Bookshare

{{Infobox library

| name = Bookshare

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| country = United States

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| collection_size = 903,068 titles (July 2020)

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| director = Fred Slone (Director of Operations){{cite web|url=https://www.bookshare.org/cms/about/our-leadership|title=Leadership|publisher=Bookshare|access-date=July 11, 2020}}

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| website = {{URL|https://www.bookshare.org/}}

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Bookshare is an online library of accessible ebooks for people with print disabilities, such as visual impairment, severe dyslexia, and cerebral palsy.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/11/02/10book_ep.h31.html|title=Digital Book-Sharing Unlocks Print for Students|magazine=Education Week|date=November 1, 2011|first=Nirvi|last=Shah|access-date=July 11, 2020}} An initiative of Benetech, a social enterprise organization based in Palo Alto, California, it was founded in 2001 by Jim Fruchterman.{{cite news|url=https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/23193/for-dyslexic-and-visually-impaired-students-a-free-high-tech-solution|title=For Dyslexic and Visually Impaired Students, a Free High-Tech Solution|publisher=KQED|work=MindShift|date=August 10, 2012|access-date=July 11, 2020}}{{cite news|url=https://techcrunch.com/2017/11/01/palo-altos-benetech-wins-42-5m-dept-of-education-contract-to-help-the-blind-read/|title=Palo Alto nonprofit Benetech wins a $42.5M Dept. of Education grant, a nod to founder Jim Fruchterman's quest to help the blind|work=TechCrunch|first=Ned|last=Desmond|date=November 1, 2017|access-date=July 11, 2020}} Bookshare provides books in DAISY, EPUB, BRF (Braille refreshable format), MP3, and Microsoft Word document formats.{{cite web|url=https://www.bookshare.org/cms/help-center/which-formats-are-books-available|title=In which formats are the books available?|publisher=Bookshare|access-date=July 11, 2020}} Books have been contributed by volunteers, authors, libraries, universities, and publishers. By 2010 more than half of books had been contributed by publishers and by 2020 more than 900 publishers had partnered with Bookshare, contributing to its library of more than 900,000 books.{{cite web|url=https://www.bookshare.org/cms/about|title=About|publisher=Bookshare|access-date=July 27, 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://edtechdigest.com/2011/02/01/interview-sharing-books-with-jim-fruchterman/|title=Sharing Books with Jim Fruchterman|work=EdTech Digest|first=Mark|last=Gross|date=February 1, 2011|access-date=July 11, 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://www.bookshare.org/cms/partners/publishers|title=Publishers|publisher=Bookshare|access-date=July 11, 2020}}

Since 2007, Bookshare has received awards from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), to provide free access for all U.S. students with a qualifying print disability, with the five-year allocation from 2017 to 2022 totaling $42.5 million. Similar programs have been set up in the United Kingdom and Ireland.{{cite news|url=https://www.rnib.org.uk/rnib-partners-benetech-deliver-online-resource-print-disabled-learners|title=RNIB partners with Benetech to deliver online resource for print disabled learners|publisher=Royal National Institute of Blind People|date=March 23, 2016|access-date=July 11, 2020}}{{cite news|url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/digital-library-to-empower-visually-impaired-students-963928.html|title=Digital library to 'empower' visually impaired students|work=The Daily Examiner|date=November 14, 2019|first=Jess|last=Casey|access-date=July 11, 2020}} Bookshare also partners with libraries and blindness organizations around the world.{{cite web|url=https://www.bookshare.org/cms/bookshare-me/what-does-it-cost/our-membership-partners|title=Our membership partners|publisher=Bookshare|access-date=July 11, 2020}}

References

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