I’m a huge fan of the Bookshare accessible online library for people with print disabilities, and have been using the service since I was a freshman in high school. I interact with Bookshare in some capacity every day, whether it’s checking out new books, reading something I’ve downloaded, or telling someone about the service. I even had the opportunity to visit Bookshare headquarters on a trip to California, where I asked various employees to share a cool thing about Bookshare that I might not have otherwise known. Inspired by answers from employees and my own user experiences, here are ten cool things you didn’t know about Bookshare.
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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Students of any age can access Bookshare for free
Whether a student is in kindergarten, high school, community college, or getting a PhD, Bookshare is free to students based in the United States. Students can download books for school as well as for leisure reading, though students under 18 will need to have a parent register on their behalf. As long as the student is enrolled in at least one class, they can use Bookshare free of charge!
Related links
- How I Use My eReader For School and Online Classes
- A to Z of Assistive Technology for Reading Digital Text
Bookshare is available internationally
Bookshare is available for qualifying students and adults with print disabilities around the world, not just those based in the United States. Bookshare annual membership fees vary depending on the country of residence, and are based on the World Bank designation of countries as low-income, middle-income, or high-income. Low-income countries have no annual membership fee/are free to use, while middle-income countries have an annual membership fee of $30 USD per year. High-income countries pay $80 USD per year. There is no student discount for international memberships.
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Books are available in multiple languages
While Bookshare is known for its large library of English language titles, Bookshare offers titles in the following languages as of 2024:
- Afrikaans
- Amharic
- Arabic
- Australian languages
- Austronesian languages
- Basque
- Bengali
- Bulgarian
- Burmese
- Cantonese
- Catalan
- Cherokee
- Chinese
- Cree
- Croatian
- Czech
- Danish
- Dutch
- English
- English, Middle
- Estonian
- Filipino
- Finnish
- French
- Galician
- German
- Greek, Ancient
- Greek, Modern
- Gujarati
- Hebrew
- Hindi
- Hungarian
- Indonesian
- Irish
- Italian
- Japanese
- Kannada
- Kinyarwanda
- Konkani
- Korean
- Lao
- Latin
- Malayalam
- Marathi
- Ndebele, North
- Norwegian
- Old English
- Pedi
- Persian
- Polish
- Portuguese
- Punjabi, Eastern
- Quechua
- Romanian
- Russian
- Sanskrit
- Sinhala
- Slovak
- Slovenian
- Sotho, Southern
- Spanish
- Swahili
- Swati
- Swedish
- Tagalog
- Tamil
- Telugu
- Tsonga
- Tswana
- Turkish
- Ukrainian
- Urdu
- Venda
- Vietnamese
- Welsh
- Xhosa
- Yiddish
- Zhuang
- Zulu
While Bookshare does not translate titles themselves, they do publish translations for popular titles using files that are provided by publishers.
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Users can browse curated lists of books
Looking for books that have won a specific award, that have been shared in a book club, or curated lists of recommended titles? Bookshare has several public lists that users can browse to find their next read, including lists for kids, teens/young adults, adults, and more. Users can also view Bookshare titles that have been popular within the last month, as well as recommendations based on titles that they have downloaded to their library.
Personally, I love the summer reading lists that Bookshare puts out every year, as well as their holiday/seasonal lists. Alternatively, I’ll get a list of book recommendation from my local library and start searching titles to see if they are available on Bookshare!
Related links
- How To Create Accessible Summer Reading Lists For Print Disabilities
- How To Request Multiple Library Cards For Digital Content
- My Favorite Digital Library Resources For Low Vision
Bookshare has textbooks
Yes college students, Bookshare has textbooks that can be downloaded for free! However, it’s important to know that not all textbooks are created equal, and that some may have missing images, tables/charts, or table of contents navigation depending on the type of files provided to Bookshare. Honestly, I’ve used Bookshare more often as a graduate student studying assistive technology compared to as an undergrad studying data science because I have had more success finding books for grad school with images intact, as well as conducting research on topics for other projects on topics related to things like physical education, interior design, chemistry, visual impairment, and more.
Related links
- How To Request Accessible Textbooks In College
- How I Read Research Sources With Assistive Technology
Bookshare is for print disabilities, not just visual impairment
Bookshare is available to qualifying individuals with a print disability, which is the inability to read standard print materials due to an organic dysfunction. I qualify for Bookshare because I have a visual impairment that makes it impossible for me to read small print— while I was certified as having low vision when I first registered for Bookshare, my diagnosis was later updated to legally blind. Some other examples of print disabilities include but are not limited to:
- Learning or reading disabilities that impact ability to read text, e.g. dyslexia
- Neurological visual impairment/Cortical Visual Impairment/CVI
- Physical disability that makes it difficult or impossible to hold a book or printed materials, turn pages, or move head to read
- Macular degeneration
- Blindness
- Visual processing disorders that impact ability to read text
Students do not necessarily need to have an IEP, 504 Plan, or receive other disability accommodations in order to qualify for Bookshare, but many students do have these accommodations for other reasons. Once someone is certified for Bookshare eligibility, they generally do not need to be re-certified.
Related links
- What I’ve Learned About Print Disabilities
- Five Myths About Print Disabilities
- Meet The Cast: Supporting Literacy For Students With CVI
Users can download books in multiple formats
My preferred eReading format is an EPUB, but sometimes I find it easier to download a book as a Word document to take notes or as an MP3 audiobook to listen to with or without looking at a page. Users can download the same title on Bookshare in multiple formats to test out different formats and figure out which works the best for them. To streamline the download process, users can also set default formats in settings.
Related links
- Reading Bookshare Titles With Microsoft Word
- File Formats For Low Vision and Print Disabilities
- How I Find Research Sources In Accessible Formats
Bookshare has children’s books
I’ve introduced many young students and their librarians to Bookshare over the years, where they have been able to find age-appropriate books that other students are reading as well as audiobooks they can listen to at home. This includes the option to search by grade level as well as curated lists of children’s titles. I shared the value of Bookshare having books for kids and teenagers in this short vignette from a talk I gave on the power of accessible books:
When I experienced a vision decline in middle school, I couldn’t read any of the books in the YA section of the library that my friends were devouring. The only books that had a font size large enough that I could read were the board books from the kid’s section or the adult large print romance novels that were sitting near the YA shelf. Neither option was age appropriate, so two of my friends would tell me all about the books they had been reading and thought I would enjoy— as in, they would summarize the book and I would be captivated by their storytelling. When I received access to Bookshare and eBooks in large print that I could access, I immediately received a list of everything I should read next that my friends had put together, with no spoilers!
I still go back and read children’s books on Bookshare sometimes, like when my friends tell me about a cute book they’ve been reading with their kids or if a disability-themed book seems super interesting. I can choose whatever book I want to read and not have font sizes limit my choices!
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There are options to explore topics in-depth
Bookshare offers several options to take a deep dive on specific topics and get recommendations for further reading, including:
- Search books by Category (advanced search)
- Search for specific keywords (e.g. data visualization, vegan baking)
- Browse curated lists for specific topics
- Use Special Collections search to find lists with hyperlinked hashtags, and subscribe to lists to get alerted to new titles
My favorite way to use Bookshare’s advanced search tools is when browsing for cookbooks, as I love trying new recipes and reading through books.
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Bookshare can make any book accessible upon request
Bookshare partners with several publishers and vendors to provide accessible copies of books for readers in high quality formats. Users can also request books to be added to the Bookshare library by submitting the ISBN, with priority given to books required for school or educational uses. In my experience, it can take anywhere from a few weeks to months for a requested book to show up on Bookshare, though newer releases available digitally are much faster. Bookshare has only ever rejected one book that I requested, since it was a textbook that had been certified accessible by the publisher already (something I was not aware of at the time).
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More cool things you didn’t know about Bookshare
- While I mention a lot of Bookshare titles from major publishers, Bookshare also offers titles from self-published authors and smaller publishers. I found Bookshare offers many of the same titles as Kindle Unlimited Accessibility For Visual Impairment
- Bookshare books can be read with digital eReading applications like Nook and Kindle. Learn more in Mainstream eReader Apps and Low Vision Accessibility
- I love reading novels from Bookshare on my eReader, which has an eInk display. Learn more in Mainstream Technology and Low Vision: eReaders and E-Ink Displays and Low Vision Accessibility
- There is a Bookshare download limit. Bookshare users can download 150 books in a 30-day period, with the option to request an increase by contacting customer support.
Published December 20, 2019. Updated November 2024