Philippines Bookshare Corners

Bookshare Corners are an open elibrary community-based approach to introduce accessible educational materials to learners with print disabilities.

·      People with print disabilities that can include blindness, dyslexia and cerebral palsy deserve the opportunity to read and learn in ways that meet their needs. Bookshare, the world’s largest accessible digital library, provides books at scale in formats that people with print barriers can read. When people with disabilities have accessible materials, they can pursue learning with greater independence. Bookshare eliminates barriers to accessing information for people with print disabilities in over 90 countries.

·      In the Philippines, people with print disabilities may also face limitations to internet connectivity and access to devices, especially in remote areas. Bookshare Philippines expands outreach to these learners through Bookshare Corners. Bookshare Corners dedicate resources and devices to accessible reading in local community centers. We have partnered with hubs of community support including public libraries, universities, and government Resource Centers to encourage reading. Bookshare Corners feature a dedicated device that is a connection point for anyone to learn about digital literacy and is a one-click portal to accessible digital formats of books with open copyright. These formats serve learners with print disabilities, most commonly blindness or low vision. The simple set up is paired with a trained partner Coordinator who assists people to find books, suggests resources for improving digital literacy, and hosts special forums like common reading sessions. The community – which includes people with print disabilities, people with other types of disabilities, and other families or friends – learns more about accessible resources and finds an entry point into digital literacy.

·      Learners with disabilities in the Philippines seek resources that support their participation in education and social life. There is limited awareness of existing resources, and limited access to those resources, especially in remote areas. General use of technology in the Philippines is very high, but digital literacy rates and awareness of how people with disabilities can also use technology to consume and interact with content are much lower than for the general population. Simple engagements to build understanding and interest in digital resources and digital literacy, integrated with community structures, are an important area of opportunity to make an impact.

·      Bookshare Corners are open inclusive library portals for communities with low connectivity. The global Bookshare library serves people with print disabilities. In the Philippines, we have primarily served students and adults with blindness and visual impairment.

·      Bookshare Corners offer open copyright books in accessible formats that are needed by learners with print disabilities but can be read by anyone. The Corners call attention to digital literacy and reading for the entire community, offering a starting point for everyone to learn more. Students with print disabilities can then request full Bookshare memberships to access over 800,000 books from the Philippines and around the world, including local educational materials as well as storybooks and supplementary learning materials. The books are in up to five accessible formats that allow learners to customize their reading experience ot use digital braille, large font, or highlighted text synchronized with audio.

·      Bookshare Corners start to level the playing field in reading and digital literacy for those who cannot afford or do not have access to technology resources on their own.

·      Bookshare Corners are a model to introduce learners to accessible reading options in any region of the Philippines. The solution is in pilot stage, moving into growth stage.

·      Bookshare Corners were designed to offer an entry point to ebooks and digital literacy for people in remote or low-connectivity environments who may not have individual devices or data plans. Learners with print disabilities who have had limited access to technology may not even yet know about technology resources that can help them read to improve literacy and social connection. Bookshare Corner books are a selection of open-sourced titles for all grade levels that support curricular outcomes.

·      Bookshare Corners are located in resource centers and libraries with internet connectivity that families may not have at home. Learners can find and read books online and can also download copies to the desktop if the internet is unstable. The books are offered in multiple accessible formats that allow, for example, learners with visual impairment to read with enlarged text, students who prefer to listen to books to hear text-to-speech audio, or learners with dyslexia who may benefit from read-along highlighted text. These formats are necessary for students with print disabilities and are helpful for other learners too. The different book formats help learners explore what they might need. Learners with print disabilities can sign up to access even more books if they log into their accounts from the Bookshare Corner or from school to download educational resources or storybooks.

Aggie Angeles leads Bookshare Philippines. She joined Bookshare after 30 years in development banking to help solve the book famine in her home country.

·      Bookshare applies technology to unlock printed materials for people with print disabilities. Bookshare brings books directly to people with print disabilities, anytime, on any device. Our delivery of books whenever, wherever, and in whatever format the user chooses is faster, at lower cost, and is more responsive than any other solution. We have revolutionized the field, converting over 850,000 books into accessible formats so learners can choose the reading experience that best addresses their print disability. These books include science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) books, for which we have leveraged machine learning, computer vision, and Natural Language Processing to efficiently identify math equations in books and automatically convert them into accessible math. This is a first for our sector.

·      Bookshare Corners are a learner’s first introduction to accessible ebooks that can open the door to reading and learning. Bookshare Corners are inclusive experiences for learners with print disabilities – designed for their needs but with books that are open to all learners to read together.

·      Bookshare Corners are the result of strategic partnerships with public libraries and local Persons with Disabilities Resources Centers in remote municipalities. Bookshare Corners leverage the internet connectivity of these centers as well as their centrality in the community and lives of the learners we are trying to reach. Government involvement in providing access to resources for learners with disabilities is an important lever to build toward systemic change.

·      Three Bookshare Corners have tested the idea in three different contexts.

·      The regional Rizal Library branch of the national public library system hosted the first Bookshare Corner. The Bookshare Corner in the Camarines Norte Persons with Disability Center, a government resource center, followed during the pandemic. We most recently piloted at the Cavite State University, to test the model with university students because they have more flexibility to use the campus than younger students during the pandemic.

·      All three of these locations provided a desktop in a dedicated space, and the Bookshare team has trained up a staff at each organization to act as Coordinator and support people to use the reading resources and find more information. Bookshare Corners are powerful and are simple and low maintenance, so it was straightforward for the organizations to set up and to sustain the space even as pandemic restrictions changed.

·      Bookshare is an accessible ebook library that delivers digital materials in five accessible formats to people with print disabilities in the Philippines and beyond. Bookshare technology automatically converts inaccessible file formats into accessible ones, including text-to-speech mp3 audio, Word, EPUB, DAISY (highlighted text synchronized with audio), and digital braille. The global collection includes over 1 million titles, each in multiple formats to meet different reading needs of people with print disabilities. Bookshare Corners leverage these accessible books to offer a subset that anyone can freely read. Simple links open collections of young children’s books, mixed-grade fiction, and upskilling books that can be read on a browser or downloaded in accessible formats.

·      Our theory of change is that, if learners with disabilities are given materials that meet their academic and knowledge needs, they can achieve educational benchmarks and eventually find gainful employment, improving the economic prospects of their families and communities. Bookshare helps develop the conditions for people with disabilities to pursue education and skilling for their futures.

·      Bookshare develops these conditions through direct services and local capacity-building. Direct book delivery ensures that learners have the specific books required for their knowledge pursuits by sourcing or converting books from around the world. The book must be in the format that a given learner needs, available on the device they have. Bookshare books are downloadable anytime in five formats that conform to global accessibility standards and can be read on most mainstream and specialized devices.

·      A Bookshare Corner is an extension of the Bookshare service. It is a digital education and learning hub which raises awareness for the visually impaired, and for other persons with disabilities, and for the sighted community, such that there is a broader appreciation of diverse reading methods and technology tools. Bookshare Corners help people with print disabilities to read and offer connection point to unite all in the community.

Bookshare is used in a wide variety of settings including in school, at home, and in other learning environments. It can be used by learners, and also by teachers or parents who have print disabilities themselves. Bookshare Corners can be used by learners and the adults who support them.

·      During the pilot phase for Bookshare Corners, we have conducted evaluation sessions with our partners. These discussions surface what is working and what challenges remain to reach the learners we most want to reach.

·      As we grow, we are working to design a brief digital user evaluation survey that can help us keep an ongoing pulse on users’ needs for the Bookshare Corners. A short accessible online form will be user-friendly and aligned with the goal that Bookshare Corners are spaces for digital learning and sharing.

·      When learners and adults become members, the Bookshare platform allows us to track membership growth and various demographic characteristics of new members. We also extensively measure the growth of the library collection to include books that are relevant for readers in core countries like the Philippines.

·      The Bookshare Philippines team also measures the growth in partnerships, since each new partnership means an increase in recognition of the needs of people with print disabilities and an action toward meeting those needs.

·      Our primary impact goal for Bookshare Corners is for every learner with a print disability in the Philippines to know how accessible ebooks can allow them to read independently for learning. Bookshare Corners are the gateway for people to become aware of resources that can help them, find community with others who also read accessible ebooks, and seek more support for digital literacy and inclusive education.

·      Our five-year goal is to support at least 30 Bookshare Corners that cover all 17 regions of the country. We plan for 20 in three years and 10 in the next year. Bookshare Corners will be established in a variety of locations to ensure access for urban and rural communities, younger and older learners, and multiple learning environments. We are building relationships with local government resource centers, the 80 special education centers, and many public library branches like our first pilot location. A partner staff Coordinator would support and monitor each Bookshare Corner.

·      Benetech is unique in being comfortable and savvy to work remotely with organizations that serve people with disabilities. Even before the global shift to virtual engagement during the pandemic, the Philippines team was utilizing Facebook and other social media to broadcast information and run trainings. Our team has persisted to collaborate with government agencies and resource centers even as some individuals are harder to reach while working remotely. We are leveraging relationships that we have spent years building, and we are already fielding requests for more Bookshare Corners.

·      The Bookshare Corner solution is specifically tailored to areas of the country with low-technology or internet penetration by offering a centralized, dedicated hub for accessible reading and digital literacy. In a geographically dispersed country like the Philippines we can promote, setup, and monitor the Bookshare Corners remotely as needed. Our partner organizations have the devices and internet connectivity that most individuals do not. We recognize that as we look to the future within any of our Bookshare Corner communities, individual devices and internet connectivity would allow for greater independence for learners. We are building relationships with government agencies and other NGOs to advocate for more technology resources for learners with print disabilities.

·      The regulatory environment for accessible books would be greatly improved by implementation of the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled. The Philippines acceded to the treaty in 2018 but has not yet implemented its copyright exception for distribution of accessible books into local law. The Philippines team works with the global Bookshare team to secure distribution permissions directly from publishers, and we offer training for publishers to enhance accessibility features of the books they bring to market.

·      Bookshare was created by a rocket engineer who developed technology to digitize and distribute books in accessible formats. Benetech continues to be a different kind of tech company—a nonprofit— developing software for social good. Our work in education is focused on one big thing: making information accessible so that everyone can learn, work, and pursue their dreams. Bookshare is the world’s largest accessible ebook library serving people with print disabilities to read in ways that work for them.

·      Bookshare is very important for my home country of the Philippines. We have a long history of caring for the basic needs people with disabilities, but there remains much opportunity to expand this support with modern tools and resources, like our digital accessible library. The global book famine for people with print disabilities – since over 90% of written materials are only in printed form – is very real in the Philippines. I lead the Philippines team to develop strong partnerships with the national government, regional agencies, and local organizations to find a sustainable solution to the book famine in a highly fragmented country terrain.

The Bookshare Philippines team is two people, Ms. Aggie as team lead and Outreach Coordinator and Ms. Rhea as Membership Support. The two of us lead Bookshare Corners. The global Bookshare library is supported by an international Benetech team of 78 full time staff and 15 long-term contractors.

·      Bookshare Corners are the only resource which immediately provides a collection of hundreds of books in a convenient and community-centered way.

·      The Bookshare Library is managed and improved by an international team that continuously adds books to the collection and enhances new features for the Bookshare reading experience. The Philippines team leverages this global support while focusing on outreach and relationships in the Philippines and developing new services like Bookshare Corners that can improve lives locally. Our efforts are dedicated to learners with print disabilities in the Philippines.

·      I have spent 30 years in development banking which means that I understand the Philippine governmental, economic, and social landscape very well. My colleague and I are persistent and creative in our approach to engaging a variety of partners. We are both Philippine citizens and speak three languages that help us build rapport with partners in multiple regions.

·      Bookshare Corners are an initiative unique to the Philippines from all the countries where learners use Bookshare for accessible ebooks. I conceptualized this community-based idea and piloted it, starting with a branch of the public library and expanding to work with a university and a local government resource center.

·      The Bookshare Philippines team sees our role as to support and encourage reading by all students, especially those with print disabilities. My teammate and I worked with the Department of Education to launch a storytelling contest for students in K-12 schools. Pre-pandemic we worked with a set of schools in person to encourage students to read and then tell their own story. During COVID we moved to a fully virtual video contest open to any student in the country!

·      We work with umbrella organizations for persons with disabilities including Resources for the Blind, Inc., and the Philippine Blind Union, to raise awareness of assistive technology and resources like Bookshare and to facilitate Bookshare memberships for eligible people.

·      We also engage government or government-affiliated institutions like the United Nations Representative for Persons with Disabilities, the National Council for Disabilities, and the Department of Education Inclusion Division. With these agencies, we raise the profile of inclusive education and digital literacy through events like White Cane Day. We support initiatives to increase the use of technology for learners with disabilities in schools and regularly share information about Bookshare and accessibility best practices with regional leads of the Department of Education and with other local government officials.

·      We have also partnered with membership organizations like Junior Chamber International Clubs and Rotary Clubs that sponsor projects and support the cost of Bookshare memberships.

·      We are excited to grow our impact in the Philippines, as well as explore how Bookshare and Bookshare Corners might be effective in other areas of Southeast Asia. The support offered by this Challenge will be very helpful –it is incredibly important to build our connection to likeminded people in the global Solver network who are also working to support people in dispersed areas of the Philippines. I welcome the chance to engage with fellow entrepreneurs.

·      Monitoring and evaluation: We are always seeking research support, including funding and partnership, to collect and unpack additional impact data about inclusive education needs and the Bookshare solution.

·      Marketing, media, and exposure: Millions of people in Southeast Asia and Asia-Pacific countries could benefit from Bookshare. Media support to reach learners with disabilities and their families is critical to ensure that those who need accessible materials know how to find them. In addition, we would welcome media that raises awareness of learning differences like dyslexia. Lastly, capturing and amplifying stories of success can showcase the rights and successes of learners with disabilities in school and help to promote social acceptance and inclusion. Positive media exposures would help increase our client base and could help forge connections with new partners.