Keynote Speaker
Keynote Speaker: George Kerscher, Ph.D. , Secretary General of the DAISY Consortium
eBook Standards, Laws, and Current Implementations
Wednesday, November 17, 12:30 pm - 2:00 pm
Dr. Kerscher's Bio
George Kerscher began working on document access in 1987 and has been a tireless advocate and leader for accessible information and book access ever since. He coined the term "print disabled" to describe people who cannot effectively read print because of a visual, physical, perceptual, developmental, cognitive, or learning disability, and believes that in the Information Age access to information is a fundamental human right. He also believes that properly designed information systems can make all information accessible to all people, and has worked consistently and effectively to push evolving technologies in that direction. In Amsterdam in May of 2003, he was voted to be the Secretary General of the DAISY Consortium. He has held that position since that time. His awards and accomplishments are extensive. They include
- Awarded honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the University of Montana in May of 2007.
- The 2004 Harry Murphy Catalyst Award, a biennial award presented by the Trace Center to honor those who bring people together and facilitate the efforts of others in the field of technology and disability, was presented to Dr. Kerscher in in March of 2004.
- Selected chair of the Advisory Committee to the DAISY/NISO Standard in September 2005.
- 2001 Dayton Forman Award co-winner (with Ingar Beckman) for ground breaking work on Digital Talking Books.
- 1998 US News and World Report Innovator of the Year.
