Gillian Hayward 1

Lesson Plan 2:

The Chafee Amendment and the Marrakesh Treaty:

How They Can Help Academic Librarians Advocate for Users with Visual Impairments

Overview

Universities have student bodies, staff and faculty with a wide variety of abilities. Some of those

populations may include people with visual impairments. It is a basic human right that every person

should have equal access to information, therefore they need it to be in an accessible format. As

librarians, it is your job to provide access to information to the best of your ability, including users with

vision impairments.

Key Issues

 In the United States, the Chafee Amendment to Title 17 of the U.S. Code was passed in 1996 as a

limitation on the exclusive rights in copyrighted works. §121 allows “authorized entities to

reproduce or distribute copies or phonorecords of previously published nondramatic literary

works in specialized formats exclusively for use by blind or other persons with disabilities”

(Library of Congress, n.d.). Authorized entities are defined as “nonprofit organization or a

governmental agency that has a primary mission to provide specialized services relating to

training, education, or adaptive reading or information access needs of blind or other persons

with disabilities” (Library of Congress, n.d.).

 In 2013, WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) adopted The Marrakesh Treaty to

Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise

Print Disabled. It takes the Chafee Amendment one step further, by allowing the authorized

entities to exchange the authorized copies across borders. The Marrakesh Treaty has been

ratified by many countries, but it has not been passed by Congress yet in the United States.
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Once it is passed, those authorized copies will be able to be sent to or received from other

countries.

 Only 1–7% of books published each year are made available to the 285 million people in the

world who are blind and visually impaired (World Intellectual Property Organization, 2016). The

Chafee Amendment in the U.S. allows libraries for people with visual impairments (or other

authorized entities), like the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped

(NLS), to legally make copies of resources without permission from the copyright owner. Those

copies may then be made available to users with visual impairments.

Learning Outcomes

 Students will be able to explain the limitations on the exclusive rights granted to copyright

owners by the Chafee Amendment and how they directly benefit people with visual

impairments.

 Students will be able to explain the additional limitation on exclusive rights granted by the

Marrakesh Treaty, if it is ratified by the United States.

 Students will be able to name various formats of resources supported by the Chafee

Amendment (talking books, braille books, audio newspapers/magazines, etc.)

 Students will be familiar with the services offered by the NLS.

Learning Activities

1. To help participants understand what having a visual impairment is like, obtain low vision

simulators*.

a. Give participants a book to read, and have them locate pages and read sections of text

out loud, or identify illustrations or photos wearing the simulators.

b. Have participants try to use a computer with the simulators on.

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c. Discuss the discoveries the students made while using the simulators.

2. Have students read the following:

a. Overview of the services offered by the NLS:

https://www.loc.gov/nls/about/overview/

b. Rayini, J. (2017). Library and Information Services to the Visual Impaired Persons. Library

Philosophy and Practice, 1510.

digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4313&context=libphilprac

c. Briefing: Accessibility, the Chafee Amendment, and Fair Use

http://www.arl.org/focus-areas/copyright-ip/fair-use/code-of-best-practices/2445-

briefing-accessibility-the-chafee-amendment-and-fair-use#.W3dwC5W0XIU

Conduct a discussion in which students:

 Discuss ways in which the Chafee Amendment affects the services of the NLS.

 Discuss the ARL article. Should academic libraries be allowed to make accessible copies

for patrons with visual impairments under the Chafee Amendment?

 Discuss technologies and formats available to people with visual impairments and

services offered by the NLS that their patrons with visual impairments can take

advantage of.

Tools

 Main Provisions and Benefits of the Marrakesh Treaty (2013)

http://www.wipo.int/edocs/pubdocs/en/wipo_pub_marrakesh_flyer.pdf

 Chafee Amendment - Copyright Law Amendment, 1996: PL 104-197

https://www.loc.gov/nls/about/organization/laws-regulations/copyright-law-

amendment-1996-pl-104-197/
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 National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped

https://www.loc.gov/nls/

 Blind/Visual Impairment LibGuide at University of Illinois

http://guides.library.illinois.edu/blind/visualimpairment

 *Sources for low vision simulators:

https://www.teachingvisuallyimpaired.com/simulation-activities.html and elsewhere on

the web

Resources

1. Jonathan, B. (2013). How the Marrakesh Treaty opens vistas for print-disabled readers.

American Libraries, 9/10, 14. Retrieved from

https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/magazine/issues/

A succinct summary of the Marrakesh Treaty by a legal consultant and copyright expert.

2. Lingane, A. & Fruchterman, J. (2003). The Chafee Amendment: Improving access to information.

Information Technology and Disabilities E-Journal, 9(1). Retrieved from

http://itd.athenpro.org/volume9/number1/lingane.html

A clear description of the ramifications of the Chafee Amendment.

3. Rayini, J. (2017). Library and Information Services to the Visual Impaired Persons. Library

Philosophy and Practice, 1510. Retrieved from

http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4313&context=libphilprac

An overview of the services libraries can offer people with visual impairments.
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Delivery of Instruction

This instruction is intended to be delivered face-to-face, in order to allow for use of the simulators and

active discussion. Alternatively, it could be offered online, with video or image simulations of visual

impairments.