Digitaltext’s Weblog

I had sent out an email plea for help in requesting digital copies from publishers in a timely fashion to Martie Buck from Lewis and Clark Community College.  About a year and a half ago, I had given up on that method of obtaining digitally formatted textbooks since I did not have a good response time and more often than not no response at all.  Since I need to convert all digital formats into Kurzweil 3000 format (.kes), it was faster to scan all of the required texts than to wait for a reply which I would need to convert into .kes. Martie replied the same day with: 

“Whenever I need a textbook in digital format, I go to the Association of American Publishers website, and from there I choose the alphabetical letter of the specific publishing company I’m ordering from.  That choice will narrow down the other choices of publishers, and eventually I end up on the publisher’s website with a further link connecting me to a “permissions form” for students with disabilities.  I fill out the form on the website, submit it electronically, and then get an immediate confirmation via Email that the form was received.  Sometimes I’ve had E-text sent to me via Email in Word or PDF format the very day I submitted my request, and then other times it has taken a week or two.  If I request any E-text in August, I usually get a notification saying how busy the company is and that it may take up to 4 – 6 weeks to receive the E-text.  However, it has never taken longer than one month, and I’m continually amazed at how quick these publishers are in responding to my requests!”