[nabs-l] Fwd: URGENT: Bookshare Needs Your Help

[melissa Green]

I discovered that you have to create an account to sign the petition.
You must know that there is a captcha that has to be solved in order to 
create an account.
*frustrated sigh*
Sincerely,
Melissa and Pj
"Forever is composed of nows." -Emily Dickinson
facebook Melissa R Green
Linkedin www.linkedin.com/in/melissagreen5674
skype: lissa5674

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Kathryn Webster" <kathrynwebster at me.com>
To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list" 
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, May 25, 2013 1:56 PM
Subject: [nabs-l] Fwd: URGENT: Bookshare Needs Your Help


Please create an account and sign this petition to help us! It only takes 
two minutes and its focus is us :) thank you.

Sent from my iPhone

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Bookshare <Bookshare at mail.vresp.com>
> Date: May 24, 2013, 8:05:59 PM EDT
> To: kathrynwebster at me.com
> Subject: URGENT: Bookshare Needs Your Help
> Reply-To: Bookshare <reply-39440e0084-03452cca07-8269 at u.cts.vresp.com>
>
> Dear Bookshare Supporter,
>
> 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." 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://ow.ly/lkJVs. 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 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://www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-fruchterman/poisoning-the-treaty-for-_b_3225181.html
> WIRED Magazine article that gives some recent updates on the treaty: 
> http://ow.ly/lfP15
>
> 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://ow.ly/lkJVs.
>
> Note: this advocacy effort by Benetech, the nonprofit organization that 
> operates Bookshare, has not been supported or endorsed by Bookshare 
> funders, including the U.S. Department of Education.
>
>
> Click to view this email in a browser
>
> If you no longer wish to receive these emails, please reply to this 
> message with "Unsubscribe" in the subject line or simply click on the 
> following link: Unsubscribe
> Benetech
> 480 S. California Ave., Suite 201
> Palo Alto, California 94306
> US
> Read the VerticalResponse marketing policy.
>
>
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