I checked with Raul who gave me permission to post this. The below letter from Bookshare seeking signatures on a petition to ensure greatest access to books for those unable to read print in the international treaty being negotiated has been making the rounds. I urge everyone to sign this petition. I will caution you that you must have a WHite House.gov account to sign the petition and I believe you have to go through one of those annoying captchas to set it up. At any rate, all signatures would be welcome. When I signed last night, the count was about 98,000 shy of the 100,000 needed to force a White House response to the petition.
Thanks. Alan Lemly -----Original Message----- From: Bookshare [mailto:booksh...@mail.vresp.com] Sent: Friday, May 24, 2013 6:58 PM To: wale...@gmail.com Subject: URGENT: Bookshare Needs Your Help Dear William, It's not typical for us to send you an email like this, but we felt this situation was so important it was necessary. You may already be aware, but for years negotiations have been moving forward on what many have come to call the "Treaty <http://cts.vresp.com/c/?Benetech/39440e0084/874891f16a/8f3cf35b96> for the Blind." The goal of the international treaty is to make it possible for people who are blind, or have other print disabilities such as dyslexia, to get access to the books they need for education, employment and inclusion in society-no matter where they live. It's something we already do, with great success, in the United States through Bookshare. However, private interests are trying to alter the treaty in such a way that it would become useless-even harmful. For example, they're trying to get language adopted that basically says: "if you can buy it, you can't borrow it." This is not only an attack on people around the world with print disabilities-it's also an attack on libraries, like Bookshare, and could have a drastic effect on the number of books you have access to. Our biggest worry is this becoming a treaty that could stop Bookshare from serving our users in the United States the way we do today. We need our government negotiating for a treaty that supports a library like Bookshare. That's why we're working with a coalition of disability and library groups, including the National Federation of the Blind and the American Council of the Blind, to fight back against the proposed changes by these private interests. We'll do everything we can to secure a treaty that both protects the access we have now and that will benefit people with print disabilities around the world-but we need your help. We're asking you to take a moment to sign a petition on the White House's website that urges the President to step up his support: <http://cts.vresp.com/c/?Benetech/39440e0084/874891f16a/6809a11e5c> http://ow.ly/lkJVs. If we can get to 100,000 signatures, the White House is required to respond to the petition and will, hopefully, take positive action. With your help we know we can reach that number. We also recommend the <http://cts.vresp.com/c/?Benetech/39440e0084/874891f16a/396073060e/sid=2&res et=1> petition at the National Federation of the Blind's site, which is particularly accessible. Thank you for your time and support. Together, we believe that our collective voice can make a real impact. If you're interested in more background on the treaty, here are some articles and resources you can review: * Huffington Post piece by Jim on how the treaty is being poisoned by private interests: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-fruchterman/poisoning-the-treaty-for-_b_32 25181.html <http://cts.vresp.com/c/?Benetech/39440e0084/874891f16a/461f079d15> * WIRED Magazine article that gives some recent updates on the treaty: http://ow.ly/lfP15 <http://cts.vresp.com/c/?Benetech/39440e0084/874891f16a/c7ae4086c8> Sincerely, Jim Fruchterman & Betsy Beaumon, Bookshare P.S. Please post the link to the White House petition on your social media to help spread the word and get your friends involved! Again, here is the link: <http://cts.vresp.com/c/?Benetech/39440e0084/874891f16a/49dfd2f0c1> http://ow.ly/lkJVs. Note: this advocacy effort by Benetech, the nonprofit organization that operates Bookshare, has not been supported or endorsed by Bookshare funders, including the U.S. Department of Education. _____ Click <http://hosted.verticalresponse.com/266797/39440e0084/1400081337/874891f16a/ > to view this email in a browser If you no longer wish to receive these emails, please reply to this message with "Unsubscribe" in the subject line or simply click on the following link: Unsubscribe <http://cts.vresp.com/u?39440e0084/874891f16a/mlpftw> _____ Benetech 480 S. California Ave., Suite 201 Palo Alto, California 94306 US Read <http://www.verticalresponse.com/content/pm_policy.html> the VerticalResponse marketing policy. <http://www.verticalresponse.com/landing/ef/?np/39440e0084> Non-Profits Email Free with VerticalResponse! <http://cts.vresp.com/o.gif?39440e0084/874891f16a/mlpftw> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google Group. 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