Blind Reading Resource Roundup
Bookshare's e-Library Now Free; RFB&D Release First Audio Comic Book
Sep 10, 2008
The Internet and the digital age has made information far more flexible – an especially vital efficiency for the blind, whose computer screens can easily enlarge text, translate print into braille, or read electronic texts aloud.
Following is a brief roundup of new or expanded services and products that the vision- and print-impaired can add to the their list of reading resources.
Books Aloud and Bookshare Libraries Now Free
Books Aloud, Inc. provides a free audiobook library of over 6,000 titles (most on two-track cassettes) for print-disabled Canadian and US residents. The children’s collection includes “Touch & Sound” audiobooks that are packaged with a print-and-braille edition. Applications (available by calling 408.808.2613) require disability verification.
A $32 million grant from U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs gives schools and students (K-12 & post-secondary with documented reading disabilities) access to Bookshare’s entire collection of electronic books and its screen-reading software. Books are also available in Braille Digital Format (BRF). Bookshare will add over 100,000 new educational books to its collection this year.
Audio Player Buyer’s Guide
Anna Dresner’s new book “A Pocketful of Sound” (National Braille Press, $14) helps readers evaluate accessible audio players including the Zen Stone; iPod; Rockbox; Olympus DS-30, DS-40, and DS-50; Icon, and Victor Reader Stream. The book includes features checklists, descriptions, and basic instructions. It also discusses the media capabilities of notetakers and cell phones and how players organize music. The book, available in braille and PortaBook provides links to tutorials and book and music download sites.
Free Speech & Magnification Software
Serotek Corp’s Keys for K-12, program provides Serotek's System Access Mobile software for text-to-speech screen reading and/or screen magnification to blind students age 18 and under for free. The license (renewed annually) enables students to plug into any computer via a U3-enabled USB thumb drive, providing instant access to all resident Windows-based and Microsoft Office applications. An eligibility form (which includes verification of disability) and download instructions are available on Serotek’s website.
Resource for Parents of Blind Children
The National Association for Parents of Children with Visual Impairments (NAPVI) and the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) have launched FamilyConnect.org, a website offering message boards, event listings, a national resource database, and information on technology, education, independent living, transitioning, and age-relevant resources.
RFB&D Launches Comic Book
RFB&D has released its first audio comic book, Stan Lee's “Who Wants to Be A Superhero?” published by Dark Horse Comics. Lee, co-creator of Spider-Man, Iron, and The Incredible Hulk et al, wrote the comic, featuring the superhero “Feedback,” created by Matthew Atherton, winner of Sci-Fi Channel’s reality show, “Who Wants to Be a Superhero?” Lee and Atherton, an RFB&D volunteer, recorded the audio comic book at RFB&D's Hollywood studio, enhancing the recording with sound effects and original music. The book is available on CD to RFB&D members.
Talking Books Exhibit
The American Foundation for the Blind has launched Talking Book Archives, a web-based exhibit celebrating the birth of the Talking Book. The site includes an electronic finding aid funded by the Carnegie Foundation, which funded AFB's foray into audiobook production in 1932. The archive includes audio clips from celebrated narrators, letters, press clippings, and photographs.
Two online publications, the Braille Monitor and the Braille Forum, are invaluable resources for keeping current on reading technology and services for the blind.
