Thought others might like to know about this service, which could
be useful for certain students - getting good academic material
relies on it also being used by VI college students in the US.
A new American website, Bookshare.org, will allow blind people
and people with visual impairments to share books that they've
scanned.
Inspired by Napster, Bookshare falls under a 1996 amendment to
the copyright law that allows certain organisations to distribute
literary works in specialised formats exclusively for use by disabled
people.
The site requires written proof of disability, and it encrypts each
book, electronically stamping it so it can be traced.
The service costs fifty US dollars a year or an equivalent amount of
time volunteering on the site.
The Association of American Publishers, wary of possible
copyright violations will be closely watching the experiment to
make sure the protections work.
More: www.bookshare.org
Deborah Gibberd
Disability & Dyslexia Centre Co-ordinator
Tel:020 8331 8212
Fax:020 8331 8604
Dreadnought Building
Maritime Greenwich Campus
Old Royal Naval College
Greenwich SE10 9LS
London SE10 9LS
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