The overhaul of the web platform has been carried out by digital design and technology agency Studio 24 in partnership with RNIB, made possible by the players of People’s Postcode Lottery.
The hugely popular RNIB Bookshare website provides books, worksheets and resources free of charge to UK teachers and students which can be downloaded in accessible formats including electronic braille and audio. The service supports 59,000 students across 14.5K schools, colleges, and universities.
Rochelle Pretsell, RNIB’s Bookshare Team Leader said: We know Bookshare is a vital resource for many students and teachers. Bookshare enables students with reading difficulties and vision impairments to access educational materials just like their peers, promoting equal opportunities in education.
The new and improved RNIB Bookshare makes the platform much easier to use and we are confident it will benefit thousands of students and teachers on their educational journeys, be it at school, college, or university, for many years to come.
RNIB’s chair of trustees, Anna Tylor who is registered blind and played a key role in setting up Bookshare said: “A hunger for learning is a horrible thing to have starved. As a bright child going through the education system in the 1970s, it felt as though so many barriers were placed in my way because I was registered blind. I can’t overstate the impact that having no access to the curriculum had on my life. Bookshare gives children and young people access to materials at the same time as their sighted peers and means they don’t have to face the unfair barriers to their education. It gives them every chance to learn, grow and flourish in society. This renewal of the service will enhance their chances even more.”
RNIB Bookshare has been moved from a legacy system to a new, modern web platform custom-built in Laravel which provides a solid foundation where the service can continue to evolve. The existing CMS has been replaced with Craft CMS, providing a much more accessible way for staff delivering the service to manage content.
Simon Jones, Founder and Managing Director at Studio 24, said: “I'm delighted to see the new RNIB Bookshare website launch. It's been a pleasure working with the RNIB team on this complex and important project. We've focussed on making the website simple to use and accessible, including the back-end admin tools, and we've tried to make the transition from the old website as smooth as possible. At Studio 24 we believe in building a web for all, the whole team really values working on projects that have a positive impact in the world.”
