Thank you for sharing this, Rachel! I organize the events for our store and this piece really made me think about how I can make our events more accessible and avoid putting people in this kind of situation. One thing your post made think about is how my store can develop relationships with interpreters in the community so we can have a list of folks on hand to call on when needed. Thank you for all you do and I am so glad it was a successful event. I can't wait to read Rhaina's book!
Love that this raised some thoughts for you! I do know 1-2 interpreters in your area and can share if you'd like, I think it's great to have a network and call on those people whenever you need. A lot of them are very happy to help out. Thank you for all you do in this book world, too :)
Great! I will follow up with you to get those names :) And I think it's not outlandish for bookstores to save to create a small fund to have on hand for interpreters and other accessibility costs, especially stores that host lots of events. Events come with costs and we as stores can expect and prepare for that!
“This is one open secret among deaf folks and interpreters: access is messy. It takes time, work, resources, conversations, compromise. It can feel dicey, especially when contacting various orgs asking if it’s okay if we show up (even if we also have a right to be there).”
-This is a point that everyone needs to consider, both in public & private settings..
I can see where a small bookstore is not funded very well but larger organizations & libraries certainly need to step up.. but a small organization should reach out and ask for assistance!
To ask the naive question that hearing folks always do: how far off are speech-to-text systems from being useful? And how much worse is that than an interpreter with the context and nuance they provide? I know that the answer has been "auto-captions suck" for many many years, and they are slightly less terrible since covid & phone voice-typing lead to real investment in the tech as you mentioned your Atlantic piece. Do you think today that captions might be a useful part of the accessibility solution for events in the near future?
I could imagine broad adoption of something like a transcription system where participants have named mics and an on-stage screen shows live captions if the price point is low enough. A one-off purchase is simpler for stores than the ongoing work to maintain a network of interpreters, and would be easier to mandate/budget for something like a state library system. But I suspect that is a deeply moronic suggestion that would really hurt the interpreting profession and not even improve access.
Speech-to-text systems are an excellent option but do have their own drawbacks, almost entirely enough to render them not useful for many scenarios where communication occurs among individuals who are not using verbal means. Communication is a two-way affair, whereas speech-to-text systems only offer one-way communication, excluding those individuals.
Speech-to-text systems might be a better fit for concerts, classrooms, or lectures where there isn't much exchange occurring.
Thanks for the personal perspective, Rachel! As someone who's helped to support and promote events, I often feel like one potential answer could involve organizers shifting from quantity of programming to quality. There's so much inaccessible programming out there, with a lot of competition for attention. Why not do less, with more access?
Not to chill the good feelings buzz, but as what the law would call a “public accommodation”, they have a legal obligation to provide accessibility at public events. I think it would be a great idea for bookstores to have a budget line item that would include interpreters for events. Perhaps interpreters and independent bookstores could think about a “non-profit rate” for occasions such as this. A discounted hourly rate for the interpreter would be better than volunteering, economically.
Ads/flyers should have a number for someone to call or text to request interpreters a reasonable number of days in advance.
Maybe small independent bookstores could apply for grants to fund interpreters?
(I know that Rachel knows this stuff—I forget that everyone doesn't know this stuff in 2024.)
Thank you for sharing this, Rachel! I organize the events for our store and this piece really made me think about how I can make our events more accessible and avoid putting people in this kind of situation. One thing your post made think about is how my store can develop relationships with interpreters in the community so we can have a list of folks on hand to call on when needed. Thank you for all you do and I am so glad it was a successful event. I can't wait to read Rhaina's book!
Love that this raised some thoughts for you! I do know 1-2 interpreters in your area and can share if you'd like, I think it's great to have a network and call on those people whenever you need. A lot of them are very happy to help out. Thank you for all you do in this book world, too :)
Great! I will follow up with you to get those names :) And I think it's not outlandish for bookstores to save to create a small fund to have on hand for interpreters and other accessibility costs, especially stores that host lots of events. Events come with costs and we as stores can expect and prepare for that!
Man, deaf folk feeling expensive is a grim reality. Thank you for sharing and calling us to become more accountable, Sis. Rachel.
“This is one open secret among deaf folks and interpreters: access is messy. It takes time, work, resources, conversations, compromise. It can feel dicey, especially when contacting various orgs asking if it’s okay if we show up (even if we also have a right to be there).”
-This is a point that everyone needs to consider, both in public & private settings..
I can see where a small bookstore is not funded very well but larger organizations & libraries certainly need to step up.. but a small organization should reach out and ask for assistance!
To ask the naive question that hearing folks always do: how far off are speech-to-text systems from being useful? And how much worse is that than an interpreter with the context and nuance they provide? I know that the answer has been "auto-captions suck" for many many years, and they are slightly less terrible since covid & phone voice-typing lead to real investment in the tech as you mentioned your Atlantic piece. Do you think today that captions might be a useful part of the accessibility solution for events in the near future?
I could imagine broad adoption of something like a transcription system where participants have named mics and an on-stage screen shows live captions if the price point is low enough. A one-off purchase is simpler for stores than the ongoing work to maintain a network of interpreters, and would be easier to mandate/budget for something like a state library system. But I suspect that is a deeply moronic suggestion that would really hurt the interpreting profession and not even improve access.
My perspective as a deaf ASL user:
Speech-to-text systems are an excellent option but do have their own drawbacks, almost entirely enough to render them not useful for many scenarios where communication occurs among individuals who are not using verbal means. Communication is a two-way affair, whereas speech-to-text systems only offer one-way communication, excluding those individuals.
Speech-to-text systems might be a better fit for concerts, classrooms, or lectures where there isn't much exchange occurring.
Thanks for the personal perspective, Rachel! As someone who's helped to support and promote events, I often feel like one potential answer could involve organizers shifting from quantity of programming to quality. There's so much inaccessible programming out there, with a lot of competition for attention. Why not do less, with more access?
Not to chill the good feelings buzz, but as what the law would call a “public accommodation”, they have a legal obligation to provide accessibility at public events. I think it would be a great idea for bookstores to have a budget line item that would include interpreters for events. Perhaps interpreters and independent bookstores could think about a “non-profit rate” for occasions such as this. A discounted hourly rate for the interpreter would be better than volunteering, economically.
Ads/flyers should have a number for someone to call or text to request interpreters a reasonable number of days in advance.
Maybe small independent bookstores could apply for grants to fund interpreters?
(I know that Rachel knows this stuff—I forget that everyone doesn't know this stuff in 2024.)