Press Releases
October 11, 2011
Palo Alto, CA - Bookshare Passes 150,000 Student Members & 125,000 Titles, Wins a New Award
Bookshare is dramatically overachieving its five year targets and wins a new OSEP award
Bookshare passes 150,000 student members and 125,000 titles, wins a new 1-year award from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). more...
September 8, 2011
Palo Alto, CA - Accessible e-Book Reader, Read2Go, Now Available
App for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch Allows Users to Read Bookshare Books
Benetech®, the parent nonprofit for Bookshare®, announced the immediate availability of Read2Go, a new accessible e-book application (app) for the Apple iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch. more…
June 30, 2011
Palo Alto, CA/Longueuil, Canada - Bookshare and HumanWare Simplify Access to Bookshare Books
Direct Connection to Bookshare Facilitates Transfer of Books to Devices
HumanWare and Bookshare are pleased to announce a new version of the FREE HumanWare Companion Software that simplifies the process of finding, downloading, and transferring Bookshare books to the Victor Reader Stream digital talking book player. more…
May 16, 2011
Washington, DC - Bookshare Showcases Student Technology and its Free, Federally Funded Accessible Book Initiative
DCPS Students with Disabilities Speak about Academic Equality, Higher Education, and Lifelong Learning
Students with print disabilities and administrators from the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS), along with library and government officials, shared their stories and progress toward improving academic equality and lifelong learning through the use of technology at an event last week at the DC Public Library. more…
April 14, 2011
Palo Alto, CA - John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Signs Agreement to Provide Titles to Bookshare
Partnership Expands Bookshare Collection and Makes it Easier for People with Print Disabilities to Gain Access to a Wide Range of Titles
John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (JWa, JWb), a leading publisher serving the professional, consumer, scientific, technical, medical and academic communities worldwide, has agreed to provide Bookshare with digital files of professional and trade titles for their collection. more...
March 14, 2011
Palo Alto, CA - Benetech Launches “Accessible Books for Texas” with Funding from the Texas Education Agency
Project to Help Educators Use Accessible Instructional Materials with Students with Disabilities
Benetech today announced that it was recently awarded a contract with the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to conduct training and outreach on the benefits of accessible instructional materials (AIM) for K-12 students with disabilities in Texas. more…
January 26, 2011
Orlando, FL - Benetech Announces New Accessible e-Book Reader for Apple iOS devices - iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch Users Can Read Bookshare Books with Read2Go
At the 2011 ATIA (Assistive Technology Industry Association) conference in Orlando, Florida, Benetech®, the parent nonprofit for Bookshare®, announced Read2Go, a new accessible e-book application (app) developed in partnership with Shinano Kenshi Co., Ltd, known for its PLEXTALK® brand of digital talking book players. more...
January 26, 2011
Orlando, FL - Route 66 Literacy Provides Web-Based LiteracyInstruction for Adolescent and Adult Beginning Readers - Launch of Subscription Version Features Age-Appropriate, High-Interest Contents
Literacy experts at the Center for Literacy and Disability Studies (CLDS) of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, in partnership with Benetech®, have introduced a subscription version of Route 66 Literacy this winter. Route 66 Literacy is a flexible, dynamic, internet-based instructional program that provides literacy instruction to adolescent and beginning adult readers. Read the press release here.
October 21, 2010
Palo Alto, CA - Internet Archive and Bookshare Partner to Combine Search Results: Single Search Finds Public Domain and Copyrighted Titles in Accessible Formats
Internet Archive and Bookshare announced today at the Books in Browsers conference that they have entered into a partnership that provides Internet Archive users and Bookshare members the capability to search for digital accessible books from Bookshare on openlibrary.org. The ability to search Bookshare titles on openlibrary.org provides links to over 80,000 copyrighted titles, and further simplifies the process of finding an accessible book, thereby increasing ease of access to accessible books and periodicals for people with print disabilities. more...
October 4, 2010
Palo Alto, CA - Bookshare Celebrates Major Milestone: 100,000 Students: Exceeds target & serves more students
Bookshare®, a global leader in providing copyrighted, digital accessible books to people with print disabilities, today announced that 100,000 students now benefit from Bookshare’s collection of digital accessible books. Bookshare hit this target, a five-year goal set as part of the organization’s award from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, in under three years, demonstrating the tremendous need for accessible instructional materials in flexible formats to serve students with a range of qualifying print disabilities. more...
October 4, 2010
Palo Alto, CA - Blind Woman Uses Accessible Cookbooks from Bookshare to Cook on Rachael Ray Show
Chrissy Steltz, a woman who lost most of her face in a gun accident, and received the first-of-its-kind prosthetic face, will be on the Rachael Ray show in a segment featuring Bookshare. more...
September 30, 2010
Oxford, UK and Palo, Alto, CA, USA - Leading International Organization, CABI (Center for Agricultural Bioscience International), to Provide Collection of over 500 Scientific Publications to Bookshare
CABI, the Centre for Agricultural Bioscience International, has entered into an agreement with Bookshare to provide their collection of nearly 500 titles in the areas of agricultural, animal and veterinary sciences, environmental sciences, human health, food and nutrition, leisure and tourism, microbiology and parasitology, and plant sciences. more...
September 29, 2010
Palo Alto, CA - Partnerships in Multiple Countries Expand Bookshare Internationally
Bookshare International today announced partnerships with Vision Australia, Western Australia Association for the Blind, the South Africa Library for the Blind, TPB (The Swedish Library of Talking Books or Talboks-och punktskriftsbiblioteket), and NOTA, the Danish National Library for the Blind to make accessible books available for their citizens with print disabilities. more...
September 28, 2010
Vancouver, B.C. and Palo Alto, CA - University of British Columbia Press Becomes First Canadian Publisher to Partner with Bookshare
The University of British Columbia Press (UBC Press), one of the largest university presses in Canada, has entered into an agreement with Bookshare® granting world rights to its collection. more...
July 26, 2010
Palo Alto, CA - Bookshare Celebrates 20th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act with Free Membership Offer
In recognition of the 20th anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Bookshare announces a free membership opportunity for all Americans with qualifying print disabilities, regardless of age or student status. more...
July 6, 2010
Palo Alto, CA - Bookshare Crosses 100,000-Member Milestone
Bookshare, the world’s largest online accessible library of copyrighted content for individuals with print disabilities, today announced a milestone event – surpassing 100,000 qualified members around the world. more...
May 20, 2010
Cambridge, England and Palo Alto, CA - Cambridge University Press Grants Worldwide Digital Rights to Bookshare
Cambridge University Press has entered into a license agreement with Bookshare. more...
April 14, 2010
New York, NY and Palo Alto, CA - Simon & Schuster Provides Digital Files to Bookshare
To serve individuals and students with print disabilities and to provide timely access to digital books, Simon & Schuster has signed an agreement that will give Bookshare’s members access to an extensive selection of titles from all imprints. more...
April 14, 2010
Springfield, MA and Palo Alto, CA - Merriam-Webster Signs Agreement to Provide Digital Files with Worldwide Rights to Bookshare
Merriam-Webster, America's foremost publisher of language-related reference works, has signed an agreement to provide Bookshare with worldwide rights to its entire collection of key references works. more...
March 3, 2010
Palo Alto, CA - Benetech, with the WGBH National Center for Accessible Media and the U.S. Fund for DAISY, Receives $5 Million Award to Transform Production of Accessible Images
The U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), awarded $5 million to Benetech, in collaboration with The Carl and Ruth Shapiro Family National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM) at WGBH and the U.S. Fund for DAISY (USFDAISY), to create a research and development center that will... more...
