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The DAISY Standard

NISO named the DAISY Consortium as the maintenance agency of ANSI/NISO Z39.86, also known as the DAISY Standard. With this standard, NISO and the DAISY Consortium are working to radically improve reading experiences of those with reading disabilities. To learn more about the DAISY Consortium, please visit www.daisy.org.

Standard Information

ANSI/NISO Z39.86 - 2005 Specifications for the Digital Talking Book

Abstract: This standard defines the format and content of the electronic file set that comprises a digital talking book (DTB) and establishes a limited set of requirements for DTB playback devices. It uses established and new specifications to delineate the structure of DTBs whose content can range from XML text only, to text with corresponding spoken audio, to audio with little or no text. DTBs are designed to make print material accessible and navigable for blind or otherwise print-disabled persons.
ANSI Approval Date: 04/12/05
Status: Approved and Published Standard
Maintenance Agency: DAISY Consortium

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Z39.86 Resources

Previous Version

This information regarding the 2002 version of the Digital Talking Book standard is provided for organizations which are still supporting the older version. The DAISY Consortium also has information related to the superseded version at their website: http://www.daisy.org/z3986/

Download Z39.86-2002
NOTE: This version has been superseded by Z39.86-2005