Z39.86-200x) is the joint work of the National Information Standards Organization (NISO) and the Digital Audio-based Information Systems Consortium (DAISY) to set file specifications for print-disabled reader, including the blind, visually impaired or physically handicapped. 

In addition to the interoperability of ebooks across content providers and playback systems (i.e. Braille readers), the standard's specifications would ensure the user ease of navigation and a range of choices not currently possible.  For instance, a DTB includes an XML element set that carefully tags the structure of the book, including chapters, sections, asides and footnotes.  This allows for a wide range of navigation choices beyond the linear "one page forward" and "one page back."  Moreover, by tagging the structure of a book, the user can instruct his/her playback system to pass over parts, such as footnotes on a first read, or to jump through the text to only certain sections, such as chapter conclusions.  Other features offered by DTB include bookmarking and highlighting, as well as full-text searching. 

DTB can come in a variety of types ranging from text-only to text with fully synchronized audio.  The presence of a synchronized audio file will make possible the spelling of words outloud.  The DTB standard also provides specifications for authoring tools, playback devices and compliance-testing software.  If approved by NISO member, the final version of the DTB specification will become a formal NISO standard in May.

The underlying goal is not to create special ebook editions for print-disabled readers, but to incorporate the needs of this population within the standard for all ebooks.  This is why the NISO/DAISY consortium has been an active member in the Open eBook Forum (OEBF).  In fact, in May of last year, George Kerscher, manager for the DAISY Consortium, was elected Chair of the Board of the OEBF.  As a result of this cooperation, there is a strong possibility that future OEBF specifications will  incorporate DTB specifications. 

The full 130-page proposed standard is available from NISO’s website at http://www.niso.org/Z3986.html.  An excellent white paper by the American Foundation for the Blind, "Surpassing Gutenberg--Access to Published Information for Blind Readers," outlines the significant potentials for the print-disabled readers made possible by ebooks.