Want to read this magazine in your preferred language? You can translate the entire document using any modern AI tool (such as Gemini, ChatGPT, or Claude). Just follow these simple steps:
Bookshare
A BENETECH INITIATIVE
THE WORLDâS LARGEST ACCESSIBLE BOOK LIBRARY IS FREE IN INDIA
Children with print differences who canât effectively use printed books â including those with visual Challenges, physical limitations that prevent holding a book, or cognitive conditions like dyslexia was in a dire book famine that affected their ability to read and grow like their print-reading counterparts.
In 2012, for the first time in the world, the Indian Parliament issued a bill that set the world of reading for all those who love to read, but canât read due to their print limitations. Chakshumathi was one of the key players with Daisy Forum of India to propose the bill and win the rights for people with print differences. The rigid system of book publishers and the then-existing copyright law prevented converting printed books, including the educational textbooks (now also Indian education Boards are in a coma in this case).
Following India, in the same year United States of America and in the early months of 2013, most of the European Countries followed Indiaâs Copyright Amendment bill and followed the same in their countries.
2013 saw the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) take this matter in their Marrakesh Global Congress and place the bill for global ratification. 2018 saw the end of this intellectual rights war, confirming that any book published without an accessible version can be copied for the use of persons with print disabilities (Chakshumathi strongly opposes the word disability and wishes to call different ability) without the permission of the publisher or author for the reading of persons with print disabilities, but not for sale.
The WIPO global treaty opened the door for cross-border titles to come to the devices of any reader from any country. Bookshare was the key player in this game to get the best titles around the world for us.
Bookshare is an online library and accessibility platform operated by Benetech that provides digitally accessible books and learning materials for people with print disabilities. It offers a large and growing collection of titles in accessible formatsâDAISY, EPUB, MP3, braille-ready files, and formats optimized for screen readers and text-to-speechâtogether with apps and tools that let readers listen, follow highlighted text, convert documents, and customize display for their needs.
Bookshareâs mission is to remove reading barriers so people who cannot read standard print can pursue education, employment, and full participation in society.
Bookshare serves individuals whose reading is limited by a range of print disabilities, including (but not limited to) blindness and low vision, severe dyslexia, cerebral palsy, and other physical or learning conditions that make handling or decoding printed text difficult. Beneficiaries include school-age students (primary through higher education), vocational and professional learners, and teachers who need accessible classroom materials, and adult learners and professionals who require accessible ebooks for career development or personal reading. Institutions, schools for the blind, universities, libraries, and service organisations also benefit by integrating accessible materials into instruction and services.
Bookshareâs platform features reading apps and conversion tools that enable individualised reading experiences (audio narration, synchronised highlighting, braille output, large print), which expand access across ages and settings.
Indiaâs Divyang Pariposhan claims all support, free education, and pensions. Ironically no support for quality, equitable education. Parents are taught that their child is the burden of the nation and that governments will bear their expenses. Not as an asset. Pensions are made to mitigate the burden isnât it?
In reality, a parent who has children along with their so-called âSpecial Divyang Childâ sends their other children to CBSE schools and keeps this child at home until a special school snatches the child and taking away from home to meet their head count. Hardly less than 1% special schools do justice to these children in terms of education.
There are no barriers for these children in the modern digital world, and since 1994, the global education fraternity has been under the Salamanca Treaty, demanding inclusive education and the closure of these Special schools. All it needs is a monthâs readiness for the child to use the digital device and break his print barrier.
Chakshumathiâs Early Birds and Mummy Birds program and Benetech Bookshareâs Digital Literacy programs are a classic example of 1000s of children with different abilities thriving at mainstream schools after a quick training for the parent and child.
Access to reading is foundational to education, employability, and civic participation. In India and similar contexts, the bottleneck is not only legal permission or a single technology but a system-level shortage of accessible content, uneven infrastructure, and limited training. Bookshare mitigates those barriers by providing a large, legally supported library of accessible titles, reader apps, and conversion services. Benetechâs Saksharta programme amplifies that impact on the ground by delivering devices, training, and institutional support tailored to local needs. Together, they offer a scalable, practical pathway toward inclusive educationâone that still requires continued collaboration with publishers, governments, schools, and local NGOs to reach every learner who needs it.
Bookshare has over a million titles in Epub3, Accessible Word, Text, BRF (Braille Refreshable Format for Digital Braille), and Audio formats. For students, Bookshare and partners converted various board and university textbooks and competitive examination guides
For membership call: +91 92840 97190 or visit www.bookshare.org