To comply with federal regulations governing print-disabled readers, many publishers convert textbooks into digitized text files that computer-based screen readers convert into automated audio. There are two chief benefits to this approach: it is less expensive than producing a full-featured audiobook, and it fulfills the letter of legal requirements.

     But the reasons to choose an audiobook solution are even more compelling:

• While more expensive to produce, audiobooks sell for a higher price than downloadable text files, and the format's inherent benefits attract a much larger audience than the print-disabled subgroup.

• Screen readers are getting better, but they still provide second-class educations to the students who must rely on them. Software just can't equal human judgment. Screen readers are not only lurching and awkward, they can also be factually wrong (listen to the handling of footnote 6 in the Social History clips). Compare how these free and trial-version screen readers compare to human recording. The first excerpt is a single paragraph that contrasts philosophers George Santayana and William James. The second excerpt is a footnote-laden historical examination of the National Organization for Decent Literature. As you'll hear, there is no comparison.

• Publishers can't simply scan textbook pages into PDF files because screen readers can't distinguish charts, graphs, photographs, footnotes and sidebars. As a result, converting texts to digitized formats that screen readers can handle is itself laborious and costly.

• Full-featured audiobooks can help publishers address these academic and economic concerns. Audio textbooks not only provide print-disabled students a vastly improved learning experience, they appeal equally to the traditional textbook consumers who will comprise the primary audience.