Over the years, I have read hundreds of titles (if not thousands) from Bookshare, an accessible online library for people with print disabilities. As someone with low vision, Bookshare provides easy access to digital text that I can read with large print or other custom reading tools, providing me with options for accessing everything from books for school to novels and cookbooks I can use outside of the classroom. In high school, I always wondered how Bookshare was able to offer books in accessible formats, and I got to take a behind-the-scenes tour on a visit to their headquarters in Palo Alto in 2018 to learn more. Here is a behind-the-scenes look at how Bookshare books come to life, and what goes into creating accessible books for people with visual impairments and print disabilities in multiple formats.
BACKGROUND: WHAT IS BOOKSHARE?
Bookshare is an online accessible library that provides copies of accessible books for people with print disabilities, which is defined as the inability to read standard print. Bookshare has millions of titles available in its library, including New York Times Bestsellers, new releases from popular authors, fiction, non-fiction and so much more, all available for instant download with no holds or returns to keep track of. The cost of Bookshare ranges from free to $80 a year, depending on the type of subscriber, and users will need to submit a proof of disability form before being able to access the service.
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Step 1: Requesting titles from Bookshare
So how does a title end up on Bookshare? There are a few different ways that a book might end up being listed on Bookshare, which can include:
- Publishers send files directly to Bookshare for them to post on their site. This is how Bookshare gets access to many new releases and popular titles from major publishers.
- Authors can donate files directly to Bookshare in EPUB 2 or EPUB 3 formats after signing a letter of consent.
- Users request specific titles to be added to the Bookshare collection, and submit information such as the ISBN, book title, publisher, year, copyright year, and author.
- For titles that are required for school (e.g. textbooks or required readings), Bookshare prioritizes these requests so that K-12 and college students can get the books they need quickly.
There are lots of factors that can determine how long it takes for a book to be added to Bookshare, such as the availability of a digital copy from the publisher, how long it takes to find a print copy of a book, and the type of book that it is being requested— school books get converted much faster as priority is given to students, and are typically provided within a couple of weeks. If students are taking a literature class, I recommend submitting requests for books whenever they get a copy of the syllabus to ensure there is adequate turnaround time. Books that are not school related may take a few months to be added to Bookshare.
Bookshare does not translate books or provide physical copies of accessible books.
Related links
- How To Request Accessible Textbooks In College
- How To Find Accessible Picture Books For Low Vision
- How I Use My eReader For School and Online Classes
- How To Create Accessible Summer Reading Lists For Print Disabilities
Step 2: Bookshare procures the book
Users can request an unlimited number of books for free and do not have to buy the book in order to have Bookshare convert it to an accessible format— this is different from college accessible text services, which require students to show a proof of purchase for textbooks or similar content. In order to get a copy of the book, Bookshare may do one of the following:
- Reach out to the publisher to request an EPUB copy of the book
- Purchase a physical copy of the book that will be manually scanned in
- Search for a copy of the book on a digital archive website
- Provide users with a link to an accessible copy available from another source— this happened to me when I requested a Pearson textbook
Again, the timeline for how long this step takes will vary depending on if the book is widely available or not. To help speed up this process, I asked one of my professors (who was the sole author of a book) to submit a digital version of their book to Bookshare so that it could be remediated in an accessible format— since I was taking their class as a visiting student at another university, I couldn’t ask my home college to convert it into an accessible format.
Related links
- What To Know About College Assistive Technology Specialists
- Reading Chegg eTextbooks With Low Vision
- ScanMarker Air: OCR Scanner Pen for Low Vision
Step 3: Preparing books for scanning
Before converting physical books or digital books into accessible formats, Bookshare inspects the pages to ensure they are in good condition and aren’t damaged or unreadable for any reason. Someone might flip through a digital file to make sure all of the pages are in the correct order and that nothing looks distorted. For a physical book, the binding is removed so that the pages can be fed into a scanner— this process reminds me of a guillotine.
Step 4: Scanning books into Bookshare
Once the book has had its spine removed, the pages are loaded into a high-speed scanner that rapidly scans in pages— someone presses a button and the pages are scanned in automatically. High-resolution Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is used to recognize letters, numbers, and other symbols that are printed on the pages, and the entire process takes less than 15 minutes for the vast majority of books. Images and other formatting elements can also be scanned in during this time, though not all books from Bookshare have images in them.
For a digital book that’s in EPUB format, there’s no need to scan in books or use OCR technology to recognize text. However, OCR tools may still be used when remediating PDF versions of books.
Related links
- How I Read Research Sources With Assistive Technology
- Sideloading and Low Vision
- Using Anthology Ally With Low Vision
Step 5: Bookshare converts the book into multiple formats
Once the pages are scanned in a digital format, a Bookshare staff member uses a computer program to ensure all of the pages are in the correct order, rearranging them if needed. Once all of these pages are stitched together, a proofreader will fix any text or punctuation errors and ensure everything is in the correct order. For some titles, Bookshare staff will also add alt text for images or format charts/graphs, or remove images and other non-text content.
At this stage, the book is also converted into various accessible formats that are used by Bookshare readers, including:
- EPUB
- Word (DocX)
- DAISY
- MP3 with synthesized voice
- Braille ready format— includes options for contracted and uncontracted braille
Related links
- File Formats For Low Vision and Print Disabilities
- Make Proofreading Feedback Accessible For Low Vision
- Ten Cool Things You Didn’t Know About Bookshare
Step 6: Adding books to Bookshare website
Once everything is finished with the proofreading and file conversion processes, Bookshare adds metadata to the digital files so that they can be published on the Bookshare website. This includes the ISBN, publisher, copyright date, book cover, and other information that makes it easier for readers to find the book they are looking for. If something doesn’t look right, users can also report book quality issues and have Bookshare add a new version of the title on their website. Sometimes, Bookshare may also add new versions of titles that include things like human read audiobooks or options for additional files.
Step 7: Read the books!
I like to think that Bookshare books aren’t truly “alive” until someone reads them or downloads them to their device. I have shared several resources for reading Bookshare books on my website, which I have linked below.
Related links
- Reading Bookshare Titles With Microsoft Word
- A to Z of Assistive Technology for Reading Digital Text
- Mainstream eReader Apps and Low Vision Accessibility
- E-Ink Displays and Low Vision Accessibility
- Mainstream Technology and Low Vision: eReaders
- How Amazon Alexa Can Help You Read
- Simplified Reading Displays and Low Vision
More resources on how Bookshare books come to life
- While this post was written specifically about Bookshare, similar workflows are used for other accessible educational material providers or NIMAC/NIMAS organizations. Learn more in Receiving Accessible Educational Materials With NIMAC and AIM-VA
- Want to learn more about digital text access? Read A to Z of Assistive Technology for Reading Digital Text
- Interested in learning more about how I access books from online library services? Read How I Read Research Sources With Assistive Technology and How I Find Research Sources In Accessible Formats
Published May 22, 2019. Updated December 2024