[b]The Systemwide Office of Disability Services is proud to announce their partnership with Bookshare.org.
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Access to information is a critical barrier to students and professionals with print based disabilities. The Systemwide Office of Disability Services’ goal is to make accessible at least 100 books in psychology, education, and business for people with disabilities over the next year on Bookshare.org. Additionally, Alliant International University will sponsor the first ever virtual library wing for books related to psychology. Much like a library wing, the California School of Professional Psychology/Alliant International University wing of Bookshare.org will display books donated by the university and will supply Bookshare.org members with the cutting edge of professional material. This is to address the scarcity of books in alternative formats in the field of psychology and subsequent underrepresentation of students and professionals with disabilities. The Systemwide Office of Disability Services will take donations, scan books, and submit them to Bookshare.org so that members with disabilities will be able to access them.
How can I help?
You can donate books in psychology, education and business to Alliant International University ‘s Office of Disability Services. The Systemwide Office of Disability Services will scan the books and make them accessible on Bookshare.org. Books must be the most current edition (with the exception of classics) and not be written in with pen or highlighter. Books from Alliant classes and about diverse populations and topics are especially needed. Our goal is to make books accessible that are an integral part of the education of students in psychology, education and business. This includes, but is not limited to first and second year classes offered with Alliant International University , books written by professors and alumni and about diverse populations and issues (i.e. gender studies, social justice, etc…). Please keep in mind that this process requires that books are unbound and scanned through a copy machine so please do not donate books that you would like back. Books needed for this project can be bought through a wish list of books at http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/registry.html?ie=UTF8&type=wishlist&id=RLL4248U8Q82
or by searching the “Alliant International University-Disability” wish list at Amazon.com. You can ship books directly to the SF campus.
If you would like to participate in this project, please give your books to Dr. Nina Ghiselli on the SF campus or send your books to : 1 Beach Street, Suite 100 , San Francisco , CA 94133 .
We will do our best to scan and make accessible all books submitted that fall within the guidelines of the criteria.
If you have further questions about this initiative or would like to volunteer, please contact Nina Ghiselli at 415-955-2164; [email protected].
Please pass this e-mail onto people who might be interested in this important effort.
Bookshare.org is a division of Benetech which makes books accessible and available for people with print based disabilities. Thanks to recent grant from the US Department of Education, Bookshare.org is offering free memberships to interested universities, professional schools, and K-12 schools. Bookshare.org can help these institutions increase access to students through offering books in accessible formats. These books can be read by users on the computer with assistive technology. We encourage you to spread the word about Bookshare.org and this Alliant International University initiative.