Jeff Jullion

T-Base Communications and W.W. Norton & Company Partner to Offer Braille, Large Print and Accessible PDF Versions of Textbooks in Braille

This partnership benefits students who are blind or have low vision, by ensuring that they have more timely access to their course materials in their preferred alternate format

T-Base Communications (“T-Base”), North America’s leading provider of accessible textbooks, and W.W. Norton & Company (“Norton”), the largest independent and employee-owned publisher, have partnered to offer braille, large print and accessible PDF versions of Norton textbooks for top-selling titles, with a goal to revolutionize how schools and students acquire accessible learning materials.

Students who are blind or have low vision often prefer to learn from a braille, large print or accessible PDF version of their textbook, however procuring these versions has traditionally been a time-intensive and costly process. This process has created considerable challenges that often result in students falling behind in their studies or even dropping a course.

T-Base can now deliver Norton’s top-selling titles in braille and large print significantly faster – within 10 business days – and at a substantial cost reduction to educators. Procuring accessible textbooks through this more efficient process allows students to stay on pace with their academic calendar and allows educators to deliver an improved learning experience.

“T-Base is proud to work with Norton to proactively catalogue accessible textbooks,” said Jeff Jullion, T-Base Senior Account Manager. “When educational institutions access this catalogue, they receive prompt turnaround and savings of up to 70% off traditional accessible format pricing.”

“We produce accessible EPUBs for our books, but customers who need braille or large print have always had to suffer through lengthy production times and expensive costs,” said Evan Yamanishi, Director Accessibility and Standards at Norton. “Our partnership with T-Base means customers will have an improved experience when they go to look for alternate formats of our most popular books.”

The catalogue of Norton titles is built using FASTtrack (pronounced “Fast Track”), T-Base’s proprietary software platform which significantly accelerates the creation of accessible documents. The creation of this accessible textbook catalogue in partnership with Norton aligns with T-Base’s primary goal: to ensure that the delivery and quality of instructional materials for students who are blind or have low vision is on par with that of their sighted peers.

To learn more about the Norton catalogued titles and make a request, please contact T-Base Communications by email at info@tbase.com or by phone at 1-800-563-0668.

About T-Base Communications

T-Base Communications simplifies accessible communications by providing the secure design, production and delivery of educational material, statements and documents in accessible PDF, e-Text, audio, braille and reflowed large print. T-Base’s online services include PDF/UA remediation, website accessibility audits and training.

About W.W. Norton & Company

Independent since 1923 and wholly owned by its employees, W.W. Norton & Company publishes “books that live” for everyone and is committed to providing equal access to all that we offer.