The Internet Archive said today it has made available more than 1 million books to those who are blind, dyslexic and visually impaired.
"Every person deserves the opportunity to enhance their lives through access to the books that teach, entertain and inspire," said Brewster Kahle, founder and Digital Librarian of the Internet Archive.
"Bringing access to huge libraries of books to the blind and print disabled is truly one of benefits of the digital revolution."
The more than 1 million books in the Internet Archive’s library for print disabled, are scanned from hard copy books then digitized into DAISY, a specialized talking book format used by blind or others with disabilities.
Kahle also said the Internet Archive will be investing in the growth of its virtual library by funding the digitization of the first 10,000 books donated. Anyone can donate their favorite book or collections of books. Books in all languages are accepted.
Older books will be made available to qualified users who are registered with the Library of Congress’ National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS). . Currently, over 800,000 people in the US are registered with the Library of Congress as being print disabled.
The Internet Archive said it will continually increase the number of books it makes available. It is currently seeking donations of books and ebooks from individuals, libraries and publishers.
"This demonstrates why having open and public access to published works is so important," said Kahle.