Bookshare
Bookshare provides access to over one million books. They offer customized reading experiences such as audio + highlighted text, large print, and more. Some kids need the ‘extra’ features that Bookshare offers. Another huge perk for teachers- the Bookshare App works on almost any device, including Chromebooks (NLS service is not quite there yet). It’s also free for students and schools. However, regular pricing applies after a student graduates.
Most Bookshare books are not human-narrated. If this matters to you, the selection will be smaller.
Learning Ally
This nonprofit includes an extensive collection of textbook materials in audio format, which NLS does not offer. With more than 80,000 books in the collection, these human-narrated books come with what they call an “Audiobook Solution.” The goal is to help students master basic reading skills.
These books are available on a variety of devices, including Chromebooks. Learning Ally focuses on helping teachers implement their service within the existing curriculum and offers ‘extras’ like ongoing professional training and support. Annual membership is required, although schools can currently request funding state-by-state.
Accessible Newspapers from NFB NEWSLINE
Even if you can no longer read a print newspaper, you can still keep up with all the local and national goings on. The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) offers a free service called NEWSLINE that allows eligible recipients to phone a local number and use the phone dial pad to navigate and listen to any of over 300 participating national and local newspapers, magazines and other news sources. Offerings include such national publications as USA Today, the New York Times and the Washington Post. Small town papers are also included, ranging from the Aberdeen American News to the Zanesville Times Recorder. Local TV listings are also available.
Unlike Digital Talking Books, NEWSLINE periodicals are not read by human narrators. The system uses text-to-speech to turn printed text into spoken recordings, which can take a bit of getting used to. As is the case with NLS Talking Books and magazines, however, tech savvy users have additional options. If you have an e-mail account, you can subscribe to various publications and have the latest editions sent to your inbox as soon as they are available. Smartphone users can also subscribe and read publications on their devices. The iPhone App Store offers the NFB NEWSLINE app, an easy to use interface for subscribing to and reading periodicals and TV listings. There app is not available for Android at this time, but Android users who are Bookshare members (see below) can use the Go Read app to download and read NEWSLINE periodicals.