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Bookshare now serves over 150,000 student members and has over 125,000 books in the collection. Of these, 80,000 are educational titles that continue to pour into the library from publishers, as well as hundreds of student textbook requests that are fulfilled every month.
These are major milestones that we have achieved a year ahead of schedule as part of the 5-year, Bookshare for Education (B4E) award from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). We look forward to continuing our support of students with print disabilities and are pleased to report that Benetech, the parent nonprofit for Bookshare, has just received a new 1-year award from OSEP for a new project called Leveraging Impact Through Technology (LIT).
The LIT project, in partnership with the American Institutes for Research (AIR), will advance the work delivered under the B4E project in the areas of new content, tools and increased utilization, with a focus on these key areas:
- Open-content, publicly available and freely shared image descriptions and reusable graphical models to enhance accessibility in NIMAC books and Common Core titles.
- A free, open source Android ebook reader and a free web-based ebook reader along with an accessible bookshelf in "the cloud," enabling teachers to more easily assign books to students and enabling parents and students to add books, accessible from multiple devices.
- Access to Bookshare books in MP3 and DAISY audio.
- Free professional development for selected districts across the country to increase utilization, leveraging AIR's experience in practice and delivery and Bookshare's proven hands-on Professional Development Workshops.
Learn more.
Two upcoming webinars: one for colleges, one for students.
Questions about Bookshare? Join Cherie Miller, Bookshare's University Program Manager November 9, 2011 at noon, Pacific Standard Time (PST) for a free webinar for college and university DSS professionals. Students want to know more about accessing books through Bookshare? Share this link with them so they can register for a free webinar November 10, 2011 at noon, Pacific Standard Time (PST). Both webinars will be recorded; slides can be sent ahead of time if requested.
Webinar for College and University DSS professionals.
"Bookshare for Colleges and Universities: Getting Started with a Bookshare Membership"
November 9, 2011. Noon, Pacific Standard Time (PST).
Register for the webinar here.
You may have heard of Bookshare but aren't sure how to get started. Perhaps you have a Bookshare Organizational membership but aren't clear on how to sign up students. You may also have questions about searching, downloading and reading Bookshare books.
Join Cherie Miller, Bookshare's University Program Manager, to learn how college students with print disabilities are using Bookshare to help keep up with their reading as well as to find resource materials for their classes. The webinar will cover membership - both Organizational and Individual - as well as how to find, download and read Bookshare books.
This webinar will be recorded. If you would like the slides ahead of time, please contact us: CherieM@Bookshare.org
Webinar for College and University students:
"I'm signed up with Bookshare - how do I find the books I want to read?"
November 10, 2011. Noon, Pacific Standard Time (PST).
Register for the webinar here.
Did you use Bookshare in high school? Want to know if it will work with college textbooks? Did your college help you create your own, individual Bookshare membership? Want to know what to do next? Finding, downloading, and reading Bookshare books in college is easier than ever. Bring your questions and join Cherie Miller, Bookshare's University Program Manager, to learn how college students all over the country are using Bookshare to help them keep up with their reading.
The webinar will be recorded. If you would like the slides ahead of time, please contact us: Cheriem@Bookshare.org
Have you tried the Read2Go app for reading Bookshare books?
Read2Go, the accessible e-reader app for the Apple iOS, is available for purchase for $19.99 in the Apple App Store!
Students can enjoy Bookshare books on Apple devices such as the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch. Read2Go allows readers to easily find, download and read Bookshare books within the same application. The first Read2Go update, released last September, offers improved stability for larger books and the ability to use iTunes to transfer books to other devices.
Watch a short video about the app on YouTube.
For more information, visit the Read2Go website today!
Attending Accessing Higher Ground?
Be sure to stop by the Bookshare booth and say hello!
Visit the Accessing Higher Ground conference website.
Also join Suzy Haines, Bookshare's Digital Content Manager, on Thursday morning at 8:00 am for "Got Different File Types? How Bookshare Cracks the Conversion Codes" as she outlines the book translation technologies she has developed for converting different file formats to DAISY.
Free Bookshare memberships save schools and students both money and time by being the source for a needed book.
Learn more about how Bookshare works with colleges and universities in the United States:
www.bookshare.org/_/community/postsecondary/home
Questions? Contact us at www.bookshare.org/contactUs. Choose "University Information" from the pull down.
 Cherie Miller
University Program Manager
650-644-3407
CherieM@Bookshare.org
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