For those of us who help K-12 students get accessible texts, it had been a real problem to help those same students as they entered college and didn't have the same laws and support system in place.  When the AccessText network came into being, and further expanded to provide free membership to colleges, it was a godsend.  From their website, www.AccessText.org:

"The AccessText Network helps college students with print disabilities by connecting their disability service offices directly with leading textbook publishers to obtain electronic files. These files are used to create accessible versions of the textbooks."


I've been using their new Accessible Textbook Finder, which allows you to search NOT ONLY their collection, but also Bookshare, Learning Ally, etc.  It's great!

And here's a secret!  You can use their search tool even without being a member!  You can be looking for a book for a k-12 student, it doesn't matter-- this tool just helps you search all sources.  

TIP- the ISBN search field only accepts up to 13 numbers, so get rid of dashes before cutting and pasting an ISBN nunber into the search.  And if the ISBN number doesn't show up, search by title.  

TLC Spotlight - Kindle

The Kindle Wireless Reading Device

Mention the word eBook reader and the brand that springs to mind is the Kindle. With digital book readers such as the Amazon Kindle, reading can become a new experience. Your entire book collection can now be stored up to 3500 books in 4GB memory. The main advantage is that the item is so light at 8.5 onces, very portable and can be taken anywhere or read at anytime.

The first selling point for the Kindle is the quality of display. With eInk screen technolongy as opposed to LCD display (commonly found in most computers), the kindle can be read even in broad daylight. 

 

Check out the video...

 

 

What do you think? Do you want to TRY IT before you BUY IT? Then join our Technology Lending Center. Click here to join today!

FREE Audio books!

Are you looking for audio books but don't want to spend any money? If so, check out Books Should Be Free

This website has many books available in a variety of genres, including: childrens, fantasy, historical fiction, and even teen/young adult.

Once you find the book you are interested in, follow the link to the book page. There you will find a short summary of the book, an embedded audio player so you can listen to a sample of the book, and the link to either download the book directly into iTunes or download the mp3 files.

Download a book today and try it out! Once you do - leave a comment and let us know your thoughts.