[Arizona-students] Fw: Bookshare University Newsletter Special Edition
Allison, NFBA
nfbarizona at gmail.com
Tue Dec 14 17:51:30 UTC 2010
Bookshare NewsletterSent: Thursday, December 09, 2010 4:24 PM
Subject: Bookshare University Newsletter Special Edition
Bookshare® University Newsletter
Special Edition
Recently there have been questions surrounding Bookshare’s publishers, policies, formats and processes. Here are the questions we receive most often from college and university alternate media specialists. How many of the answers do you know?
a.. Has Random House or another publisher referred you to Bookshare to find a digital book? Access your books quickly and easily from Bookshare.
b.. How many publishers work with Bookshare?
c.. How much does a university pay to join Bookshare as an organizational member?
d.. What are the file formats of Bookshare books?
e.. How can my students read Bookshare books?
f.. Do I have to give my student’s name when I register them through my school’s organizational membership?
g.. Is it legal to get books from Bookshare?
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a.. Has Random House or another publisher referred you to Bookshare to find a digital book? If so, you can access that publisher’s books quickly and easily from Bookshare.
Using the Advanced Search Function (title, author, publisher and/or ISBN) you should locate the book you need. If not, there may be three possible reasons:
a.. Your preferences may be set to block adult content. Many books from novels to biology books can be classified as having adult content because of some of the terminology in the books. You can unblock this content by resetting your preferences. Go to “My Account” and change the setting.
b.. The book may still be in a queue waiting to be uploaded.
c.. The book may not have been uploaded to Bookshare by the publisher.
If you don’t see the book after changing your preferences and searching again, please contact us (www.bookshare.org/contactUs). We can look for it in the queue or request a copy from the publisher.
a.. How many publishers work with Bookshare?
Bookshare has relationships with over 80 publishers who give us digital files.
When a college or university AT specialist requests a digital file from a publisher for legitimate use by a qualified student with print disabilities, some publishers are beginning to refer that person to Bookshare to find the requested book.
a.. How much does a university pay to join Bookshare as an organizational member?
Thanks to an award from the Office of Special Education Programs, Department of Education, Bookshare memberships are free for qualified students and the educational organizations that serve them. To become a member, an individual (or organization applying for membership on that student’s behalf) must show proof of disability from a certifying professional in order to qualify to access Bookshare books and two free reading tools on the Bookshare site.
a.. What are the file formats of Bookshare books?
Bookshare books are in both DAISY and BRF (Braille Ready Format) formats.
DAISY 3 books allow for full navigation and are read by most of the reading tools and software currently on the market. Programs like Kurzweil, Read and Write Gold, Don Johnston’s READ: Out Loud and other programs “read” Bookshare books easily. BRF files are compatible with speech/Braille software. Bookshare books can also be converted to text files and other formats including MP3 files so that students have flexibility in how they access content.
a.. How can my students read Bookshare books?
Free software for reading DAISY digital books. Your Bookshare membership includes free versions of Humanware’s Victor Reader Soft Bookshare Edition and Don Johnston’s READ:OutLoud Bookshare Edition. Don Johnston also provides a training video for their READ:OutLoud software. Both DAISY readers have bookmarking, note taking, and text enlargement capabilities eliminating the need for further file conversions.
Other software and hardware options. You can also read your book in a browser with a screen reader (a good option for Mac Users), in other DAISY reading software (like eClipseReader and Book Wizard), with a portable device, or listen to it on an MP3 player. For more details, visit the Reading Tools page.
Embossed Braille. You can create hard copy Braille books with a Braille embosser. To create an embossed Braille file, download the DAISY file and use with your Braille translation software.
a.. Do I have to give my student’s name when I register them through my school’s organizational membership?
It is possible to create pseudonyms for students on a school’s organizational roster – in fact, a few schools do.
Bookshare understands the need for student privacy. A better answer to the question of privacy is to encourage the student to create an individual membership so that they can independently find and download books on their own. The student – not the school -- becomes responsible for giving us their contact information.(Students under 18 will still need their parent’s or guardian’s signature.)
We recognize that not all students are capable of managing their own accounts, so in those cases, having the DSPS office create a membership using a pseudonym can be an acceptable alternative. This shouldn’t be necessary, however. With its strict privacy policy requiring protection of student data, Bookshare believes that it qualifies under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). As an agency under contract with educational agencies, Bookshare has the same obligation to protect student personal data as the education agency. Read more about Bookshare’s privacy policy.
The use of pseudonyms, while on one level protecting students’ privacy can sometimes complicate students’ ability to obtain books in accessible formats later on. Students listed under a pseudonym at a college or university who want an individual memberships or who transfer to another school are likely to have to resubmit their proof of disability by themselves or through their new school.
On the other hand, students registered under their own names in college can continue their Bookshare membership from school to school, and request their own memberships, because Bookshare has their proof of disability.
If a DSPS office still wants to create a pseudonym for a student, they need to contact Bookshare’s membership services first to receive the Bookshare confidentiality rider. This form needs to be signed before the pseudonym can be created.
Feel free to contact membership services with any questions.
a.. Is it legal to get books from Bookshare?
Bookshare is an online community that allows users with print disabilities to legally share books.
An exception in the U.S. copyright law, known as the Chafee Amendment (17 U.S.C. § 121), makes Bookshare possible under the law in the United States, as long as the copyrighted digital books are only available to people with bona fide disabilities.
The Bookshare site does not provide the general public with access to copyrighted works..
Although the requirements of the copyright law exception are quite clear, Bookshare has gone beyond these requirements to ensure broad support for the project. We have been working with the Association of American Publishers, the main industry group, to address publishers' concerns in the design of the service. Many publishers and authors have volunteered to share their works with the disability community through Bookshare, going well beyond the copyright exception. We are also working with the leading disability organizations, including the Library of Congress and Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic. With extensive input from consumers, publishers and leading organizations, we have created a plan for Bookshare that can be supported by a broad array of interests.
Bookshare makes active efforts to ensure that its collection and its users abide by the law to maximize the benefits realized by the disability community and minimize abuse. Bookshare controls the format of the materials that it provides and ensures the appropriate copyright notices are in its digital publications. Access is restricted to individuals with qualifying disabilities and other authorized entities. Digital rights management helps to ensure that access remains limited to those covered by the copyright law exemption.
All copyrighted material downloaded is fingerprinted as part of the encryption process so that the identity of the authorized user is contained within the decrypted material in a difficult to find fashion. This way, if a user illegally redistributes material downloaded from Bookshare, it is possible to confirm both that the materials came from Bookshare and which user was responsible.
More questions? Check the Bookshare.org HELP MENU to find ANSWERS to Frequently Asked Questions: www.bookshare.org/_/help/overview
Feel free to Contact Us - www.bookshare.org/contactUs
Use “University Information” in the pull down.
Cherie Miller
University Program Manager
650-644-3407
CherieM at Bookshare.org
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© Copyright 2010, Beneficent Technology, Inc. (The Benetech Initiative)
Benetech is a California nonprofit organization.
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