BookBole: A community of accessible book lovers!
BookBole empowers persons with print and visual impairments to build share and manage their personal libraries of accessible books with others across the world. This
website has been designed and optimized for screen reading software.
If each person with visual impairment shares his/her existing collection of accessible books through BookBole, then a vast global library of books gets created which can
be accessed by members from all corners of the web!
The real magic of BookBole is that it is not just about books! It’s a community of accessible book lovers, where members can create their own profile, add and invite
friends, send messages, request books from the community, thank members for sharing books, and much more.
We have put a lot of love into making BookBole, and we hope a lot will come out of it. We are a small outfit, but we aspire to brighten the lives of millions of
people. So if you like the experience at BookBole, do spread the word about us, and help us reach out to every person with print impairment.
If you have any queries or want more information do write in to contact@bookbole.com
Their blog is here: http://bookbole.wordpress.com/
The Right to Read Campaign - For the Visually Challenged -
http://kafila.org/2009/09/19/right-to-read-campaign/
Thanks Parul and Chandini for spreading the word about Bookbole and the Right to Read.
Call for Ideas: Workable User-Verification System for Bookbole
From
http://inclusiveplanet.wordpress.com/2009/11/29/workable-user-verificati...
Bookbole.com is seeking ideas on creating a sustainable and scalable user
verification system. The goal is to ensure that Bookbole is reaching its
intended users i.e. print-impaired, caregivers of print-impaired or
organisations /individuals accessing for the print-impaired and NOT sighted
users who are none of the above.
*The Problem Statement*
Currently, Bookbole.com requires a user to self-certify whether he/she is
print-impaired i.e. visually impaired or unable to read because of a
non-visual problem or accessing the content on behalf of print-impaired
persons or a part of an organization accessing content on behalf of print
impaired persons (‘intended users’). This system is chosen because Bookbole
connects users from across the world and there is no way to check whether
every user is an intended user. Requiring every user, across potentially all
the countries in the world, to submit some sort of documentary proof would:
(a) be difficult for the users and would discourage users from adopting the
platform; and
(b) result in different ‘proofs’ from across the world – necessitating
verification cells in every country in the world, an expensive and unwieldy
solution.
The core challenge of the current self-certification system on Bookbole is
that sighted users, who are not intended users, can claim to be print
impaired and access content shared by the visually-impaired community for
itself.
Hence Bookbole is seeking a better system of verifying whether the user is
an intended user.
*Call for Ideas*
We are looking for a system that is:
(a) Cost-effective
(b) water-tight
(c) Preferably technology or community-driven rather than manual
(d) Easy on the user
Please share your solutions with us at team@bookbole.com. Your solution will
be a long way in ensuring that Bookbole can achieve its vision of enabling
the global print-impaired community to overcome their challenges viz
accessible content.
SM
Need contacts with authors & publishers to join the XRCVC - Right to Read Campaign for the Print Disabled
Excerpts from
http://psychologynews.posterous.com/need-contacts-with-authors-and-pu...
The Xavier's Centre for the Visually Challenged (XRCVC) is spearheading a
Right to Read campaign (http://www.righttoread.in/) under the wings of
Prof. Sam Taraporevala for the right for all books published in India, to
also be published in Braille.
The XRCVC requires 500 authors in India to agree with this , and join the
campaign, so that they can fight for their basic right, and take it right up
to the parliament.
I have attached a cover letter and the campaign declaration with this mail.
IBBY Documentation Centre of Books for Disabled Young People
Details here:
http://www.ibby.org/index.php?id=271
From "Chitra R" masha_786@yahoo.com
March 11, 2010
Dear All,
A boy of Eight standard needs English medium Braille textbooks for his ninth standard.
He is in NIOS(Open School) Board. The subjects he would choose would be Social Science, English, Sanskrit, Science and Cultural Heritage.
He does not have vision and so needs Braille text books. We tried in Coimbatore and Chennai. From there people had contacted to their Delhi Press. But unfortunately no Braille textbooks are available at present.
------------
I am very sorry to see the state of affairs, that these children have to strain and struggle even for simple facilities like text books!
IF ANYBODY HAS AND COULD DIRECT US FURTHER, IF WOULD BE OF TREMENDOUS ASSISTANCE
Also if any parent / care taker / Educator have experiences in working with such children please mail to me. we would like to have your suggestions regarding how to strengthen his hand muscles and other activities.
Thanks n Regards
Chitra.
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