Integrating OUP’s book collection with a range of accessible reading devices and apps will further help 33,000 print-disabled learners access academic and educational materials

The world’s largest university press, Oxford University Press (OUP), today announced a new agreement with the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), one of Britain’s leading blind charities and most large community of blind and partially sighted people. As part of the agreement, OUP’s academic list collection is now available on RNIB Bookshare, a service operated by RNIB that instantly provides a wide variety of accessible and adaptive file types for print-disabled learners. OUP’s backlist collection will be uploaded to the platform, which has over 900,000 books, at a later date.

The agreement will be transformative for the approximately 33,000 print-disabled learners currently supported by RNIB Bookshare, including those with dyslexia or who are blind or partially sighted. By integrating OUP’s academic content through reading devices or apps, including DAISY, Dolphin and ePub, RNIB Bookshare users will have access to more academic materials, contributing to a more inclusive educational environment. The new service is currently available to UK users, with plans for other regions to be included in the near future.

The deal is OUP’s second major content integration on RNIB Bookshare. It follows the addition of OUP’s educational content which has been available on the service since 2016 and continues to be updated regularly.

Speaking about the collaboration, Julia Mielish, Discovery Task Force Lead at OUP, said:

“All learners, regardless of disability, should be able to access key academic and learning materials. Increasing the range of OUP content on RNIB Bookshare is an important step to help achieve this important goal and is aligned with our mission to create world-class academic and educational resources and make them available as widely as possible.

Rochelle Davis-Pretsell, RNIB Bookshare Team Leader said:

“We are delighted that OUP’s collection is now part of RNIB Bookshare. It is so important that all students with print disabilities, including those with visual impairments, are supported. RNIB Bookshare opens the world of reading in education to millions of people by giving them access to material that enables a fully independent learning experience.

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