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

Mon May 27 21:56:18 UTC 2013

How is this different than the petition on nfb.org site?

Anna

Sent from my iPhone

On May 27, 2013, at 12:46 PM, "melissa Green" <lissa1531 at gmail.com> wrote:

> 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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