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Donate to Bookshare.org and Help Bring Books to People with Disabilities
Donate online using your credit card now, or scroll down to read more about Bookshare.org and alternate donation options. Your generosity helps ensure that individuals with visual or learning disabilities gain timely access to important books just like everybody else. Imagine not having a textbook for the first class assignment of a semester or not being able to read the latest best-seller when everybody is talking about it: you and Bookshare.org can make this impossible dream possible for people with disabilities.
The power of Bookshare.org is its ability to make a large number of books available quickly and at low cost through the use of technology. Learn about how print books are made accessible.
Books are downloaded by members in easy-to-use digital formats that can be read aloud using synthetic speech software or converted to Braille. Once an individual is signed up, reading material can be accessed within minutes. Learn more about how individuals read accessible digital books.
In addition to helping add books to our collection, your donation also enables us to make exciting additions to the service. Learn about the improvements your donation will help make possible.
There are several ways you can help to grow Bookshare.org's collection of accessible books:
Monetary Donation
Make a tax deductible donation to Bookshare.org either online using your credit card or by check via the mail.
Become a Volunteer
Individuals who volunteer their time either at our offices in Palo Alto, California or remotely via the Internet play a critical in making Bookshare.org possible. Follow this link to find out more about what volunteers do and how you can get involved.
Scan and Submit Books Electronically
If you have electronic books that you would like to share with Bookshare.org subscribers, please read more about our book submission process.
Donate a Copy of a Requested Book
If you own a printed copy of one of the books on our subscriber wish list and would like to donate it Bookshare.org, please mail it to:
Bookshare.org Book Donation
480 S. California Ave
Suite 201
Palo Alto, CA 94306
How We Add Books to our Collection
We add books to our digital collection by scanning a new book or textbook. Developed over several years, this approach is far more efficient and less expensive than traditional services that convert printed materials using human narrators or Braille typists. We have successfully reduced the time required to provide a book in an accessible format from months or years to days while doing so at a cost that is as much as 75 times less expensive than traditional methods.
Here's how we do it:
Book purchase/procurement: We obtain a new book either by purchasing it or having it donated. Decisions on which books to purchase are made based on user requests and surveys, best-seller lists, book award winners and recommendations from teachers and school administrators. Book scanning and file conversion: A volunteer or staff member scans the book into a computer using equipment similar to a photocopy machine and then runs it through optical character recognition software to convert the scanned image into a digital text file. Basic editing of the book is done to ensure successful scans on all of the pages and proper recognition of page breaks and chapters. This step typically takes between two and four hours, based on the size and complexity of the book. Verification/Proofreading: After a book has been scanned, a second volunteer reviews the book for basic quality (e.g., book title, author, and copyright notice are correct, the book is complete, etc). This volunteer has the option to proofread the book to the degree that s/he thinks necessary. Our volunteers are very detail-oriented and take great pride in ensuring high quality books. The time required for this step varies based on the length and type of book. Textbooks, for example, are longer and more complicated than the average literature book. As a result, much more time and effort is required for this stage.
After the volunteer resubmits the edited book file, our software transforms it from a simple text format to an accessible book format with relevant headings, page tags, and other important features. Final Review and Uploading to Bookshare.org website: In the final step, all books are reviewed by a Bookshare.org staff member who verifies the book information and provides the final determination of whether to add it to our collection. Once final approval is given, the book is made available to Bookshare.org members for download in two accessible digital formats from the Bookshare.org website.
A recently enacted exception in the U.S. copyright law makes Bookshare.org possible under the law in the United States, as long as the copyrighted digital books are only available to people with qualifying disabilities.
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How Individuals Read Accessible Digital Books
Just as all of us have individual preferences in the types of books we like to read, we also wish to read at our own pace, in the setting of our choosing and in the format that we like best (e.g., enlarged print, audiotape, etc.). By providing the full text of a book in digital format, Bookshare.org ensures that individuals with disabilities, like those without, can access reading materials in the method that best suits their needs and preferences.
One of the primary access methods used by Bookshare.org members is text-to-speech software programs that read the digital books aloud in a computerized voice. One such talking software program is included with membership to Bookshare.org. All of the Bookshare.org books are also available in digital Braille format. Books in this format can be printed on paper using Braille printers or read using electronic refreshable Braille devices. Lastly, our digital files are fully compatible with software programs used by individuals with either low vision or learning disabilities. These software programs provide both text-to-speech capability and/or visual support such as text enlargement and highlighting.
Bookshare.org provides multiple options for each of the communities it serves:
Visual Impairments. Members have several choices: listen to books with a computer voice using text-to-speech, read books in Braille or access the material in large print. Hard copy Braille books can also be ordered--these are then mailed by a partner organization that specializes in producing embossed Braille books. Members with low vision can read books in an enlarged font using either a screen magnifier or by opening the book in a software program that supports increased font size, color, contrast, etc. Learning Disabilities. The range of issues encompassed by the term "Learning Disabilities" means that the ability to customize access to an individual's learning needs is critical. Having the full text of books available enables "bimodal" access-both visual and audio (through text to speech). Many great software programs exist that provide a range of reading support specifically designed for individuals with learning disabilities, including highlighting and masking of text as it is read, changing margin, word, paragraph and line-spacing, and setting custom background and print colors. Mobility Impairments. Members can read books on a computer or a variety of portable devices, either visually or using text-to-speech. Bookshare.org books are as easy or easier to access than books on tape and may be controlled with an individual's single-switch or other adaptive listening device. Final Review and Uploading to Bookshare.org website: In the final step, all books are reviewed by a Bookshare.org staff member who verifies the book information and provides the final determination of whether to add it to our collection. Once final approval is given, the book is made available to Bookshare.org members for download in two accessible digital formats from the Bookshare.org website.
A recently enacted exception in the U.S. copyright law makes Bookshare.org possible under the law in the United States, as long as the copyrighted digital books are only available to people with qualifying disabilities.
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Your Donations Help Bookshare.org With Future Enhancements and Additions
Bookshare.org is constantly interacting with members, schools and other accessible book providers to find out how we can make access to printed material even better. Here are a few things on our "Wish List" of projects that we hope to be able to tackle with your support:
Provide daily newspapers for download to be read on the go. Today, it is nearly impossible for somebody with a disability to read the morning paper on the train on the way to work. Add magazines to the collection. Current events, industry trends for work, or just a favorite magazine to flip through. Wouldn't it be great to have this material available and easy to read? Improve our website book search. This search was designed to be most usable with fewer than 15,000 books. We're approaching 20,000 and growing fast--it's time to upgrade! Work more closely with publishers to help them meet their legal accessibility requirements. Format conversion from publishers' image-only print files is the major stumbling block in this arena, and we'd like to invest in a solution that would help crack this nut. Expand to serve individuals outside of the United States. We'd need to work with publishers to get their permission to do so to be able to move in this direction. Help us make inroads in this important initiative!
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