All About Bookshare.org

Bookshare.org is an internet-based, digital library funded by award monies through the U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). This resource avails anybody with a print disability access to materials in print. Students in grades kindergarten up to age 26 who have specific learning disabilities, are visually impaired or who are physically disabled are eligible to use Bookshare free of charge.
An online library, Bookshare is helpful for students who have mild to moderate disabilities, because its collection includes not only books, but textbooks, magazines and newspapers as well. Readers can browse, request and download items any day of the week, at any hour.
Bookshare memberships include individual, organizational and gift.
Individual: Offered freely to anyone who has a qualifying disability, whether in public school, private, home-school post-secondary or adult education. In addition to having an individual account set up, these members can also be included through organizational membership. If under age 18, students need parental permission to obtain membership. Cost is $75 for all other individuals in the United States. Costs vary for those outside the U.S. Up to 100 books per month may be downloaded!
Organizational: Membership is free for the following: schools, libraries, rehabilitation facilities, resource agencies, retirement communities and group homes inside and outside the U.S. that work with people who have print disabilities. Cost varies for all other U.S. organizations (by the quantity of books used) and international organizations.
Staff members download books for students and clients, providing Bookshare with both a roster of sponsors and members.
Gift memberships: Benefit those who have qualifying disabilities. Through gift membership, books may also be ordered in Braille. Recipients of gift memberships register on the website and provide Proof of Disability.
ADVANTAGES FOR STUDENTS WITH MILD TO MODERATE DISABILITIES:
Struggling readers have access to print items in alternate forms, such as enlarging the text, changing its color, font, putting fewer words on a page and following the text while listening to a narrator. This last option, known as a text-to-speech, also lets readers choose the tone of the narrator’s voice and how fast they want the text read. Text-to-speech programs such as Read:OutLoud are downloadable and read files in Microsoft word, Microsoft internet, PDF files and emails.
Although Bookshare is available for students beginning at the kindergarten level, it’s recommended for students in upper elementary grades (and beyond) if reading strategies have proven unsuccessful. Secondary education includes multiple teachers and greater expectations, which can be overwhelming to students who find reading difficult.
How do teachers provide support to students? Through Bookshare, teachers can help students access books as easily as students who don’t have disabilities. The best case scenario is that teachers will help students change their attitudes about reading by helping them enjoy reading and succeed at learning by reading. Alex Clark, a 13-year-old student at Lowville Academy in Lowville, New York, states in a promotional video that Bookshare makes him feel smart. Reading through Bookshare helps him know what’s going on, whereas before, he didn’t understand what he read. Having text-to-speech access makes it easier for him to pay attention and relax. The information stays with him and has helped him raise his grades, he says. He is now prepared for tests and finds them “easy”. Testimonials from other users note that Bookshare helps them focus. The words on the page “move” through highlighting. Reading becomes easier, is more accurate and helps students gain independence.
For more information, go to Bookshare.org and http://twitter.com/BookShare and http://atclassroom.blogspot.com/2007/10/bookshare.html