The New York Public Library has received a big influx to their digital catalog that is very appealing towards people who have vision problems or dyslexia. Every New Yorker with an eligible print disability will now have free access to over 350,000 e-book titles including bestsellers, literature, non-fiction, picture books, educational texts, career guides, and much more with their New York Public Library card or Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library membership.
The e-books that the NPL now has are courtesy of Benetech, provider of Bookshare. Bookshare is the world’s largest online library of accessible e-Books for people with print disabilities. Through its extensive collection of educational and popular titles, specialized book formats, and reading tools, Bookshare offers individuals who cannot read standard print materials the same ease of access that people without disabilities enjoy. In 2007 and 2012, Bookshare received two five-year awards from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, to provide free access for all U.S. students with a qualifying print disability.
“We are proud to partner with the NYPL to open up new horizons for New Yorkers with print disabilities by offering them access to Bookshare’s extensive collection of accessible ebooks free of charge, for use on a wide variety of devices including mobile phones and tablets,” says Brad Turner, Vice President of Global Literacy at Benetech. “This is a major step forward towards our shared vision of barrier-free access to books for all.”
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
