by Shelley Rhodes
Are you tired of surfing the Internet for hours, looking for web sites where you can download accessible versions of good books, only to find out that a site that looked promising when you discovered it offers only selected passages of the book, or just an abstract? Are you tired of playing the betting game, and buying e-books online, only to find they aren't accessible and a waste of your money? A new book from National Braille Press, "Finding Ebooks on the Internet," by Anna Dresner, might just have the resources you are looking for.
This single volume book, although small, is chock full of great information and helpful tips and resources for surviving the wild jungle called the Internet. All of the sites that are listed in the book are tested and have been proven to be accessible to screen readers. The book offers several different sources for e-books, including Web Braille, Visutext, and the Bean library, to name just three.
The book is organized into sections, each one focusing on a different e-text site, and gives directions for using both JFW and Window-Eyes commands for accessing each site, downloading or ordering the books and beginning to enjoy them. The author offers helpful hints and advice on what has worked in the past as well as suggestions on how to deal with problems that might crop up along the way.
There are also several appendices which are chock full of valuable information. The first is a description of the various file formats cited throughout the book and how to access them. The second is a discussion in detail on how to use the download dialogue box of Internet Explorer and also how to teach your computer to recognize different file types for downloading. The third appendix contains a listing of all the JFW and Window-Eyes keyboard commands which serves as a quick reference for new users. The fourth is a listing of all the web addresses used in the book, plus some valuable resources and other web sites for information on such things as Braille ready note takers and scanning software.
This is an excellent book to add to your library, and at only $10, it's definitely worth the investment. If you are a teacher of visually impaired students, or a parent of a blind child or someone who just loves to read and doesn't have the time or the technology to scan, clean up, and translate your own material, this book is for you. It offers something for everyone. Whether you're a new Internet user or an experienced e-book reader, you'll find that this little reference book offers some surprising treasures just waiting for your discovery.
To order "Finding Ebooks on the Internet" by Anna Dresner, contact National Braille Press by phone at (800) 548-7323, or on the Internet at www.nbp.org.