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Category: Bookshare Collection Highlights

The Secret to Getting Reluctant Readers Hooked on Booksa boy is reading and listening to a book on a tablet while sitting in the library
Published April 18, 2018

The Secret to Getting Reluctant Readers Hooked on Books

In Part I, “The Crazy Reading Ladies” explained how they turned Horace Mann Middle School into the school that reads, and in Part 2, they discussed how assistive technology enhances the reading experience and delivers social and academic benefits. In Part 3, “The Crazy Reading Ladies” share tips to get kids reading, favorite books and authors, and more student success stories.  Teachers are incredibly resourceful and creative when it comes to helping students thrive in school. Erin and Mary, affectionately known as “The Crazy Reading Ladies” by their students, have honed their tried-and-true techniques for converting reluctant readers to bookworms. Top…

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Time to Ratify the Marrakesh Treaty and End the Global Book FamineEnding the book famine - Marrakesh Treaty
Published March 15, 2018

Time to Ratify the Marrakesh Treaty and End the Global Book Famine

By Jim Fruchterman, CEO, Benetech We stand on the threshold of ending the global book famine for people who read differently due to blindness, low vision, dyslexia, or a physical disability that interferes with reading. A bill to ratify and implement the Marrakesh Treaty was just introduced in the United States Senate by the chairs and ranking members of the Foreign Relations and Judiciary Committees. This bipartisan bill makes it possible for organizations such as Benetech to create accessible versions of books for all types of readers and to share them across borders through a copyright exception. As a result,…

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Because #RepresentationMattersDisability icons for hearing, vision, sign language, blind, wheelchair, closed caption, and a question mark.
Published March 12, 2018

Because #RepresentationMatters

Children need and deserve books that reflect themselves and the diversity of the world around them. In addition to people of color, people with disabilities are underrepresented in the popular media. For many children and teens with disabilities, it is difficult to find books with accurate portrayals of disabilities. With this gap in mind, Bookshare has assembled four new collections that feature characters with learning disabilities and visual impairments, because everyone has differences and abilities and representation matters. Books that Feature Characters with Learning Disabilities The novels in these two collections feature characters with a learning disability, such as dyslexia,…

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New Year, New You: Help is On the WayHappy New Year 2018
Published January 19, 2018

New Year, New You: Help is On the Way

New Year’s resolutions – we love them, hate them, make them, and break them. Whatever self-help approach works for you, Bookshare has a special reading list of books for teens and adults to help define and prioritize the year ahead. Whether you want to accelerate or change your career path, get your personal finances in order, communicate more effectively, overcome the clutter in your house, adopt a healthier lifestyle, or break free from stress and anxiety, we’ve got some life-affirming resources to help you along the way. Here is a taste of some of the books on the New Year,…

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Bookshare Hits Big Milestones in 20178 people in a line hold hands stretched overhead
Published December 18, 2017

Bookshare Hits Big Milestones in 2017

As 2017 draws to a close, it’s time to look back and celebrate key milestones and accomplishments. But first, a message from a parent: “My son loved Huckleberry Finn! It was a joy to watch him laugh as he listened and read. Amazing. He has an A in English with the support of Bookshare.” Collection Passes Half a Million Mark Our goal is to make all books and print materials accessible. There was a time when people with disabilities could not find books in audio, braille, or other specialized formats they needed. Today, members have over 585,000 ebooks at the…

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Deck the Halls with BooksLet It Snow, Eight Winter Nights, and The Snow Child
Published December 12, 2017

Deck the Halls with Books

Bookshare has a sleigh full of books for the holidays Ho-ho-holidays can be busy and hectic, but they often provide some down time to pursue fun pastimes like reading. To help get you in the mood, we’ve created some holiday Reading Lists for children, teens and adults. We encourage you to download some of your favorites for those road trips to grandma’s house, snow days, cozy bedtime reading, or any time and place you want to jump into a good book. Holiday Stories for Kids ‘Tis the season to enjoy the December holidays! Whether your family celebrates Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa,…

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Diversify Your Bookshelf with Multicultural YA Booksthree book covers: The Bone Witch; The Harlem Charade; Piecing Me Together
Published November 27, 2017

Diversify Your Bookshelf with Multicultural YA Books

Bookshare promotes diversity in teen reading through books that feature people of color By Amreen Ahmed, Bookshare Operations Associate Diversity in Young Adult (YA) literature has become increasingly important to today’s teens. Bookshare members are a diverse group, so it’s important that the books in the collection reflect that diversity. Bookshare’s Special Collections have seen several new additions the past few months, making it easier than ever to find Reading Lists that match everyone’s interests. One particular list – Latest YA Reads with POC Leads — focuses on Young Adult novels that feature people of color (POC) as the main characters.…

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Bookshare By the Numbersstacks of books in the shape of a globe
Published October 10, 2017

Bookshare By the Numbers

It was just about a year ago that the Benetech team celebrated 10 million books delivered through our Bookshare library. Shortly thereafter, we celebrated another amazing milestone: access to 500,000 books for Bookshare members. Those milestones speak to Benetech’s ability to use software to tackle social issues—in Bookshare’s case, access to books and information for people with disabilities—and to deliver impact at scale. But those numbers are just part of the Bookshare story. Here are a handful of additional stats to give you a more complete picture of Bookshare’s scale, impact, and reach. (Don’t forget, Bookshare is free for all…

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Back to School with Bookshare: Tips from the Teaching Trenches (Part 3)Back to school is written in chalk on a blackboard
Published September 21, 2017

Back to School with Bookshare: Tips from the Teaching Trenches (Part 3)

Welcome to the third blog in our Back to School with Bookshare series that helps teachers get a strong start to the school year. In this blog, we take you on a tour of Bookshare’s bountiful Special Collections, recognize an award-winning author, and share a few literary gems that students are reading. Special Collections are a Huge Hit Are you looking for books for your students? Bookshare librarians have created over 110 (and growing) lists of specially curated books that will engage your students and keep them reading. Teachers love this feature and have already assigned lists to over 5,000…

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Browsing is Better with New and Improved Special CollectionsScreen shot of the Browse page showing 4 special collections
Published July 24, 2017

Browsing is Better with New and Improved Special Collections

By Ginny Grant, Senior Product Manager, Benetech Global Literacy Program Have you noticed something different about Bookshare’s Special Collections? They are much easier to use and you can subscribe to them like a Reading List! After hearing how much people enjoy building their own Reading Lists, and seeing how teachers are using and sharing Reading Lists in their schools, Bookshare went the next step to make Special Collections even easier to use. Special Collections are customized Reading Lists that are curated by the Bookshare Collection Development team. The staff is actively looking for books that members will enjoy and organizing them…

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