ebooksToBraille?

David Blair · 12-22-2008, 05:15 PM

I'm looking for a way to convert electronic books in .azw format into Braille books for my daughter. The Braille conversion program we use (Duxbury) can accept a number of typical file formats including .doc, but not, of course, .azw. Since it looks as if many books are likely to become available first in .azw format it would be a great benefit to blind readers if .azw files could be readily converted into .doc or some other format that is easy to handle, not to circumvent copyright law but to make the books accessible to readers requiring Braille.
From my brief hunting around on the web today I gather that there is no legal way to do this with .azw files, whereas for .lit files it can be done with abc amber lit or convertlit. Are efforts underway to produce a utility to carry out a .azw to .doc conversion? Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions-
Dave B

wallcraft · 12-22-2008, 05:33 PM

In the case of LIT, ConvertLIT (say) can both strip the DRM (encryption), if any, and explode the ebook to HTML. Note that stripping the DRM probably isn't legal, because in the US there isn't an exception to the DMCA for braille, but it is hard to see who is harmed by format shifting to braille for personal use.

Most Kindle ebooks are in the AZW format, which is functionally identical to the MOBI format. The script mobidedrm will strip the DRM (encryption) from an AZW ebook producing a DRM-free MOBI. Then the script mobi2oeb (part of Calibre) will "explode" a DRM-free MOBI to HTML. The combination of these two scripts is the equivalent to ConvertLIT for LIT.

DaleDe · 12-22-2008, 06:22 PM

As Walcraft said, to break the DRM is likely illegal. You cannot buy a Kindle book without owning a Kindle. While you might justify breakiing DRM to convert it to braille you cannot give it to anyone else or you are breaking copyright laws again. Does the Blind person own his/her own machine? Most people just buy the eBooks in LIT format and then use the TTS processor to convert them on the fly to audio. This works very well. Breaking DRM if necessary for this purpose is legal by the way, an exception to the rule but distributing the result is not.

Dale

Fledchen · 12-22-2008, 08:33 PM

I don't know where you live, so keep in mind that this only applies to the United States:

Under the Chafee amendment to U.S. copyright law, authorized nonprofit groups (like Bookshare.org and RFB&D) can produce copyrighted materials in braille without needing permission from the copyright holder. However, I believe this applies only to scanning print books. I do not believe it applies to decrypting DRMed electronic documents, unfortunately.

I'm both a member and a volunteer of Bookshare.org, which is only for U.S. citizens. They have thousands of books that are already in text DAISY and braille (.brf ASCII, not Duxbury files). You can also get .brf files from NLS's Web-Braille if you're signed up with your state library for the blind. If you're trying to convert textbooks, there is already legislation in place requiring textbook producers to provide their electronic files to your daughter's school's disability services department for brailling.

12-22-2008, 05:15 PM	#1
David Blair Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2008 Device: none	ebooksToBraille? I'm looking for a way to convert electronic books in .azw format into Braille books for my daughter. The Braille conversion program we use (Duxbury) can accept a number of typical file formats including .doc, but not, of course, .azw. Since it looks as if many books are likely to become available first in .azw format it would be a great benefit to blind readers if .azw files could be readily converted into .doc or some other format that is easy to handle, not to circumvent copyright law but to make the books accessible to readers requiring Braille. From my brief hunting around on the web today I gather that there is no legal way to do this with .azw files, whereas for .lit files it can be done with abc amber lit or convertlit. Are efforts underway to produce a utility to carry out a .azw to .doc conversion? Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions- Dave B

12-22-2008, 05:33 PM	#2
wallcraft reader Posts: 6,977 Karma: 5183568 Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Mississippi, USA Device: Kindle 3, Kobo Glo HD	In the case of LIT, ConvertLIT (say) can both strip the DRM (encryption), if any, and explode the ebook to HTML. Note that stripping the DRM probably isn't legal, because in the US there isn't an exception to the DMCA for braille, but it is hard to see who is harmed by format shifting to braille for personal use. Most Kindle ebooks are in the AZW format, which is functionally identical to the MOBI format. The script mobidedrm will strip the DRM (encryption) from an AZW ebook producing a DRM-free MOBI. Then the script mobi2oeb (part of Calibre) will "explode" a DRM-free MOBI to HTML. The combination of these two scripts is the equivalent to ConvertLIT for LIT.

12-22-2008, 06:22 PM	#3
DaleDe Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,470 Karma: 13095790 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Grass Valley, CA Device: EB 1150, EZ Reader, Literati, iPad 2 & Air 2, iPhone 7	As Walcraft said, to break the DRM is likely illegal. You cannot buy a Kindle book without owning a Kindle. While you might justify breakiing DRM to convert it to braille you cannot give it to anyone else or you are breaking copyright laws again. Does the Blind person own his/her own machine? Most people just buy the eBooks in LIT format and then use the TTS processor to convert them on the fly to audio. This works very well. Breaking DRM if necessary for this purpose is legal by the way, an exception to the rule but distributing the result is not. Dale

12-22-2008, 08:33 PM	#4
Fledchen Guru Posts: 663 Karma: 84658 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Minnesota, USA Device: PB360+, Sony950, VR Stream, iPod Touch, iPad	I don't know where you live, so keep in mind that this only applies to the United States: Under the Chafee amendment to U.S. copyright law, authorized nonprofit groups (like Bookshare.org and RFB&D) can produce copyrighted materials in braille without needing permission from the copyright holder. However, I believe this applies only to scanning print books. I do not believe it applies to decrypting DRMed electronic documents, unfortunately. I'm both a member and a volunteer of Bookshare.org, which is only for U.S. citizens. They have thousands of books that are already in text DAISY and braille (.brf ASCII, not Duxbury files). You can also get .brf files from NLS's Web-Braille if you're signed up with your state library for the blind. If you're trying to convert textbooks, there is already legislation in place requiring textbook producers to provide their electronic files to your daughter's school's disability services department for brailling.

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