accessible books Archives - Bookshare Blog

Published June 29, 2016

Follow Us to the NFB and ACB 2016 Conventions

The Bookshare team from Benetech is excited to attend two of our favorite conventions — the 76th Annual National Federation of the Blind (NFB) National Convention in Orlando, Florida, from June 30 to July 5, and the 55th Annual Conference and Convention of the American Council of the Blind (ACB) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, from July 1 to July 9, 2016. Benetech salutes these important organizations and their efforts to ensure equal opportunity for blind and visually impaired people. In support, the Benetech / Bookshare team will attend both conventions and looks forward to meeting attendees, rekindling relationships with long-time members…

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Published May 27, 2016

Bingo! Students Who Read Beat Summer Slide

Set students up for summer reading success with books from Bookshare. The dreaded summer slide. Research suggests that a summer break can cause an average student to lose up to one month of instruction, with disadvantaged students disproportionately affected (Cooper, 1996). Fortunately, access to books during summer helps students beat the summer slide, and Bookshare’s accessible online library is the perfect resource for kids who cannot read traditional print books due to disabilities like blindness, low vision, physical disabilities, and learning disabilities like dyslexia. Checklist for Teachers How can you make sure your students are set up with accessible ebooks…

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Published May 10, 2016

Bookshare Supports Librarian’s Goal for Inclusive Library Service

Many thanks to Kate Owen at Thetford Academy for sharing her advocacy of Bookshare and for training more teachers to be proponents of accessible ebooks. Kate’s Vision As an educator and librarian, I have always worked to build an inclusive library service to meet the needs of all learners. This year, over one-third of our students are eligible for extra services according to their IEP or 504 plans. Many of these students qualify for Bookshare. The online accessible library has become an integral part of building an inclusive library to accomplish my goal. Not So Long Ago… When I first…

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Published April 18, 2016

Texas Librarian Appreciates Bookshare’s Accessible Ebook Collection

Special thanks to Adair Apple, a Librarian in Evans Elementary School, Corpus Christi, TX for sharing the reasons why she chooses Bookshare to support students with print disabilities. “In our district, librarians are responsible for both print and digital accessible resources as well as adaptive technologies. Bookshare is one of the resources we use to support students with qualifying print disabilities, such as visual impairments and physical and learning disabilities that hinder reading. For effective learning, and since many children are more tech-savvy today, we want to get reading resources and technologies into their hands as early as possible. Now,…

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Published April 15, 2016

Appreciation for Bookshare’s Blue Ribbon Volunteers

One of the things that makes Bookshare so special is the community of volunteers that we have the privilege of working with. In recognition of National Volunteer Week (April 10-16), we wanted to acknowledge their contributions and share just how much we appreciate each and every one of them! The Bookshare volunteers are an amazing group of 182 individuals. Over the past year they have scanned, submitted, and proofed over 2,000 books for Bookshare, the world’s largest online accessible library for people with print disabilities. Bookshare receives the majority of its titles in the form of digital files directly from the 850…

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Let’s Make a Deal! Mom Makes Reading Fun and Challenging for Daughter with Dyslexia

Published March 29, 2016

Let’s Make a Deal! Mom Makes Reading Fun and Challenging for Daughter with Dyslexia

Reading challenges are a common occurrence in the Gutierrez household in Redwood City, California. Mrs. Judie Gutierrez loves to read and likes to challenge her twelve-year-old daughter, Laura, who was diagnosed with dyslexia, a learning disability, in third grade. Several times a month, this mother-daughter duo challenge each other to make reading fun and interesting by visiting their public library and local bookstores to find titles worthy of discussion. “Story time is sacred,” says Judie, a Ph.D., busy mom, scientist, and president of the Redwood City Education Foundation. “We like the sport of reading, and you can learn a lot…

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Published March 23, 2016

Benetech Announces Partnership with RNIB and Publication of BISG Quick Start Guide to Accessible Publishing

Today, at the 31st Annual CSUN Conference in San Diego, Benetech is excited to announce the launch of two major efforts in the areas of literacy and disabilities. Launch of RNIB Bookshare The first is the groundbreaking partnership with the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) that will dramatically expand access to Bookshare, the world’s largest online library of accessible ebooks for people with print disabilities. The new online service, called RNIB Bookshare, will deliver accessible materials to schools and colleges in the United Kingdom and will provide curriculum materials for blind or partially-sighted, dyslexic, or otherwise print-disabled students.…

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Published March 8, 2016

2016 National Education Technology Plan Resonates with Benetech Priorities of Equity and Accessibility

Benetech is a nonprofit company leveraging Silicon Valley technology and process to create and scale solutions for pressing social issues. Two Benetech initiatives, the DIAGRAM Center and Born Accessible, are cited in The 2016 National Education Technology Plan (NETP) released by the Office of Educational Technology of the U.S. Department of Education. The report recommends that “education stakeholders should develop a born accessible standard of learning resource design to help educators select and evaluate learning resources for accessibility and equity of learning experience.” More significantly, though, all of Benetech’s work closely aligns with these two key themes of the report:…

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Published March 3, 2016

It Only Takes One Good Book to Get Hooked on Reading

At Bookshare, we have a saying that “it only takes one good book to get hooked on reading.” This month we are celebrating special reading events and award-winning literature for 2016 to help members find a treasure trove of good books: Happy birthday to one of our favorite authors, Dr. Seuss, on March 2 National Education Association’s Read Across America Day is a national initiative to spread the joy of reading to children and young adults The 2016 Youth Media Awards, presented by The American Library Association, recognize outstanding works of literature as well as authors and illustrators 2016 Youth Media…

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Published February 14, 2016

Dear Bookshare…Love Letters to Celebrate the Joy of Reading!

February is the sweetest month of the year, but did you know that it is also Library Lovers Month? So today – Valentine’s Day – we are reminded of the people we love and of the things we love to do, like reading. Across our nation and the world, in tweets, letters and posts, Bookshare members tell us about their use of the online accessible library and their love of reading digital accessible books. Members say that 2016 will be a memorable year for reading, and we agree! Whether you want to improve your reading skills or help a student…

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Category: accessible books