Benetech’s Bookshare by the Numbers
By , posted on October 5, 2017It was just about a year ago that the Benetech team celebrated 10 million books delivered through our Bookshare library. Shortly thereafter, we celebrated another amazing milestone: access to 500,000 books for Bookshare members.
Those milestones speak to Benetech’s ability to use software to tackle social issues—in Bookshare’s case, access to books and information for people with disabilities—and to deliver impact at scale. But those numbers are just part of the Bookshare story. Here are a handful of additional stats to give you a more complete picture of Bookshare’s scale, impact, and reach. (Don’t forget, Bookshare is free for all qualified US-based students and schools. You can support Benetech & Bookshare by visiting our Get Involved page.)
11,000,000+ |
Bookshare has delivered over 11,000,000 books to people with disabilities, transforming how they read and helping them succeed. Whether you read with your eyes, ears, or fingers, Bookshare delivers books that work for you. |
618,000+ |
There are 618,000 books and counting in the Bookshare library, including fiction, nonfiction, educational texts, STEM education texts, career guides, and much more. Books come from our publishing partners, our scanning volunteers, and from our own scanning operation. |
500,000+ |
Bookshare serves 500,000+ people who read differently. Members come from all corners of the world and speak many different languages. |
25,000 |
25,000 is the number of schools and school districts in the United States that use Bookshare to better serve their students. The schools and districts range from large, urban districts—such as New York City Department of Education and Los Angeles Unified School District—to small, rural districts in all 50 states. |
850 |
Over 850 publishers share our vision for a Born Accessible future. That’s why they send us their files to add to the Bookshare library at the same time they send them to Amazon. If you want to read a book the day it’s released, chances are we’ll have it! |
99 |
Large school districts love Bookshare. That’s why 99 out of the largest 100 districts in the United States use Bookshare. |
80 |
There are Bookshare members in a whopping 80 countries. The United States, United Kingdom, Canada and India already operate Bookshare at scale. We’ll make our services available wherever we’re needed. Your country could be next! |
35 |
The Bookshare library has books in 35 different languages. English and Spanish lead the way, but members can also access books in languages including Hindi and Arabic (just to name a couple). Check out the Bookshare library to see what books are available in your preferred reading language. |
21 |
Benetech partners with 21 libraries to bring Bookshare to community members. Those libraries are in the United States—California, Georgia, Pennsylvania, New York—and across the globe: Canada, Belgium, Norway, New Zealand, and more. Encourage your local library to sign up! |
1 |
Every member we add, every download – each one is another book read by someone who couldn’t otherwise read. Every single person should have the opportunity to read. That’s why we do what we do. |