Tiflolibros
Tiflolibros is a digital library for the blind and visually impaired in Argentina. It is the first and so far (2009) only digital library of its kind in the Spanish-speaking world.
history
Tiflolibros was founded in 1999 in Buenos Aires , Argentina , under the direction of Pablo Lecuona and Mara Lis Vilar by blind and sighted people who are familiar with the problem of visual impairment . Today Tiflolibros is financed through the non-profit organization Tiflonexos.
Surname
The name comes from Greek mythology . Tiflos means blind in Greek and is supposed to have been an island to which the blind were banished in order to leave them to their fate there. Libros is the Spanish word for books.
Awards
In November 2003, Tiflolibros was awarded the international Betinhop Prize of the Association for Progressive Communications , which recognizes technology projects for the benefit of the people of Latin America and the Caribbean .
functionality
The more than 25,000 titles are only available to people who cannot read printed books due to their disabilities. If you want to use Tiflolibros, you have to register with proof of disability (copy of the severely handicapped pass) and aids for computer use (e.g. JAWS , Braille display ). After logging in, he gets a username and password to order books. The books are sent in ZIP (file format) via email.
New books can be sent to Tiflolibros as a ZIP file attachment by email. The email should include the title, author, category, genre and language of the book. The new book will then be placed in the library within a few days. Most of the books are scanned by the library users themselves. Others are made available in digital form by well-known authors and publishers. In addition, sighted volunteers type in material or correct scanned books.