Bookshare is now available to Australians who have a print disability!

The Association for the Blind of Western Australia and Bookshare.org offer Bookshare services to Australians. Bookshare is a service which can provide a reader who has a print disability access to a wide range of titles in DAISY text only format. To download copyrighted books, you must be signed in as a Member. Information on joining Bookshare Australia, including membership requirements, forms and fees can be accessed from this website www.guidedogswa.org/bookshare/

http://www.bookshare.org/

I spoke to Greg Kearney recently and asked him a few questions about accessing bookshare for Australians; Greg is the manager of Accessible Media for Association for the Blind of Western Australia.

How many books are available for Australians who have a print disability through Bookshare?

Greg: Currently 11,686 books. We have a few thousands waiting in the wings to get processed, so the number should increase by another 10 to 15 thousand in another few months. Due to the requirements of international copyright law not all books held by Bookshare.org in the United States can be accessed in Australia at this time. We are working with Bookshare.org on this issue.

Can Children access Bookshare?

Greg: Children of any age (who meet the eligibility requirements) can use bookshare but we have to have parental permission and signatures on the forms. How and by whom the downloading is done for the child is up to the child’s parents.

How much does membership cost, and what will the membership entitle members to?

Greg: The cost is A$75.00 for the first year of membership and A$50 for each following year. We require a proof of disability from a certifying agency on the application form. Please download and mail back to us your form and payment. As a bonus Bookshare membership will also include membership in ABWA’s digital talking book library services.

How do Australians sign up for Bookshare?

Greg: Signing up for bookshare is a two step process. First you should fill out the online registration form be sure and include the promotion code ABWA at end of the online form. Then download the form below and send it to us. Here are links to the forms.

Bookshare Australia Enrolment Form (PDF)

Bookshare Australia Enrolment Form (Word Document)

What is your background Greg?

Greg: I am the Manager of Accessible Media for Association for the Blind of Western Australia in Perth, Western Australia. I came to Australia from the United States where I developed  accessible software solutions used by the University of Wyoming for Wyoming schools.

How do parents, teachers and interested people contact you for more information?

Gregory Kearney | Manager Accessible Media Association for the Blind of WA – Guide Dogs WA PO Box 101, Victoria Park WA 6979 | 61 Kitchener Ave, Victoria Park WA 6100

Tel: 08 9311 8246 | Fax: 08 9361 8696 | www.guidedogswa.com.au

Email: greg.kearney@guidedogswa.com.au

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Spectronics sell a variety of software programs and hardware options that have integrated DAISY readers, in addition to other reading and writing support features. You can find more information about these software programs by clicking on the links next to each item below:

Texthelp Read and Write: family of software for Windows and Mac computers all have a DAISY reader function. http://www.spectronics.com.au/article/22446

Read OutLoud: http://www.spectronics.com.au/product/readoutloud-6-uk-version

Classmate Reader: http://www.spectronics.com.au/product/27097

Intel Reader: http://www.spectronics.com.au/product/intel-reader

Dolphin Easy Producer http://www.spectronics.com.au/product/27580 Contains EasyReader for playback of DAISY books

gh PLAYER™ 2.2 http://www.spectronics.com.au/product/mayer-johnson-daisy-and-nimas-player

Kurzweil 3000: http://www.spectronicsinoz.com/catalogue/kurzweil-3000

The Bookshare website has plenty of information on how to get started downloading and using Bookshare DAISY books. http://www.bookshare.org/_/gettingStarted/overview

Below are links to free DAISY digital talking book playback software.

• Windows – Adaptive Multimedia Information System (AMIS)
• Macintosh – Olearia MacOS 10.5 or better required.
• Cross platform – Emerson is cross platform (Windows, Macintosh and Linux) DAISY and EPub reader software.