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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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Published August 16, 2016

Creating Equal District and Schoolwide Learning Opportunities for Students with Disabilities

Raising academic performance to meet the mandates of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) is a critical mission for school leaders, yet finding solutions to accommodate diverse student populations across districts and schools can be overwhelming and costly. Students with learning disabilities or visual impairments, for example, have difficulty reading print books. Often, they need accommodations like audio, large print, or braille to make classroom and homework materials accessible. The effort and resources required to produce accessible educational materials (AEM) is significant. Teachers and librarians struggle to find textbooks and Common Core materials in accessible formats. Parents stress about support…

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Published May 27, 2015

Parent Learns About Bookshare through Twitter Chatter

We first met Jessica Prest, a parent from rural Massachusetts, on Twitter after she posted these tweets about her daughter: “Lily just finished her first chapter book in five days using Bookshare!”  “A year ago she hated to read. Today she finished a 25 pg. chapter book!” “My #1in5 #dyslexia #proudmom Thank u @Bookshare!” So began our quest to learn more about Lily, a young girl who once hated books, but now loves to read them from cover to cover. Jessica, Lily’s mom, describes her daughter as very bright, dynamic, and quite communicative. “At a young age, Lily talked a…

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Published April 28, 2015

Support Bookshare on May 5!

Bookshare is the thriving community it is today thanks to the enthusiasm and dedication of all of you—members, parents, teachers, mentors, volunteers, partners, and friends! We’re so grateful for your continuous support and can’t wait to bring the gift of reading and educational opportunities to even more people. Please help us bring Bookshare to others who need our services by supporting our Silicon Valley Gives (SVGives) fundraiser on May 5, 2015. For those of you who may not have heard of it, SVGives is a community-wide day of giving hosted by the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. On Tuesday, May 5,…

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Published April 6, 2015

Students on School Accounts Can “Read Now” Using Popular Bookshare Web Reader

Did you know that Bookshare Web Reader, the popular web-based reading tool that was previously available only to Individual Members, is now available for students on school accounts too? Yes! Bookshare Web Reader is so easy to use! All you need is a computer with an Internet connection, and you can find, open, and start reading Bookshare books directly within popular Internet browsers like Google Chrome and Safari. Your reading experience is easier, faster, and efficient! There is no software to install, and you don’t need to worry about downloading and finding book files on your computer or reading device.…

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Published November 24, 2014

Giving Thanks, Looking Ahead: An Open Letter to the Bookshare Community

Dear Friends, I always appreciate hearing from our members and getting a glimpse into how Bookshare is making a positive difference in their lives. Oftentimes, the stories our members share with us are deeply moving, but there’s something especially rewarding in hearing someone new to our community commenting on what they’re able to accomplish with Bookshare.Consider the following statement that one of our members has anonymously shared with us: “I recently activated my account, and am thrilled with your service and how it works seamlessly with my iPad. This is the first time I have been able to read books…

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Published October 1, 2013

Get Students a Bookshare Individual Membership at Home!

Throughout October, parents and educators often meet to discuss how students are progressing through the school year. Parent-teacher conferences, IEP meetings, and other face-to-face opportunities are the perfect time to discuss how students can take reading and studying to the next level with Bookshare.  How? Get qualified students access to Bookshare at home. Most of our student members access Bookshare through their school account. This means that educators find and download books for students. A fast growing number of students are also getting individual memberships. This allows them to discover books on their own, download independently, and develop a personal…

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Published September 16, 2013

Bookshare Web Reader Lets You READ NOW — it’s Fast and Easy!

Earlier in 2013, we launched the Bookshare Web Reader, a reading tool that lets individual Bookshare members read directly from their Internet browser without installing any reading software. Bookshare Web Reader makes it easy for our individual members to open and read books fast and easily—all you need is a computer with an Internet connection. Students simply go to the Bookshare website on a compatible Internet browser, such as Google Chrome, find a title to read, select “Read Now,” and the book opens! Watch this video to see exactly how Bookshare Web Reader can open a book directly from an…

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Published November 6, 2012

American Bar Association Titles in Bookshare

As Bookshare followers know, many publishers have relationships with us and submit files electronically. Recently, The American Bar Association (ABA) submitted a series of titles from the Legal Practice Management division that produces books to help lawyers in their work. Today, Election Day 2012, seems like a fitting day to tell readers about these legal works. There are many titles of interest to law students and practicing lawyers on building a practice, using social media, using technology, and more. Below are links to ten: iPad Apps In One Hour for Lawyers – Finding the best apps often can be an…

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Published December 29, 2010

2010 – A Tremendous Year

2010 has been a tremendous year for the Literacy Program at Benetech.  We’ve enjoyed working with all of our members, sponsors, partners, volunteers and funders, and we have much to celebrate together.  Thank you for your support in achieving our mission! Bookshare passed a number of major milestones this year: We are now serving over 120,000 people with print disabilities; Our US members now have access to over 95,000 books and periodicals; Users downloaded over 800,000 books in 2010; Under our Bookshare for Education (B4E) project, we passed our 5 year goal of adding 100,000 student members in under 3…

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