Textbooks for Disabled Students

AccessTextNetwork is a tremendous new consortium project for major publishers to help provide accessible textbooks for the disabled:

A goal of the AccessText Network is to provide college students access to resources on how to most effectively use alternative (electronic) textbooks and technology in the classroom as well as the study environment. Students are encouraged to join the AccessText mailing list to receive future announcements on student resources. The student section of our site is scheduled to launch summer 2009. The AccessText website will contain resources for students such as:

• How do I receive textbooks in alternative (electronic) formats?
• How do I use alternative (electronic) textbooks?
• What technology is needed to access electronic textbooks?
• What is the best electronic textbook format for me?
• Where can I get access to reading technology?

If you are a student interested in receiving alternative (electronic) textbooks in college, contact the disability service provider at your college to see if they are an AccessText member. Please note that you must meet the qualification of having a print-related (i.e. mobility, visual and/or reading) disability in order to receive AccessText services.

It's a wonder a service like this has never been formally formed before.

We are delighted and honored to help bring this necessary idea to the forefront of academic thinking as the lines between the average and the disabled blurs to the naked eye and the open mind.