BookShare India
BookShare India
Project Brief: To enable access to reading materials of all kinds to print disabled individuals.
Project Type: Children with Disabilities (description)
Primary Focus: children with disabilities (description)
Supporting Chapter Contact: Stanford
Project Type: Children with Disabilities (description)
Primary Focus: children with disabilities (description)
Secondary Focus: other
Area: UrbanSupporting Chapter Contact:
Status: completed - sustainable
Project Steward: Anish Johnson
Project Partner(s): Anubhav Mitra
Other Contacts:
Project Address: , The Benentech Initiative,,486 Double Storey New Rajinder Nagar,New Delhi,
Delhi 110060
Tel:
Stewarding Chapter: Stanford
Project Steward: Anish Johnson
Project Partner(s): Anubhav Mitra
Other Contacts:
Project Address: , The Benentech Initiative,,486 Double Storey New Rajinder Nagar,New Delhi,
Delhi 110060
Tel:
Stewarding Chapter: Stanford
| Sep 2010 | Stanford | USD 100 |
Total = $100
BookShare India is working to enable access to reading materials of all kinds to print disabled individuals, like the blind and other visually impaired. Working on an annual subscription model based on meeting costs alone, their partnership with Asha Stanford will enable BookShare to reach people who cannot afford the subscription otherwise.
There are several non profit organizations in India that cater to the educational and professional needs of visually disabled individuals. Among the many resource constraints that they face one is the lack of accessible reading materials - including newspapers, magazines, text books, reference books and the like. BookShare serves that need by making available a huge digital catalog of media in formats that print disabled individuals can readily access - like audio, DAISY(coordinated and Braille. In the US, BookShare has been aided by the Federal laws requiring publishers provide equal access to a large selection of media. Due to the absence of such laws in India, BookShare India is working directly with publishing houses in order to convert the texts into formats that are print disabled friendly. Aiming to work on a self-sustained model, BookShare India plans to recover the costs associated (such as coordinating with publishers, conversion of texts, developing software for Indian languages etc.) entirely through user subscriptions. Though their cost model in India has been highly discounted for purchasing power parity etc, the annual fee of Rs. 400 is still unaffordable for a lot of people.
There are several non profit organizations in India that cater to the educational and professional needs of visually disabled individuals. Among the many resource constraints that they face one is the lack of accessible reading materials - including newspapers, magazines, text books, reference books and the like. BookShare serves that need by making available a huge digital catalog of media in formats that print disabled individuals can readily access - like audio, DAISY(coordinated and Braille. In the US, BookShare has been aided by the Federal laws requiring publishers provide equal access to a large selection of media. Due to the absence of such laws in India, BookShare India is working directly with publishing houses in order to convert the texts into formats that are print disabled friendly. Aiming to work on a self-sustained model, BookShare India plans to recover the costs associated (such as coordinating with publishers, conversion of texts, developing software for Indian languages etc.) entirely through user subscriptions. Though their cost model in India has been highly discounted for purchasing power parity etc, the annual fee of Rs. 400 is still unaffordable for a lot of people.
The funding that Asha for Education provides will enable organizations working with with BookShare in providing organization wide memberships. Asha Stanford partners with BookShare in providing access the their online library to organizations in India that:
> Enable better education for print disabled children and adolescents
> Work with a large number of students from disadvantaged backgrounds
> Can provide access to digital media
> Cannot otherwise afford BookShare access
> Enable better education for print disabled children and adolescents
> Work with a large number of students from disadvantaged backgrounds
> Can provide access to digital media
> Cannot otherwise afford BookShare access