The University of Liverpool has an institutional RNIB Bookshare account which provides accessible books for learners with sight loss, dyslexia, dyspraxia, autism and qualifying physical disabilities under the Copyright and Rights in Performances (Disability) Regulations 2014.
In order to use RNIB Bookshare you must have a current Student Support Information Sheet (SSIS) indicating that you have a qualifying disability. If you believe that you qualify for using Bookshare but do not have this information in your SSIS then please contact the University of Liverpool Disability Advice and Guidance Team for further guidance.
The Accessibility Support Team in the Library will create you a Bookshare account and send you an email which will include login details and instructions explaining how to use the service. Your username will be your University of Liverpool username in the format username@liverpool.ac.uk. You will be given a temporary password, please reset this using Forgot your Password.
As soon as you receive your email you will be able login via the RNIB Bookshare Homepage and make use of the services available.
You can find books across a wide range of subjects for university study in addition to reading for leisure. Not all books are available through RNIB Bookshare as only certain publishers work with them, however this is increasing all the time.
If the book is not available you can request it and RNIB Bookshare will do their best to source an electronic file from the publisher. Please note: Bookshare cannot process titles that predate 2000 as an electronic file is unlikely to be available.
- Check RNIB Reading Lists to see what is already available.
- Books may be listed once or twice depending on the formats available.
- Some books can be downloaded in a variety of formats including Microsoft Word, DAISY or Braille. These books can also be read using the Read Now web reader. Other books are only available for download as a PDF file. Some books will have all options.
Please note: The default format on Bookshare is PDF. But in some cases you can adapt this into various accessible formats
- To find out more about Read Now watch the video How to read books from RNIB Bookshare UK Education Collection using our web reader tool
- To find out more about downloading books watch the video Learners, download your first book from RNIB Bookshare.
Dolphin EasyReader
Use the Dolphin EasyReader app, available for iOS and Android, to access RNIB Bookshare titles on a tablet or phone.
- The app can be downloaded from the from the App Store for iOS or from the Play Store for Android
- Once installed you will need to sign in.
- Choose Continue with your Library and then Bookshare
- Sign in with your Bookshare credentials. EasyReader will now log you into the Bookshare library to save you logging in twice.
- Once logged in, open the side menu and choose RNIB Bookshare.
- If the library is not listed, choose manage libraries and enable the service you require.
- You can now browse, access Reading Lists and download accessible titles.
To find out more about EasyReader see Read with Dolphin EasyReader and watch Getting Started with EasyReader
To submit a request, on the RNIB Bookshare homepage click Get Started then How to Find Books.
Then click the green Book Request button
On the next page click the Book Request Form tab underneath 'Quick Book Request Links' or scroll down to the section called Request your book (section 6) where you will find a link to the Book Request Form. When you click this you will be prompted to login if you haven't already done so.
- Requests usually take around 2-3 days to be dealt with.
- Bookshare will email you once the item is ready to download.
- Turn-around times from publishers can be as little as 24 hours or up to 10 weeks. At peak times of year, the turn-around times can increase. Bookshare will however chase publishers for outstanding requests regularly.
Once you submit your request you can track it via My Requests on the Homepage. Log in and click My Account
Then click My Homepage
And then My Requests in the list of options on the left. If you need to contact Bookshare about a request please quote the case number which you will find via My Requests.
Students are welcome to use the Get It For Me service to place a request for an item in an accessible format.
If you have a preference on format then you can add that as a note to the request and the team will try and purchase the item in that format.
If you would like more information about using RNIB Bookshare or support with using the service, you are welcome to email the Accessible Texts Team.
The Accessible Texts Team support customers with accessing texts in accessible format. Information about the team can be found on the Library Accessibility Guide.