Hi, Jamie. I've already seen that many people have chimed in with this discussion, but for me, I prefer Bookshare. I do download some braille files from NLS's Web Braille, but Bookshare has given me so much more that if it's available from Bookshare, that's almost always where I get it. Bookshare has more of a selection, for one thing. Bookshare is able to get books quicker than NLS, and Bookshare has titles that NLS would never get. For me, anyway, Bookshare just has so much more to offer, but at the same time, they both have their place and I'm grateful to have both of them. NLS has talking books which I don't use because of my hearing impairment. If people can use their talking books, maybe they don't feel so cheated when it comes to getting titles in a more timely manner, but even with talking books, you can count on waiting a while, usually. That's another reason why I love Bookshare...I have access to every title they have, unlike with NLS. Take care. -- Julie Morales Email & Windows/MSN Messenger: mercy421@xxxxxxxxxxx Skype mercy0421 AIM mercylab421 http://juliemorales.avonrepresentative.com/ Currently in Winchester Regional, Virginia Partly Cloudy, 77°F Wind:ESE-110° at 9mph gusting to 16mph WRINKLES: Something other people have. You have character lines. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jamie Yates" <jamieyates@xxxxxxxxxxx> To: "Bookshare Volunteers" <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Monday, May 07, 2007 9:41 AM Subject: [bksvol-discuss] NLS vs. Bookshare My friend sent this to me and asked me to ask opinions of the Bookshare volunteers. You can email me privately if you wish offlist at jamieyates@xxxxxxxxxxx My feeling is that for $50 a year for pretty much unlimited books, Bookshare does a very valuable service. I don't know and understand completely how NLS works but from helping her with some problems I spent a long time on hold with the Cleveland library trying to sort out her NLS account (she doesn't have a Braille tty set up right now) and they were very helpful but it takes time to get a physical book in the mail. With Bookshare the access is instant. As a sighted person, I'm almost jealous! I have to drive 10 miles to the library to get the books I want. and then I can only keep them for 3 weeks. So I think Bookshare is pretty great and I tell people about it all of the time. Anyway here is what she is asking: Jamie, This is from on of my DB friends. I thought you could share with the Bookshare Volunteer list and send me any good things they have to say. (and your feelings too) a debate going on about Bookshare and National Library Service which should be providing braille readers with ANY braille book they wish to read free of charge. One member said she knew of others who could not afford to pay the $50 annual fee for Bookshare, and neither could she. Another said that she'd like to be able to curl up in a chair and read a brailled book. She's not sure how to download a book and convert it into braille. I don't know anything about how to do this. I was wondering if you could give your view on Bookshare vs NLS and what the advantages or disadvantages are. Why isn't the NLS doing what Bookshare is doing? Jamie in Michigan Currently reading: Ceremony in Death - J.D. Robb 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.