For special-education teachers, providing required reading for blind and learning-disabled students is a significant challenge. Now, thanks to the aid of Bookshare.org, a non-profit digital book service based in Palo Alto, Calif., educators have access to a library of thousands of titles they can download and reproduce for use on screen readers or as MP3 files.

Bookshare is made possible by a narrow exception to U.S. copyright law, which enables students with certain physical and learning disabilities to obtain copyrighted materials without paying royalty fees. The program currently offers access to more than 17,000 titles, running the gamut from chart-topping best sellers and legal thrillers to classic Hemingway novels and sixth-grade biology textbooks, says Alison Lingane, senior product manager for Bookshare.

Across the country, special-education teachers are turning to Bookshare.org to help provide the visually impaired with volumes of textbooks and literary works they otherwise might not have access to.

Advocates of the technology say the paperless books make in-class reading assignments easier for these students, many of whom get left behind while educators labor to scan printed text into cumbersome Braille embossers and other assistive-learning devices, such as screen readers and MP3 players.

JoEllen Waddell, program support teacher for Cooperative Education Service Agency 5, one of 12 such organizations across the state of Wisconsin responsible for helping educators implement special-education plans and other services, said at least 20 students enrolled in the three schools she oversees currently have access to Bookshare.

Waddell, who holds a master's degree in English, said she is often befuddled by the complex nature and design of most assistive-technology solutions. "You need a Ph.D. to figure some of this stuff out," she said. But that's not the case with the web-based interface that accompanies Bookshare, she added.

"Bookshare is so easy to access," Waddell said. "It's simple for teachers to use."

And simplicity is key for special-education teachers, who often are responsible for several students with very different learning needs, she said. They have neither the time nor the patience to sift through complex manuals to figure out how to operate the latest technologies.

"Before we make assistive technology available to students, we have to have the materials they need on eText," she said. "Schools don't have the time or the personnel to do that; scanning and editing text is so labor-intensive."

Price is another factor. With a Bookshare subscription, Waddell claims schools can purchase full-text novels and required reading material for as little as $6 per text.

"Getting a book for $6 on eText is a steal," she said. "It is a fraction of the cost [of other alternatives]--I couldn't begin to hire an aide to do that work."