On November 17, 2009, the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) commended Google, the Association of American Publishers, and the Authors Guild for retaining important provisions in the amended settlement relating to the Google Books project that will allow people who are blind or have other print disabilities to access the books that Google makes available to the public.
NFB President Dr. Marc Maurer said: "Access to the printed word has historically been one of the greatest challenges faced by the blind. The agreement between Google and authors and publishers will revolutionize access to books for blind Americans. With millions of books expected to be available through Google Books, this agreement means that blind people will have more access to print books than we have ever had in human history."
The terms of the amended settlement, like the settlement agreement proposed last year, allow Google to provide the material it offers users "in a manner that accommodates users with print disabilities so that such users have a substantially similar user experience as users without print disabilities." A user with a print disability under the agreement is one who is "unable to read or use standard printed material due to blindness, visual disability, physical limitations, organic dysfunction, or dyslexia." Blind people, like other members of the public, will be able to search the texts of books in the Google Books database online, purchase some books in an accessible format, or access accessible books at libraries and other entities that have an institutional subscription to the Google Books database. Once the court approves the settlement, Google will work to launch these services as quickly as possible.