Daisy Consortium: Information Technology for the World's Blind and Print-Disabled Population--Past, Present, And Into the Future‪.‬

ROOTS OF THE DAISY CONSORTIUM Libraries serving the blind have been around for many generations. Braille is the oldest format, but "talking Books" started to evolve 50 years ago. In the 1970's, the analog cassette began to dominate the talking book service industry, upsetting the older "Clark & Smith" six-track format, and the open reel tape format. Unfortunately, the analog cassette came to be offered in a variety of incompatible forms. The better sounding Commercial speed two-track stereo was used, but half speed monaural four-track systems were popular in North America. In other countries half speed stereo complicated matters even more. This variety meant incompatibility in books and playback systems throughout the world. It was the advancing Information Technology that sparked thinking about the application of the technology for Talking Books.