Hello Everyone, I just finished listening to an interview of Jim fruchterman on ACB Radio. I found it very informative. I realize that the audio format may not be accessible to everyone, particularly deaf and blind individuals. I took notes during the meeting, and would like to share them with others. I believe I got down most of the important information. If you have questions or comments, E-mail me at allisonh@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Jim fruchterman Interview. ACB Radio Tuesday, February 26, 2008. * Bookshare.org is a legal website where people can download accessible digital books. * Jim got the idea from his son using Napster in the 90s. * Bookshare has several formats including Daisy, BRF (Braille), HTML, and XML. * 90% of books on Bookshare are donated by members. * Bookshare books are text and not human narrated. * VR Reader Soft does not yet work with Mac computers. * Mac users can use Win or K1000 to use Daisy books. There are also hardware options.* Bookshare memberships cost $75 for the first year and $50 for each year after that.
* There are free memberships for students paid for by the department of education. * Benetech is hoping to reach 100,000 students over time. *Most textbooks will be available to all members except for NIMAC K-12 books.* NIMAC stands for National Instructional Material Accessibility Center. New
laws are requiring publishers to provide NIMAC quality books for all K-12 textbooks. * Bookshare is beginning to add NIMAC books to the collection. These books are only available to K-12 students. * Jim said that he and several people advocated for other individuals, such as blind parents, to have access to NIMAC books, but the publishers resisted. * If one sends a book to Bookshare, we will scan it with a turn around of approximately 3-4 weeks. * Benetech is working on a partnership with a major book publisher that willallow a user who is looking for a certain book to click a link on the site, request the book,
buy it, the publisher will scan it, and send to Bookshare where it will be ran through OCR. Approximately 6-9 months in the works. *Most of the books on Bookshare are "trade books." * Bookshare has literature, best sellers, and nonfiction books. * we have a growing collection of textbooks for both college and K-12 students. * Several thousand new textbooks will be made available over the next couple of years. * One can download newspapers and magazines from Bookshare. There are currently 150 papers available. * Bookshare is working on developing a collection of reference books. * The Harper Collins books are available world-wide. * WE are currently adding books from Harper Collins to the collection. We have so many that we aren't able to get synopses uploaded with each one. * Bookshare does not want to hold back on publishing books before a synopsis can be written. * Bookshare is working on a system in which a book's synopsis can be automatically included with a book through one providing the book's ISBN. This is not an option yet, but in the works. * We are working on adding book synopses. If you would like to suggest a synopsis for a book, E-mail it to allisonh@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Note that synopses from Amazon and other websites are not permitted. * Individuals can sign up to volunteer for Bookshare by submitting or validating books. To learn more, visit our website or E-mail volunteer@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx * One does not need to be disabled in order to be a volunteer. * Jim says that this year is a year of transition as we are adding new books, new members, and new assistive technology. * There are two Bookshare E-mail lists that interested individuals can join. Visit the Bookshare website or www.freelists.org to learn more. * Jim encouraged everyone to sign up for Bookshare by visiting www.bookshare.org. This concludes my summary of the ACB RadioJim fruchterman Interview. I tried to record all the information, but it is possible that I have left something out. If you have questions or comments, please contact me using the info provided at the bottom of this message.
Best, Allison Hilliker: Benetech (Bookshare.org). Phone (623) 221-1026 E-mail allisonh@xxxxxxxxxxxx www.bookshare.orgThe Benetech Initiative - Technology Serving Humanity - A Nonprofit Organization
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