In 2004 The Swedish Library of Talking Books and Braille started a mass transfer project of the analogue talking books in our library. The project ends in December 2008 and by that time more than 40 000 analogue titles will be transferred to digital (DAISY) titles. As a result of the IT-political bill (2004/05:175), TPB were commissioned to investigate the possibilities that with broadband services as a base develop a national digital distribution system with print disabled persons as the target group. The assignment has been carried out in cooperation with The Swedish Post and Telecom Agency (PTS) and together with other organizations. The assignment has been reported to the Swedish government in 2008. The implementation phase 1, downloading project to libraries started in 2006 and is ongoing. Phase 2, downloading to individuals will start with university students in November this year in a project called StudentDirect.

Technology solution

Technology choice: Proprietary technology

Return on investment

Return on investment: Not applicable / Not available

Lessons learnt

1) Conversion of books from analogue to digital, A2D. When you start a project of this size you need to be clear of the resources, staff and money that is needed long term. Start the actual planning early and build a case model trying to identify pros and cons for the end result. If you can avoid it, wait until technology has matured. If you cannot get separate funding for the project, consider prolonging it or making it smaller in size. 2) National distribution of talking books, NDS. TPB started to investigate how the project would affect our own activities and operations instead of focusing early on the users' needs. Find our early in the project what the user want and who they are and carry out a market orientation to learn about expectations from the world around you. Scope: National