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How can a worldwide training and technical support program be implemented to support the DAISY standard? The key to a successful implementation plan lies with building expertise throughout the consortium. This article explores the DAISY “Train the Trainers” courses, regional training centers, technical conferences, and the extensive technical support helpdesk the DAISY Consortium maintains. These activities are all intended to develop experts within every organization in the DAISY Consortium.

The DAISY Consortium created the first digital talking book (DTB) and this is now known worldwide as the DAISY format. The DAISY DTB is the application of existing worldwide standards used to define the next generation of information technology for people who are blind and print disabled. The acronym DAISY, digital audio‐based information system, is a name both for a reading system and for the consortium of libraries, non‐profit organizations and for‐profit Friends of the Consortium around the world that spearhead the development of the International standard. This article will briefly trace the history of DAISY’s development and go on to explain the current activities and future plans for the single worldwide standard.

This paper discusses the accessibility issues surrounding electronic books, focusing on the opportunities and potential dangers of this new technology, relevant emerging standards, and commercial products that aim to make ebooks accessible to readers with disabilities and learning difficulties.

Considers the need for and availability of computer systems (hardware and software) for the visually disabled. Describes image enlargement systems, speech synthesisers, Braille devices, and keyboard modifications. Lists relevant organisations and products which can help the visually impaired.

A major advantage of storing accessible materials in a digital archive is that it facilitates large‐scale updates. Unfortunately, cataloguing these materials involves manual work and updates of the cataloguing records will not be made easily and quickly enough in the future. This paper aims to tackle these cataloguing problems and to inform about the latest developments and accomplishments in the field of accessible materials. The paper also stresses the importance of profiling cataloguing issues for libraries for the visually‐impaired within the cataloguing community.

The paper begins with an overview of the field of accessible materials and gives an account of certain cataloguing problems. Then follows a detailed description of these cataloguing issues before the paper concludes with a suggested method and a description of a practical workflow to counter the listed problems. The paper is, in a sense, a case study of a trend in the field of librarianship regarding technologies for the visually‐impaired.

The paper shows that a dynamic cataloguing solution is necessary to meet the growing number of dynamic digital materials for libraries that produce accessible materials.

Implementation of the suggested dynamic cataloguing solution results in less manual work while allowing large scale updates of a digital archive.

This paper provides some original perspectives on practical cataloguing challenges for libraries for the visually‐impaired.

Reports on a conference held in 1989 in Wisconsin, which focused on the topic of providing better access to information for people with disabilities. According to the author, the conference concentrated mainly on those with vision‐related difficulties. Summarizes two of the speeches made at the conference and examines some of the technology on display. Stresses the need for adaptive technology to enable people with a disability to access the increasing amounts of computer technology in everyday life.

As CD‐ROM becomes more and more a standard reference and technical support tool in all types of libraries, the annual review of this technology published in Computers in Libraries magazine increases in size and scope. This year, author Susan L. Adkins has prepared this exceptionally useful bibliography which she has cross‐referenced with a subject index.