Do You Really Know DAISY?
This year we celebrate DAISY’s 30th anniversary, and over that time the work of DAISY has touched the lives of millions of people all around the world. Many know DAISY through their interactions with our member organizations, from a specific aspect of our work, or through communication several years ago. This 30th anniversary is a good time for us to share a few facts about the current work of DAISY that you may not be aware of.
1. A Range of Formats
The DAISY Format has been fantastically successful and is used by specialist libraries around the world to deliver audiobooks. However, DAISY members produce many different formats in addition to audio. To support this, we’re driving projects related to eBooks, braille, music, tactile graphics, web technologies, and more! The DAISY Consortium is dedicated to furthering the availability of accessible information for people with print disabilities, which means a wide variety of formats.
2. Many Standards
We might be best known for developing and maintaining the DAISY Format, but we lead the development of other standards, from W3C web standards and EPUB, to specialist standards for electronic braille. Many of the best practices and techniques developed in the DAISY Format now inform and inspire techniques in other standards, improving accessible publishing and reading for all.
3. More Than Libraries
Libraries around the world are using the technologies we develop to create, convert, and to distribute publications in accessible formats. We also work with a diverse range of other organizations. We actively engage with commercial publishers of all sizes, tech companies both big and small, educators, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), campaigning entities, industry bodies and standards organizations. We deliver and support training conducted in developing regions to aid accessible format creation and delivery. Our drive to improve and embed accessibility means that we work with a very diverse pool of collaborators and beneficiaries globally.
4. Beyond Established Technologies
Working closely with our members, DAISY has 30 years of experience developing tools to support accessible publishing and reading. We’re constantly working on new and updated tools, leveraging modern practices and innovations to improve user experiences, options, and the quality of outputs. We engage with the major technology companies globally to provide feedback on the accessibility of their offerings and bring the latest developments directly to our members. We also work with our members to facilitate knowledge sharing around cutting-edge developments like AI, providing tools to conduct tests and pooling the results of our evaluations.
5. Together We Continue To Change The World
Every day, millions of people globally benefit from the work of DAISY and our members without even knowing. Our work to develop and communicate best practices in accessibility has permeated far beyond our original tools and formats. The specification for EPUB, the leading eBook standard, was heavily influenced by lessons from the DAISY format, with DAISY experts continuing to provide expertise in the evolution of this and many other reading and publishing tools.
The DAISY Consortium is the not-for-profit global authority on publishing and reading for people with blindness, low vision and other print disabilities. Thirty years in, and it’s our members – especially those contributing actively to our working groups – who make the difference. If you’re not yet involved in that work, we’d welcome you. If you’re not yet a member, join us and we’d welcome you even more. Equal access to information isn’t just our mission. It can be yours too.