Will Bookshare replace textbooks from services such as Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic (RFB&D)?
Bookshare increases the choices of accessible materials available to students, so that teachers and students can pick the best format for the student. The existing providers of accessible textbooks, such as RFB&D, focus on providing human-narrated audio, while Bookshare concentrates on digital accessible text based on DAISY format and digital Braille (BRF). A key difference between Bookshare and RFB&D is that Bookshare’s memberships and books are completely free to qualified US students, due to a special award from the U.S Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). Read more about the OSEP award. Bookshare books can easily be converted into refreshable Braille, large print and digital audio using synthetic speech. Bookshare sets priorities to avoid duplicating work that is already being done, e.g. acquiring textbooks that are not available from other suppliers in the student’s desired format (i.e., Braille).
