University of Huddersfield

I would like to say how valuable RNIB Bookshare has been to me and the students I support just in the last month. (Katherine, Library Disability Support Advisor)

The staff in Computing and Library Services at Huddersfield University support students with a print disability in obtaining their essential course reading in accessible electronic formats. One of the ways they do so is using RNIB Bookshare.

They have been using the service since March 2016, and are now looking to contribute their resources to share with others too.

Katherine has worked as a Disability Support Librarian for the past 3 years, and used RNIB Bookshare in a previous role. On taking up a new role in April, she found that the demand for alternative versions of textbooks was much higher.

“One PHD student sent me an email in my first week, with requests for over 50 books! You can imagine how long that would have taken, had we had to scan every item individually, or even go through the process of contacting publishers individually.”

Equality of access to course resources is important;

“It has been incredibly helpful to be able to log onto RNIB Bookshare and download many of these titles immediately. The students then get almost the equivalent experience that non-disabled students have when they come to the library and choose a book off the shelf.”

Katherine’s message to publishers;

“If publishers could hear the stories of frustration I hear from some students, they might be more aware of the really incredible value that RNIB Bookshare provides.”