Hi, Kelly! Just to clarify; Nichole wanted to use her graduation money to go to ALA to meet an Ohio Librarian friend who arranged an invite to the Schneider Family award luncheon, celebrating children's authors who write for or about kids with disabilities. Said librarian friend, a past chair of the Schneider Family award committee also wangled a floor pass for Nichole and I. When we realized the potential, we emailed Scott, who after discussing it with Robin Seaman, Publisher Liaison, told us to collect cards and simply make an introduction. Some people were more comfortable donating books (giveaways at ALA are of epic proportions) that we could scan as volunteers, and so we accepted donations we would add personally. We also thanked the publishers already in partnership with Bookshare and showed them how their books made a difference. A cool side note on this. Nichole met an author, Myron Uhlberg, who was instantly attracted to Nichole. We were buying a copy of his most recent book, "A Hurricane Named Katrina" as well as one of his older titles that Nichole wanted for a friend. When we got to Myron for an autograph, he spoke to Nichole and told her he wanted her feedback. She asked to have a picture made with him and he was tickled. When I asked if he wanted a copy, he gave us his email and that night when we sent it, he emailed back immediately with his personal contact information. He keeps in contact with Nichole, even called her on Christmas Day (best Christmas present ever!), and hopes to write a children's book with her one day. We are so excited that he and so many others saw Nichole's passion for accessible reading. Valerie Keep up with Nichole's recovery: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/nicholemaples ----- Original Message ---- > From: Kelly Pierce <kkellyp@xxxxxxxxx> > To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > Sent: Tue, January 31, 2012 4:25:07 PM > Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: book request > > Learning about the efforts of Nichole Maples motivated me to do better > and seek greater leverage in my work with Bookshare. As many know, > Nichole uses a wheelchair, cannot talk out loud, and has limited use > of her hands. Despite these and other barriers, her aspiration for an > accessible world for print-disabled people led her to travel to New > Orleans from her Mississippi home to ask publishers to partner with > Bookshare for greater accessibility. Her leadership and vision led me > to adopt my publisher/author contact policy. If Nichole and Valerie > can go to New Orleans to ask publishers and authors, then we certainly > can write and ask from our keyboards in our own homes. > > To clarify, the initial letter to authors and publishers introduces > myself as a blind person wanting access to a particular book. I > explain how scanning and proofing is time consuming and tedious and > introduce Bookshare as a solution to the accessibility problem. I > also explain how commercial e-books systems, like the Kindle, offer > limited to meaningless accessibility. I describe what Bookshare is and > what it does and provide the e-mail address and telephone number for > robin. Any response received is forwarded to robin as well. As > Valerie said, robin has experience in the publishing world and can > answer all the questions regarding copyright and protection of > intellectual property. Robin expertly represents Bookshare and its > impact upon the lives of people with disabilities. > > Yet, while robin can smartly represent Bookshare, she cannot represent > me. Like Nichole Maples, I am a real live person with a disability who > faces artificial accessibility barriers that can be solved with a > signature and a Bookshare partnership. Many businesses report that > they never hear from people with disabilities about the access > barriers faced. I and others can certainly speak about our needs and > what is possible. > > Kelly To unsubscribe from this list send a blank Email to bksvol-discuss-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx put the word 'unsubscribe' by itself in the subject line. To get a list of available commands, put the word 'help' by itself in the subject line.