Bookshare


 * __Bookshare Overview__** - []

Bookshare™ provides the world’s largest online library of **accessible reading materials for people with print disabilities**. Individuals can sign up for membership and access the library on their own. Organizations that serve individuals with print disabilities (schools, libraries, community centers, etc.) can sign up and provide access to their students or clients.

A Bookshare membership offers **unlimited access to accessible books, textbooks, newspapers and magazines**. Additionally, free access technology makes it easy to read books with a computer.

Through an award from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), Bookshare offers free memberships to U.S. schools and qualifying U.S. students.


 * __Who Qualifies__** - []
 * = ** Disability ** ||= ** Qualified / Not Qualified ** ||= ** Examples of Certifying Professional ** ||
 * Visual Impairment (VI), such as blind or low vision || Qualified || A family doctor, ophthalmologist, optometrist, Teacher of the Visually Impaired, Special Education teacher

Certification from the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped in the U.S. or similar national body || Reading Disability || Students with a severe enough disability, and a professional certifying that the disability has a physical basis || A neurologist, psychiatrist, learning disability specialist, Special Education teacher, school psychologist, or clinical psychologist with a background in learning disabilities || Emotional disabilities ADHD ESL and ELL || Not qualified unless accompanied by a visual or physical disability, or a qualified reading disability that has a physical basis || Examples above ||
 * Physical Disability (PD) which affects one’s ability to read print, such as inability to hold a book or turn pages || Qualified || A family doctor or other medical professional, physical therapist, resource specialist, Special Education teacher ||
 * Learning Disability
 * Autism