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In The Country of the Blind, Andrew Leland sings the praises of Bookshare, an electronic repository of accessible-format books for the disabled. Bookshare was launched in 2001 by Jim Fruchterman, the leader of Benetech, a Palo Alto-based nonprofit that develops technologies to assist those with physical and learning disabilities. The Bookshare mission is stated thus: "Bookshare makes reading easier. People with dyslexia, blindness, cerebral palsy, and other reading barriers can customize their experience to suit their learning style and find virtually any book they need for school, work, or the joy of reading."
Bookshare can be joined by paying a subscription fee or, often, via subsidization by governments or charitable bodies. The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) offers free access to Bookshare for all students with a print-reading disability. In the UK, a partnership with the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) allows ...
