Webinar Wednesday: Bookshare's Back to School Webinar

Bookshare is an invaluable resource that provides access to printed materials for people with print disabilities, including visual impairments, physical disabilities or severe learning disabilities.

Bookshare offers the world’s largest collection of accessible titles. As a result, people of all ages, as well as schools and many organizations around the globe can access the books they need for school, work, career advancement, skill development and the simple love of reading in formats that work for them. 

Click the link to read my post on Overcoming Print Disabilities with eBooks to learn more about Bookshare and other free resources available to those with print disabilities. 

Join the folks at Bookshare for an upcoming Back to School with Bookshare webinar  on September 14, at 2pm PST. The webinar will last approximately one hour. During this hour you will learn how easy it is to implement Bookshare in your classroom and get your students reading in just a few easy steps. If you're unable to attend, be sure to still register and Bookshare will send you a link to the recording.

Save Bookshare: Have Your Voice Heard

Bookshare is a vital resource, providing free access to digital media to over 400,000 qualifying members. Within its vast library, subscribers have access to nearly a half a million titles available, which include braille, large print, and audio versions of books. Within our federal government, the projected budget appropriations bill in the House of Representatives proposed eliminating funding for Bookshare. Without Bookshare, the consequential impact both financially for local governments and taxpayers, as well as the thousands of users who rely upon the service would be devastating at best. The following passage below is taken from a letter I received in email from Benetech's CEO, Jim Fruchterman. For more information about the proposed bills and the impact this will have on Bookshare, please read below. 

I ask that you please take a moment, which is all that it will take, to click the image (or link within the text) below.  By doing so, you'll have the chance to voice your opinion and urge your members of Congress to continue funding Bookshare. 

Bookshare funding remains in jeopardy as the new Congress considers the budget for both the 2017 and 2018 fiscal years. Your representative and senators need to hear from you. Please act now and ask them to support Bookshare as they consider programs to receive federal funding. As you may recall, the House of Representatives proposed a FY2017 funding bill that would, in effect, defund Bookshare. In recent months, we have worked with Bookshare supporters in specifically targeted states and districts to advocate for funding of the program that funds Bookshare, known as the Educational Technology, Media, and Materials Program. We need your help again to enlist the support of your members of Congress. Please ask your Members of the House of Representatives and Senate to preserve funding for the Educational Technology, Media, and Materials Program. Hearing from constituents is crucial for Members of Congress-it can often mean the difference between their support for a program or not. So, we need your help! Please use this link to send a letter to your senators and representative. We encourage you to customize these letters by including information about the impact Bookshare has had for your child or in your school. This is a critical time for Bookshare, and your help is essential to ensure that the program will continue.

Sincerely,
Jim Fruchterman
CEO
Benetech