Federal Grant Aims To Make Open Content Texts More Accessible

With the help of a $100,000 supplemental grant from the United States Department of Education Office of Special Education (OSEP), Bookshare will begin to make open content textbooks accessible to readers with print disabilities, as well as to those without such disabilities who might nonetheless benefit from the technology. In what the non-profit organization hopes will pave the way for a broad spectrum of open content texts in all subjects, it has chosen to launch its effort with 16 math and science textbooks approved for California high school students.

"Those with reading challenges will soon be able to read the standards-aligned digital textbooks adopted under California's first-in-the-nation digital textbook initiative," said California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. "Thanks to Bookshare and the U.S. Department of Education, these textbooks will be converted into accessible formats so students who struggle with reading traditional textbooks have a new opportunity to enhance their education."

The initial texts will be available in the standard DAISY format, which offers access to those with print disabilities via both multi-modal reading, combining highlighted on-screen text with high-quality computer-generated voice, and Braille Ready Format (BRF), a digital Braille format for use with Braille displays or embossed Braille. In addition, the OSEP grant allows the digital book files to be offered with images, including detailed math and science illustrations and image descriptions for those with visual disabilities, or in text-only presentation.

Bookshare is an initiative of Benetech, a nonprofit that creates sustainable technology to solve pressing social needs. "Traditional copyrighted books, including those contributed to Bookshare by publishers, are protected with digital rights management technology and available only to those with a documented print disability. But Bookshare's open content books will become part of the freely distributable books in [its] collection and can be used by anybody without proof of disability," said Benetech CEO Jim Fruchterman. These books, he added, "will not only help disabled students throughout the U.S. and globally, but provide parents, teachers and assistive technology developers with free access to real talking textbooks."

In 2007, Bookshare received a $32 million award from OSEP to provide free access for all those with qualifying print disabilities to the entire digital textbook library of the National Instructional Materials Access Center (NIMAC), a federally funded repository for digital versions of textbooks in current circulation. Bookshare currently offers about 60,000 titles and claims more than 70,000 members. The group said it hopes the supplemental grant for conversion of the California texts is the first step toward broadening both its offerings and its audience.

Featured

  • DreamBox Math

    Discovery Education Announces Updates to Experience, DreamBox Math

    K-12 learning solution provider Discovery Education has announced enhancements to its Discovery Education Experience and DreamBox Math products, designed to create a more personalized, engaging learning experience for students.

  • abstract pattern of cybersecurity, ai and cloud imagery

    Report Identifies Malicious Use of AI in Cloud-Based Cyber Threats

    A recent report from OpenAI identifies the misuse of artificial intelligence in cybercrime, social engineering, and influence operations, particularly those targeting or operating through cloud infrastructure. In "Disrupting Malicious Uses of AI: June 2025," the company outlines how threat actors are weaponizing large language models for malicious ends — and how OpenAI is pushing back.

  • digital dashboard featuring a shield icon, graphs, a world map, and network nodes

    IBM Launches Agentic AI Governance and Security Platform

    IBM has introduced a new software stack for enterprise IT teams tasked with managing the complex governance and security challenges posed by autonomous AI systems.

  • laptop and fish hook

    Security Researchers Identify Generative AI 'Vishing' Attack

    A new report from researchers at Ontinue's Cyber Defense Center has identified a complex, multi-stage cyber attack that leveraged social engineering, remote access tools, and signed binaries to infiltrate and persist within a target network.