Free College Textbooks Accessible to People With Print Disabilities

Introduction

Flat World Knowledge became the first dedicated college textbook publisher to supply its digital textbooks to Bookshare, the world's largest online accessible library for people with print disabilities.

Main Item

Approximately one to two percent of the U.S. population has print disabilities that qualify for Bookshare. This agreement will benefit more than 75,000 Bookshare members who are blind or who have low vision, a physical disability or a severe learning disability that affects reading. In addition, the open content license will allow other users to benefit from accessible content: students who are English language learners, those who have mild or undiagnosed disabilities and those who benefit from multi-modal reading with a combination of simultaneous highlighted text and computer-generated speech.

"If all publishers supplied their books directly to Bookshare, it would save colleges and universities millions of dollars each year and immediately equalize educational opportunities," said Jim Fruchterman, CEO of Benetech, the nonprofit organization that operates Bookshare.

"Without the cooperation of a publisher such as Flat World, students often wait for weeks to get textbooks in accessible formats and, in some cases, are forced to drop courses due to lack of accessible books. Flat World is the first postsecondary textbook publisher to recognize and alleviate this problem."

The agreement comes at an important time for thousands of cash-strapped postsecondary institutions that currently spend millions of dollars each year to scan and convert texts into accessible formats for their students with print disabilities. These institutions, which are already suffering from budget cutbacks from state, local and private funding sources, can access these textbooks from Bookshare at no cost.

Flat World is one of the fastest growing providers of higher education learning materials. For the Fall semester, over 40,000 college students at more than 400 colleges used Flat World textbooks, up from only 1,000 students at 30 colleges in Spring.

"Flat World Knowledge removes barriers to textbook access," said Eric Frank, co-founder of Flat World Knowledge. "Our open textbook model eliminates the cost barrier by making them free online and by providing affordable choices offline. We're proud to work with Bookshare to collectively remove another barrier by enabling full, free access for thousands of students with print disabilities."

The Flat World/Bookshare agreement will provide timely access to peer-reviewed, professionally edited digital textbooks in accessible formats for students and individuals with qualified disabilities.

The initial agreement covers eleven high-quality digital textbooks, mostly weighted toward business and economics, as well as an additional fifty titles under development. The titles under development, to be released over the next two years, cover general education subjects such as algebra, psychology, genetics, sociology and media and society. Within two years, Flat World's Bookshare catalog will include most of the twenty-five highest-enrollment college courses.

Flat World Knowledge will supply its textbooks directly to Bookshare as digital XML files. This will bypass the typical paper-to-digital scanning process, eliminate scanning errors and allow students to access the books more quickly. Bookshare will convert Flat World Knowledge books and make them available in DAISY (Digital Accessible Information System) and BRF (Braille Ready Format) formats. DAISY files are versatile electronic files that allow students with print disabilities to easily navigate through a book, manipulate the appearance of text and pages, and select preferred voices and their rate of speed. These options support individual reading styles and enable multi-modal reading with simultaneous text and computer-generated speech.

Students with print disabilities and Bookshare memberships can read the texts via free ebook software from Bookshare, and all students with reading challenges can use other common DAISY software applications and hardware devices that support DAISY or BRF.

Traditional copyrighted books that do not have open licensing terms, including those contributed to Bookshare by almost all other publishers, are protected with digital rights management technology and are available only to those with a documented print disability. Operating under an exemption in the U.S. copyright law called the Chafee amendment, Bookshare maintains rigorous qualification standards to prevent books from being distributed to unqualified individuals. The Chafee amendment enables nonprofit and government entities to create accessible versions of copyrighted works and distribute them freely to individuals with print disabilities.

Comments

"College students today are frustrated with the cost of printed textbooks," shared Deborah Armstrong, Alternate Media Specialist at De Anza Community College, Cupertino, CA. "This partnership with Bookshare and Flat World Knowledge is a giant step forward to offer high-quality, peer-reviewed, open source digital textbooks to minimize costs and parents' angst for how to pay for core textbooks necessary to support their child's college education."

"Our college campus uses Flat World Knowledge in its Accounting 120 and 121 courses," said Erika Higginbotham, Adaptive Computer Technology Specialist at San Diego Mesa College. "This partnership with Bookshare means that students with disabilities in those courses will have their textbooks when the semester begins. As more textbook publishers join together to support individuals with disabilities, we look forward to the day of having a majority of textbooks available in accessible formats when school begins to support more students in all required subject areas."

Attribution/Source(s):

This quality-reviewed publication was selected for publishing by the editors of Disabled World due to its significant relevance to the disability community. Originally authored by Flat World Knowledge, and published on 2009/12/14 (Edit Update: 2024/04/06), the content may have been edited for style, clarity, or brevity. For further details or clarifications, Flat World Knowledge can be contacted at catalog.flatworldknowledge.com. NOTE: Disabled World does not provide any warranties or endorsements related to this article.

Page Information, Citing and Disclaimer

Disabled World is a comprehensive online resource that provides information and news related to disabilities, assistive technologies, and accessibility issues. Founded in 2004 our website covers a wide range of topics, including disability rights, healthcare, education, employment, and independent living, with the goal of supporting the disability community and their families.

Cite This Page (APA): Flat World Knowledge. (2009, December 14 - Last revised: 2024, April 6). Free College Textbooks Accessible to People With Print Disabilities. Disabled World. Retrieved December 12, 2024 from www.disabled-world.com/disability/publications/flat-world-knowledge.php

Permalink: <a href="https://www.disabled-world.com/disability/publications/flat-world-knowledge.php">Free College Textbooks Accessible to People With Print Disabilities</a>: Flat World Knowledge publisher supplies digital text books to Bookshare online accessible library for people with print disabilities.

While we strive to provide accurate and up-to-date information, it's important to note that our content is for general informational purposes only. We always recommend consulting qualified healthcare professionals for personalized medical advice. Any 3rd party offering or advertising does not constitute an endorsement.