Print Disabilities Archives

Published July 12, 2016

Have You Caught the Bookshare Bingo Fever?

Summer is the perfect time to catch up on all those books you have been meaning to read. It’s not too late to join our fun summer reading activity: Bookshare Bingo. The game of Bingo is believed to have originated in the 1920s by Hugh J. Ward who introduced it at carnivals around Pittsburgh and in Western Pennsylvania. Today, there are more versions of bingo than you can count, and our version involves reading at least five books that correspond to five categories in a row, column, or diagonal to get a bingo. Then you submit your Bingo card and…

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Published June 28, 2016

Benetech Partners with Georgia Libraries for Accessible Statewide Services to Bring Bookshare to Patrons with Print Disabilities

GLASS offers over 425,000 accessible ebooks in its pursuit of total accessibility Benetech, provider of Bookshare, is proud to announce a new partnership with Georgia Libraries for Accessible Statewide Services (GLASS), making over 425,000 accessible ebooks available for free to patrons who cannot read printed books due to blindness, low vision, dyslexia, and other print disabilities. GLASS is the statewide network of talking book centers that provides library services for the blind and others whose physical abilities require the use of books and magazines in digital audio formats or in braille. Beginning July 1, every Georgian with an eligible print…

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Published May 4, 2016

Bookshare’s Collection Development Manager Started a Love Affair with Books at a Tender Age

Guest post by Carol James, Bookshare Collection Development Manager When I was a little girl, I would toddle into my parents’ bedroom many mornings. I’d pull books out of their case and pretend to read them. When I was done (so I’m told), I would carefully consider where they should go as I put them back on the shelf. I can’t remember what I was thinking – but even then, I knew each book had a “right place”! Looking back on a lifetime working in libraries, I guess I’m still doing the same thing – but on a different scale, with…

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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 December 1, 2015

Why We Are #Thankful

The Bookshare community is amazing. It’s over 370,000 people strong with an even larger cast of parents, teachers, and supporters. They live in over seventy countries and read more than a million and a half books every year. They dream big, accomplish great things, and live life to its fullest. The holiday season is a time for thanks, and we at Bookshare are thankful for this community. Let’s meet some of them. Lily loves to read, especially books about horses. She didn’t always like reading though. In fact, Lily disliked it because of her dyslexia. That changed when she started using Bookshare, and…

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Published November 13, 2015

Top 100 Picture Books with Image Descriptions Now in Bookshare

Images and image descriptions provide a full multi-sensory reading experience for young readers. Where the Wild Things Are. Make Way for Ducklings. The Snowy Day. Corduroy. These classic books, and the rest of the Top 100 Picture Books, are well-loved tales that have been treasured and shared by grandparents, parents, and children alike. Their engaging stories and heartwarming illustrations bring characters and action to life in a rich, multi-sensory experience for young children. Educators and parents know how important books are for the earliest readers. Getting kids “hooked on books” through that classic bedtime picture book has profound…

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Published September 11, 2015

Student Logins Save Time, Build Independence

Empower students with their own logins to read independently Fall is in the air and classrooms buzz with excitement as teachers pass out textbooks and school supplies. For students with print disabilities, however, the excitement can turn into anxiety when faced with the sheer volume of books. Fortunately for these students, Bookshare allows them to read the same books in accessible formats so they can keep pace with their classmates. Teachers know how important it is to get students with print disabilities reading right away. We also know how busy you are. That’s why we created student logins. What are…

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Published September 9, 2015

Some of the Most Anticipated Digital Books for Back to School

Note: This blog first appeared on The Inside Track – a blog for the Understood community. Benetech, Bookshare’s parent nonprofit, is one of fifteen founding nonprofit organizations in partnership with Understood, a resource for parents of children with learning and attention issues. More than 275,000 free text-to-speech digital books. That’s how many are downloaded the first two months of school every fall from our online Bookshare library. This year, we expect an even higher number of downloads. What are some of the hottest digital books for back to school going to be? Our librarians at Bookshare decided to investigate. We looked at data from…

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Published September 1, 2015

Bookshare Parents and Teachers Team Up for Back to School

Teamwork is the name of the game when it comes to supporting students with print disabilities Back to school is a challenging transition for all students, but it is especially difficult for students with visual, physical, or learning disabilities. Getting the books they need in a format that is accessible requires a collaborative effort between parents and educators. Sometimes parents are the first to discover valuable resources for their son or daughter, and sometimes teachers are the catalysts who enlist the parents’ help. It doesn’t matter who leads the charge as long as students get the tools they need to…

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Published August 25, 2015

Students with Print Disabilities Accelerate Reading with Bookshare

Assistive technology helps students with disabilities love books Bookshare has been a game changer for Brennan Draves, a fourth grader with a visual impairment, and Reagan Reeves, a ninth grader with dyslexia. Both students need schoolbooks in alternative formats to help them read and study. Brennan, a fourth grader at Mackensen Elementary School in Michigan, has retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative eye disease that makes it impossible to read traditional books. He used to read and study with printed braille books which were heavy and took time to produce. Since using Bookshare, reading books and doing homework is easier and more cost…

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Tag: Print Disabilities