Bookshare is an online library of accessible
ebooks
An ebook (short for electronic book), also known as an e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. Alt ...
for people with
print disabilities, such as
visual impairment
Visual impairment, also known as vision impairment, is a medical definition primarily measured based on an individual's better eye visual acuity; in the absence of treatment such as correctable eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment� ...
, severe
dyslexia
Dyslexia, also known until the 1960s as word blindness, is a disorder characterized by reading below the expected level for one's age. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, r ...
, and
cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be problems with sens ...
.
An initiative of
Benetech
Benetech is a nonprofit social enterprise organization that empowers communities with software for social good. Previous projects include the Route 66 Literacy Project, the Miradi environmental project management software, Martus (human rights abu ...
, a
social enterprise
A social enterprise is an organization that applies commercial strategies to maximize improvements in financial, social and environmental well-being. This may include maximizing social impact alongside profits for co-owners.
Social enterprises ca ...
organization based in
Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto.
The city was es ...
, it was founded in 2001 by
Jim Fruchterman
Jim Fruchterman is an engineer and social entrepreneur. He was the founder and longtime CEO of Benetech, a Silicon Valley nonprofit technology company that develops software applications to address unmet needs of users in the social sector. He is ...
.
Bookshare provides books in
DAISY
Daisy, Daisies or DAISY may refer to:
Plants
* ''Bellis perennis'', the common daisy, lawn daisy or English daisy, a European species
Other plants known as daisy
* Asteraceae, daisy family
** '' Euryops chrysanthemoides'', African bush daisy
** ' ...
,
EPUB
EPUB is an e-book file format that uses the ".epub" file extension. The term is short for ''electronic publication'' and is sometimes styled ''ePub''. EPUB is supported by many e-readers, and compatible software is available for most smartpho ...
, BRF (Braille refreshable format), MP3, and Microsoft Word document formats. Books have been contributed by volunteers, authors, libraries, universities, and publishers. By 2010 more than half of books had been contributed by publishers and by 2020 more than 900 publishers had partnered with Bookshare, contributing to its library of more than 900,000 books.
Since 2007, Bookshare has received awards from the
U.S. Department of Education,
Office of Special Education Programs
Originally created as the Bureau of the Education of the Handicapped, the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) is part of the U.S. Department of Education. OSEP provides leadership and support for professionals working with children with d ...
(OSEP), to provide free access for all U.S. students with a qualifying print disability, with the five-year allocation from 2017 to 2022 totaling $42.5 million.
Similar programs have been set up in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Bookshare also partners with libraries and blindness organizations around the world.
References
{{reflist
External links
Bookshare
American digital libraries
Blindness
Dyslexia
Accessible information