EBSCO Adds Text-to-Speech Functionality for All Databases
By David Rapp Sep 1, 2010Database aggregator EBSCO Publishing recently announced that it has built in a text-to-speech option for all of its EBSCOhost databases. A toolbar, created by software company Texthelp Systems, allows full-text articles available in HTML on EBSCOhost databases to be read aloud to users at variable speeds. It will be provided to all EBSCOhost users at no additional charge.
It's not a new feature—EBSCO had used it before, on a smaller scale, in its English Language Learner Reference Center product.
However, this expansion of the feature will likely increase usage of its databases, particularly by those who are blind or with low vision. (Providing accessibility of e-content for such patrons is an ongoing concern for libraries, as E-Learning Librarian Char Booth of the University of California, Berkeley, recently wrote in an LJ essay.)
No complaints this time
Applying text-to-speech functionality to published text can sometimes pose unforeseen difficulties. When Amazon debuted read-aloud capability on its Kindle ereader last year, the Authors Guild protested, claiming the feature effectively created unauthorized audiobooks. Amazon eventually allowed publishers to disable text-to-speech functionality on a book-by-book basis.
EBSCO, however, doesn't seem to be experiencing similar repercussions. According to EBSCO spokesperson Kathleen McEvoy, the company has heard no complaints from publishers so far.
