Bookshare Success Story Presented by Viji Dilip

Agenda  What is Bookshare?  Who is eligible?  What are its benefits?  What is in the Bookshare library? 2

What is Bookshare?  Several million people across the globe have print disabilities, yet, fewer than five percent of the books needed by people with print and learning disabilities are available in formats they can read.  Bookshare is an online digital library which addresses the issue of lack of sufficient reading material for the print and learning disabled. 3

4 Bookshare Today  An online library of accessible media for readers with print disabilities  Over 110,000 members worldwide  Over 17,000 titles available to International members  Serving members is 32 countries  English, Spanish, Tamil, Hindi, French, German

How Can I Access Books on Bookshare ?  Books can be accessed in txt, html, DAISY and Braille Ready Formats (BRF).  DAISY- stands for Digitally Accessible Information System.  Text can be read in large font on the screen.  Text can be highlighted as you read it on the screen- you can also listen to it at the same time.  Victor Reader and Read:OutLoud software comes free with a membership and can be used to read and navigate books. 5

Bookshare’s books are digital Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire Harry Potter & Goblet of Fire  Download from the Internet  CAN be read by people with print disabilities! 6

How Does Bookshare Get Digital Books? Chop Publishers Textbooks from University Partners Scan Proofread To Kill a Mockingbird

Why are digital books cool? Digital books can be read different ways.  DAISY format  Read on your computer with assistive reading software  Read on portable assistive technology devices  Convert and read on MP3 players!  Braille Ready Format (BRF)  Use notetakers or refreshable Braille displays  Download books to embosser  Order hardcopy Braille books online through partnership with Braille Institute-prices online 8

What is DAISY   ability to use free software to create DAISY books  International standard 9

10 Read Books in the DAISY Format (Digital Accessible Information System)  Flexible, versatile file format  Multi-modal reading on a computer  Visual presentation and/or synthetic speech  Easier to navigate  Chapters, paragraphs, and pages  Like HTML, plus some extra tags  Convert and play on MP3 player 

Study Tools Highlighting Bookmarks Text Notes Dictionary Voice Notes

Compatible AT Hardware  Any AT hardware supporting text-based files  HumanWare VictorReader Stream and ClassMate Reader  Plextalk Pocket  BookCourier and BookPort  Braille displays like the BrailleNote  ICON™  New Code Factory DAISY player for Symbian and Windows phones  MP3 players (educator or Member converts)

13 Compatible AT Software  Any AT software supporting text-based files  Victor Reader Soft 2.5 Bookshare edition – now free  READ:OutLoud Bookshare edition – now free  Kurzweil 3000, 1000  WYNN  OpenBook  Window-Eyes  JAWS  ZoomText  TextHelp

14 Eligible Students DisabilityQualified/Not Qualified Examples of Certifying Professionals Visual Impairment (VI), such as blindness or low vision Qualified A family doctor, ophthalmologist, neurologist, psychiatrist, optometrist, physical therapist, or other medical professional. Teacher of the visually impaired, special education teacher, learning disability specialist, school psychologist, clinical psychologist with a background in learning disabilities, resource specialist or other educational professional Certification from the National Library Service Proof of membership with RFB&D Physical Disability (PD) which affects the ability to read print, such as inability to hold a book or turn pages Qualified Severe Learning Disability that affects the ability to read standard print Students with a severe enough disability, and a professional certifying that the disability is severe enough and the individual needs accessible formats. Autism Emotional disabilities ADHD Not qualified, unless accompanied by a visual or physical disability, or a qualified reading disability that has a physical basis Not applicable Other Learning Challenges ESL and ELL Record of disability kept at school!

Bookshare Has Rules: Terms of Agreement & Digital Rights Management  Books are for readers with print disabilities only.  Book file sharing is not allowed.  There are consequences for copyright violations.  All books are encrypted for a specific user.  All downloaded copyrighted material is fingerprinted so it can be traced.  Security program monitors book downloads and suspends irregular accounts. Read Responsibly! 15

Signing up is Easy!  Step 1 – Go to Sign Up Today on the Bookshare website; fill in your contact information.  Step 2 – Sign and mail/fax the user agreement.  Step 3 – Mail or fax your proof of disability.  Once Bookshare gets all of your paperwork we will send you a welcome within 2 business days. This will include your user name and password.

17 What Are The Benefits?  Helps individuals read and study independently.  Helps students keep up with their classmates.  Motivates reading, as books can be accessed from anywhere.  Encourages a lifelong commitment and love of reading. Check me out on Youtube.com! Go to and search for Bookshare videos! 17

18 What’s In The Bookshare Library?  Special Collections  Caldecott Award winners  Pulitzer Prize winners  New York Times Best Sellers  Spanish books  Pacific Island Collection  Children’s books  Scholastic  Literature  Sci-fi  Mystery  Romance  History  General Knowledge  Spirituality 18

19 Key factors for success  Publisher recognition as a reliable entity serving people with print disabilities  More books being added everyday- digitally as publisher feeds keep coming  Increased level of accuracy  Timeliness of book availability –ability to read the same books at the same time  Better metadata  Raising Awareness on the benefits of Daisy  Ease of use  Independent Reading  Increased educational opportunities

20  How do we raise awareness on the benefits of daisy and about Bookshare service Reaching out to schools, colleges, universities Rehab organizations Parents associations Educating the special education teachers Training the trainers Libraries Webinars/workshops Direct mail, , newsletters Conferences Social networking- Facebook, Twitter, Youtube Press Blogs/podcasts  Nurturing memberships Enhance user experience Increase utilization Honoring book requests wherever possible Building a community of users and volunteers Online discussion forums  Going to the Source Government Agencies (scalable) Key factors for success (contd)

Thank you.