Here's the first newsletter from the innovative and groundbreaking
Bookshare project.

Kelly


Bookshare.org - Books without Barriers
e-Newsletter
Volume 1, Issue 1
Save Your Book Scans

Welcome to the first Bookshare.org e-Newsletter.  We're excited to update
you about the development of this new online community that enables
people
in the United States with visual and other print disabilities to legally
share scanned books.  Bookshare.org takes advantage of a special
exemption
in the U.S. copyright law that permits the reproduction of publications
into
specialized formats for the disabled.  Bookshare.org is on track to
launch
at the end of this year.

The number one priority is to build the collection of digital books, with
a
goal of offering 20,000 books at launch.  Bookshare.org brings people
together to share their digital resources with the broader community.  As
a
result, the collection is built by its members and supporters.  Whether
you've got one book or a thousand in your library, your role in building
the
collection is critical.  Once the books are submitted, the Bookshare.org
community relies on volunteers to check the books and prepare them for
download.

Our vision  - to dramatically increase the accessibility of electronic
books
for this community - is within reach.  Help make it a reality!

1. Save your book scans.

If you regularly scan books for your own use, or have access to a
scanner,
you can help build the collection.  Detailed information about book scans
is
included below.
While we welcome any scanned books, we also maintain a list of recent
best-sellers that aren't already in the collection.  Send an email to
[log in to unmask] <
mailto:[log in to unmask]>
to request some
book suggestions from this list.

2. Tell your friends.

The more people who know about Bookshare.org and take an active role in
supporting its development, the more extensive the collection will be.
Feel
free to forward this email to other people you know who could benefit
from
being a part of the Bookshare.org community.

3. Sign up as a volunteer.

In mid-September we will launch a volunteer website that will enable
people
like you to help check in the thousands of books that have already been
submitted.  This important processing step can be done by volunteers over
an
Internet connection.

What does it mean to check in books?  Before submitted books can be made
available for download, they need to go through this important processing
step.  All of this can be done through a web interface, and includes
things
like verifying the title, author, and copyright information, helping to
categorize the book, and rating its quality.  For some books, this check
in
process will include downloading the original book submission, and
converting it into a standard file format.

We'll let you know through this e-newsletter when it is up and running.
If
you'd like to sign up to become a volunteer, simply send an email to
[log in to unmask] <
mailto:[log in to unmask]>
expressing your
interest.

We look forward to your involvement in this online community, and welcome
your ideas and suggestions.

Sincerely,

The Bookshare.org Team
[log in to unmask]

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DETAILED INFORMATION ABOUT BOOK SCANS

If you have digital copies of books that you have scanned in for your own
use, please save them to add to the collection when Bookshare.org
launches.

Here are some guidelines about what materials we can and cannot accept.
Below, you'll find a set of preferences we've put together for scanned
materials if you are scanning new books to submit to Bookshare.org.
Following these preferences will help ensure the highest quality books
that
have useful markings such as page numbers and chapter indications.

Materials we can accept

- Complete scans of books
- Digital books in almost any format
- Books either copyrighted or in the public domain
- Materials that do not violate any of the restrictions listed below.

Materials we cannot accept

- Any copyrighted material that does not contain the original copyright
notice (including date and copyright owner(s)).
- Copyrighted dramatic works (such as plays).
- Exams, teachers' editions of textbooks or sample course materials.
- Partial book scans, such as individual chapters.
- Any materials that are proprietary, or were obtained in breach of any
contract or illegally.

Preferences

Scanner settings
1.  Keep Exact View / Image File
- If your scanner allows you to do so, keep the image file of the scanned
pages along with the text translation.  If you are using a Kurzweil 1000
version 6 or Kurzweil 3000, the image file is saved with the .kes file
format.  If you are using OPENBook or WYNN, the image files will be
included
if you have "Keep Exact View" enabled.

Why do we ask for this? Over time, as the quality of Optical Character
Recognition technology improves, we hope to be able to go back to the
original image files that are submitted to provide an even higher quality
book.

- If your scanner does not allow you to keep the image file of the
scanned
pages along with the text translation, please save the scan in RTF.

Bookshare.org can accept digital books in many different formats.  If
you've
got digital books in other formats, you can definitely still submit them
to
the collection, and we welcome your submissions!

2.  Two page scanning
- If you choose to scan two pages of a book at a time, select "two page
scanning" so that the resulting file will differentiate between the two
pages.

3. Keep blank pages
- Do not discard blank pages if your scanning software has such a
setting.
Having all of the pages, including the blank ones, will help provide page
numbers that correspond to those in the original book.

Scanning
1.  Copyright notice
- Make sure to include the scan of the copyright notice. This is found on
the back side of the title page. Bookshare.org cannot legally add books
to
its collection that do not contain the original copyright owner and date.

2.  Entire book

- Scan the book cover, book jacket (if it has one), and all of the pages
before and after the content.
- Make sure to scan the book in its entirety; no single chapters will be
accepted.

3. Careful layout
- Make sure that the book is square on the scanner when you scan.

Saving the Scan
Following these guidelines will save the most amount of information about
the book, such as page numbers, chapters, bold text, etc.
1.  Optical Character Recognition
- Run Optical Character Recognition (OCR) on your scanned material before
submitting it. This will help increase the quality of the submission.

2.  File format
- If you are using a commercial OCR package, save the scan in the RTF
format.
- If you are using OpenBook, WYNN, or the Kurzweil 1000 version 6 or
Kurzweil 3000, save the scan in the default format for the program. For
example, for OpenBook the default results in a file with the extension
.ark.
For the Kurzweil products, the default results in a file with the
extension
.kes.

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ABOUT BOOKSHARE.ORG
Books without Barriers

Bookshare.org is a new online community that enables people with visual
and
other print disabilities to legally share scanned books.  Bookshare.org
will
launch in late 2001.

Where do the digital books come from?
The Bookshare.org collection is built and shaped primarily by its
community
of members and supporters. By scanning a book to submit to the
collection, a
Bookshare.org member can provide access to that book to other members.

Who can access the books?
Copyrighted digital books will be available only to U.S. citizens or
residents who have a disability that affects print reading. Both
individuals
and organizational memberships will be available. Qualified organizations
are those that provide accessible material to individuals with print
disabilities.

Why is Bookshare.org legal?
In general, it would be illegal to share or distribute copyrighted books.
However, Bookshare.org takes advantage of a special exemption in U.S.
copyright law that permits the reproduction of publications into
specialized
formats for the disabled.  This project is possible under the law in the
United States, as long as the copyrighted digital books are only
available
to people in the U.S. with bona fide disabilities and the nonprofits and
schools that serve them.  For more information, please visit our website
at
http://www.bookshare.org/about/legal.

Who is behind Bookshare.org?
Bookshare.org is a project of the Benetech Initiative, a nonprofit
organization.  Benetech brings the power of technology to social issues.

Copyright © 2001 by Benetech
www.benetech.org


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