[nabs-l] URGENT: Bookshare Needs Your Help

[Lucy Sirianni]

Hi all,

   I apologize if the below has been mentioned on the list 
before; I glanced through the archives, but as a new member, I 
may have missed previous posts.  That said, I think the below is 
tremendously important for all of us as blind students, so I 
wanted to pass it along.  Please take a moment to look at the 
links and to consider signing both of the petitions.  According 
to these resources, it's currently the case that less than 1% of 
the world's printed books (less than 5% in the US) are accessible 
to blind readers; I'm sure we all agree that this is an appalling 
statistic, and I hope many of us will be able to support the 
people working to change it.

Thanks, everyone!

Lucy

 ---- Original Message ------
From: "Bookshare" <Bookshare at mail.vresp.com
Subject: URGENT: Bookshare Needs Your Help
Date sent: Fri, 24 May 2013 23:49:27 +0000

Dear Lucy,

It's not typical for us to send you an email like this, but we 
felt
this situation was so important it was necessary.

You may already be aware, but for years negotiations have been 
moving
forward on what many have come to call the "Treaty for the Blind 
-
http://cts.vresp.com/c/?Benetech/39440e0084/377977e221/8c6ac19ad5 
" The goal of the international treaty is to make it possible 
for
people who are blind, or have other print disabilities such as
dyslexia, to get access to the books they need for education,
employment and inclusion in society--no matter where they live.  
It's
something we already do, with great success, in the United States
through Bookshare.

However, private interests are trying to alter the treaty in such 
a
way that it would become useless--even harmful.  For example, 
they're
trying to get language adopted that basically says: "if you can 
buy
it, you can't borrow it." This is not only an attack on people 
around
the world with print disabilities--it's also an attack on 
libraries,
like Bookshare, and could have a drastic effect on the number of
books you have access to.

Our biggest worry is this becoming a treaty that could stop 
Bookshare
from serving our users in the United States the way we do today.  
We
need our government negotiating for a treaty that supports a 
library
like Bookshare.

That's why we're working with a coalition of disability and 
library
groups, including the National Federation of the Blind and the
American Council of the Blind, to fight back against the proposed
changes by these private interests.  We'll do everything we can 
to
secure a treaty that both protects the access we have now and 
that
will benefit people with print disabilities around the world--but 
we
need your help.

We're asking you to take a moment to sign a petition on the White
House's website that urges the President to step up his support:  
-
http://cts.vresp.com/c/?Benetech/39440e0084/377977e221/4e4438ce56
  If we can get to 100,000 signatures, the White House is 
required to
respond to the petition and will, hopefully, take positive 
action.
With your help we know we can reach that number.  We also 
recommend
the petition -
http://cts.vresp.com/c/?Benetech/39440e0084/377977e221/f43c9aab46
/sid=2&reset=1  at the National Federation of the Blind's site, 
which is
particularly accessible.

Thank you for your time and support.  Together, we believe that 
our
collective voice can make a real impact.

If you're interested in more background on the treaty, here are 
some
articles and resources you can review:

Huffington Post piece by Jim on how the treaty is being poisoned 
by
private interests:
http://cts.vresp.com/c/?Benetech/39440e0084/377977e221/3f5de5c34d

WIRED Magazine article that gives some recent updates on the 
treaty:
http://cts.vresp.com/c/?Benetech/39440e0084/377977e221/7e58bb06a5

Sincerely,
Jim Fruchterman & Betsy Beaumon, Bookshare

P.S.  Please post the link to the White House petition on your 
social
media to help spread the word and get your friends involved! 
Again,
here is the link:  -
http://cts.vresp.com/c/?Benetech/39440e0084/377977e221/af6f03126e