[bksvol-discuss] Fw: [Bookshare.org Newsletter] Bookshare.org Newsletter Spring 2006
- From: "siss52" <siss52@xxxxxxx>
- To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2006 07:08:45 -0500
Bookshare.org Spring, 2006 Newsletter
Hi all,
I, too, got the blank copies of this, but also got one which was accessible.
I am taking the liberty of forwarding this copy to both lists so that all of
you may read it.
Sue S.
----- Original Message -----
From: Gustavo Galindo
To: bookshare.org@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Wednesday, April 12, 2006 3:34 PM
Subject: [Bookshare.org Newsletter] Bookshare.org Newsletter Spring 2006
Spring, 2006
Now over 26,250 Books on our site!
Welcome to the Bookshare.org Newsletter
Spring, 2006
In this issue:
New Alternative Media Manager
Accessible Tax Forms
Bookshare.org has New York Times® Best Sellers
Game of Shadows available
Top 10 Downloads for March
Top Public Domain Downloads
Expanded NFB®-Newsline Service
Institutional Access Going Strong
No-cost Spanish-language subscriptions
AFB Assistive Tech Guide
ACC Devices Overview
Earn a Free or Discounted Subscription
About Bookshare.org
Unsubscribe from this newsletter
Bookshare.org Newsletter, Spring, 2006-Hello. I'm gustavo
galindo, the Manager of the Bookshare.org Website, and the editor of this
newsletter. Bookshare.org is the on-line digital library of accessible books
with over 26,250 books and periodicals. If you met us for the first time at
one of the conferences we attended from January through March: ATIA, TRLD,
CTVEH, NYBIDA, CSUN, or CEC; this is the first newsletter you receive from
us. It's my pleasure to bring you up to date on the latest happenings at
Bookshare.org, share a bit of what we're working on in 2006, and point you
to additional resources available to the print-disabled community.
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Jennifer Sutton Joins Bookshare.org as our Alternative Media
Manager!-Jennifer Sutton, one of the earliest members of Bookshare.org, has
recently joined the staff as the Manager of Alternative Media. She brings to
the staff a knowledge of accessible publishing best practices, an
understanding of current standards, including DAISY and NIMAS, and an
enthusiasm for books of high quality. We are especially excited to tap into
Jennifer's ability to work with our post-secondary partners and publishers
to bring more books into the collection.
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Accessible Tax Products, Just in Time for April 15-April 15 is
still the deadline for filing your tax returns. Visit the accessibility page
(in a new browser window) on www.irs.gov/accessibility/index.html for a
current list of the accessible tax products available by download. If you
can not find the product you are looking for on our website, please call the
IRS at (800) 829-3676.
The IRS Alternative Media Center has prepared hundreds of its
most asked-for forms and publications using full text descriptions. These
forms are available for download directly from the IRS; most are in ASCII
format, a few were prepared in HTML and have been transcribed for Braille:
a.. Download Accessible Tax Forms (Braille and Text Formats)
b.. Download Accessible Tax Publications (Braille and Text
Formats)
c.. Download Accessible Talking Tax Forms
The IRS Wants Your Help!
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has been testing the Digital
Talking Book (DTB) format for over two years and in 2005 began distributing
internal training materials in this format to its employees with print
disabilities. Now the IRS would like to determine the level of public
acceptance for documents distributed in this format. Would you like to
influence the accessibility of future products from the IRS?
If you are interested in reviewing this technology, let the IRS
know. You will receive a CD containing Publication 17 "Your Federal Income
Tax" in DTB format bundled with a DTB software player and a short feedback
form. In addition, you will receive software installation instructions in
the format of your preference. To participate, you will need a computer with
following minimum requirements:
· Pentium II Processor
· 128 MB RAM
· Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000 or Windows XP
· Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0
· Sound card (required for speech output)
If you want to participate, please e-mail the IRS at
altmc@xxxxxxx with the following information:
· Name
· Shipping address
· Format preference - Braille, large print or regular
print
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Latest Best Sellers on Bookshare.org!-Continuing our efforts to
bring to our subscribers the same books everybody else is reading, we're
happy to announce that we're in the process of adding the following New York
Times® Best Sellers for March, 2006 to our collection:
a.. The House by Danielle Steel
b.. The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult
c.. Dirty Blonde by Lisa Scottoline
d.. The Templar Legacy by Steve Berry
e.. False Impression by Jeffrey Archer
f.. Misquoting Jesus by Bart D. Ehrman
g.. The Brothers Bulger by Howie Carr
h.. Left to Tell by Immaculée Ilibagiza
i.. You're Wearing That? by Deborah Tannen
j.. Fatal Burn by Lisa Jackson
k.. Kill the Messenger by Tami Hoag
l.. Pretty Woman by Fern Michaels
m.. Devil In Winter by Lisa Kleypas
n.. The Covenant With Black America by Tavis Smiley (editor)
o.. Smashed by Koren Zailckas
p.. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
These titles will be available to our subscribers both in BRF
and DAISY soon. Check for them on our New Books page. To see other recent
New York Times® Best Sellers available on Bookshare.org, visit our New York
Times® Best Sellers page online.
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Game of Shadows Now Available on Bookshare.org-The book that has
been in the headlines for over a month is available in both BRF and DAISY on
Bookshare.org; Game of Shadows : Barry Bonds, BALCO, and the Steroids
Scandal that Rocked Professional Sports by Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance
Williams, and our subscribers can download it now.
To see what other books we've recently added to our collection
of online accessible books, now numbering over 26,250 titles, visit our New
Books page in a new browser window.
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Bookshare.org Top 10 downloads for March 2006-We did a little
digging into our records, and came up with a fun list that will be a regular
feature on the Bookshare.org homepage, our own "best sellers". Here are the
top ten most downloaded books from Bookshare.org:
· The 5th Horseman by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
· The Last Templar by Raymond Khoury
· Memory in Death by J. D. Robb
· Alone by Lisa Gardner
· Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
· Sea Change (a Jesse Stone Novel) by Robert B. Parker
· Cell by Stephen King
· The Hostage by W. E. B. Griffin
· The Beatles by Norman Lebrecth, Allan Kozinn
· Grape Expectations by Tamar Myers
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Public Domain Top 10 for March 2006-Did you know that public
domain books available on Bookshare.org are freely available to anyone at
anytime? You don't have to be a subscriber, you don't have to have a
qualifying print disability. You don't even have to log in. We have some
3,500 public domain titles, which we offer in DAISY, BRF plus HTML and Text
(ASCII).
The top ten most downloaded public domain titles in March of
2006 were:
· The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
· Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
· The Call of the Wild by Jack London
· A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
· Little Lord Fauntleroy by Frances Hodgson Burnett
· Moby Dick by Herman Melville
· Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
· Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
· Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas by Jules Verne
· The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
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Expanded NFB-Newsline® Services Through Bookshare.org-We
continue to expand and improve our offerings of NFB-Newsline® periodicals.
Now over 125 newspapers and magazines are available for download in DAISY
and BRF formats to our subscribers who reside in Newsline®-funding states.
We've recently added The Washington Post. Aside from adding more titles,
Bookshare.org has improved the layout and presentation of NFB-Newsline®
periodicals. Check out our improved NFB-Newsline® pages, or check if your
state funds this service and visit our Newspapers and Periodicals
Information Page. Click here to read the full press release from Benetech
and NFB-Newsline in a new browser window.
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Bookshare.org Doubles its Institutional Access Subscribers in a
Year-From March 2005 to March 2006, the number of persons receiving
Bookshare.org books through Institutional Access book blocks more than
doubled. Institutional Access allows schools and groups to pre-purchase a
set number of books then make them available to qualifying students.
Institutional Access is a great solution for schools that have a number of
qualifying students with directed reading needs. Our institutional Access
Book Packages begin at 30 books for $300. Visit our website to learn more
about our Institutional Access Program, or contact Susie Mckinnon, our
School and Group Accounts Manager, groupaccounts@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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No-Cost Subscriptions for California Residents who speak
Spanish-Bookshare.org still has a limited number of year-long no-cost
subscriptions available to Spanish-speakers who reside in California.
Qualified individuals receive access at no charge for a full year to our
Spanish-language titles, newspapers as well as our English-language
collection. Interested individuals or those who want more information should
contact Susie Mckinnon, our School and Group Accounts Manager,
groupaccounts@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx Click here to view a list of Spanish-language
titles currently available on Bookshare.org.
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AFB Press Publishes Guide to Assistive Technology Products-The
American Foundation for the Blind recently published the AccessWorld® 2006
Guide to Assistive Technology Products. This guide profiles more than 200
assistive technology products that enable people with vision loss to live
and work independently. Edited by Jay Leventhal, the book is available both
in paperback and on disk; more details are available at www.afb.org/store.
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Overview of Augmentative Alternative Communication (AAC) Devices
in QUEST Magazine-In the recent Muscular Dystrophy Association's QUEST
Magazine, there's a great article "Technology Narrows the Gap"
(http://www.mdausa.org/publications/Quest/q131narrow_gap.cfm) where
"advances in communication and mobility have brought people with
disabilities to the brink of bionics." "....One way is by reading books,
newspapers and magazines online. A student featured in the article,
Christamae Zimpel subscribes to an online collection of digital books. "I
wouldn't have been able to read Harry Potter or any of the other hundred
books I've downloaded thus far [without this service]," she explained.
"Reading allows me to escape to a different world and become someone else."
The article describes how with the use of AAC devices Zimpel and others are
informed, integrated and contributing to society.
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Earn Your Subscription to Bookshare.org-We certainly understand
that even at $75.00 for an annual subscription, that amount is beyond the
means of some people. However, because we designed our service on a
community-based model, any user can use sweat-equity to earn a free
subscription. In the first three months of 2006, 20 individuals earned
entirely free subscriptions to Bookshare.org. Over 50 members reduced their
subscription costs. Our members earn credits that defray their subscription
costs every time they submit new or improved books or volunteer to validate
submitted books. Please do remember that only individuals who provide us
with documentation of a qualifying print-disability can become subscribers.
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About Bookshare.org, Books without Barriers-Bookshare.org is an
online community that enables people in the United States with visual or
other print disabilities to legally share scanned books.
Bookshare.org is a project of the Benetech Initiative, a
nonprofit organization. The Benetech team originally developed the
Arkenstone reading systems, and is now using the power of technology to
introduce new projects such as Bookshare.org.
· www.benetech.org (opens a new browser window)
The Benetech Initiative
480 California Ave., Suite 201
Palo Alto, CA 94306
USA
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How to unsubscribe-You received this newsletter because you
indicated that preference when you signed up for Bookshare.org, or when you
visited our booth at a conference. If you prefer not to receive this
newsletter, simply reply to this email and indicate your preference in your
response, or send email to admin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
How to subscribe-Stay in touch with the developments of
Bookshare.org through the quarterly email newsletter. Sign up to receive the
newsletter by sending an email with "subscribe" in the subject line to
bookshare-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx Join our online discussion group by sending
an email with "subscribe" in the subject line to
bookshare-discuss-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[--return to table of contents--]
www.bookshare.org
Flexibility
Download accessible books in DAISY or BRF formats--which
work with most adaptive technologies
Subscription Options
Sign up for an Individual Subscription or School and Group
Account
Accessibility
Subscriptions are ideal for qualifying students and adults
who are Visually-Impaired, Learning Disabled or Mobility Impaired
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Learn More Today
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Bookshare.org was created and is maintained by Benetech, a
nonprofit organization. Copyright © 2001-2006. All other product names are
the trademarks of their respective manufacturers.
The Bookshare trademark is used under license from its
registered owner, Follett Library Resources division of Follett Corporation.
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