Tiflolibros - Libros electrónicos para ciegos
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Tiflolibros is the first digital library for the Spanish-speaking blind. Created in 1999 by a group of blind friends that wanted to exchange their digital books in order to widen their access to culture and education, Tiflolibros has grown to have more than 13,000 books in Spanish available for more than 900 members with blindness or other severe disabilities in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Denmark, Spain, United States, Venezuela and other countries. Internet and other new technologies offer an incredible opportunity for the integration to society of people with disabilities, not only through new tools but also through cost-effective collaboration, and improvement and decentralization of processes. Applying these new ideas, Tiflolibros facilitates the access of blind people to knowledge, at lower costs and with wider reach.
Tiflolibros is a non-profit organization coordinated by the group of founders, and built through the effort of its members all over the world. Pablo Lecuona, blind, candidate to a Bachelor in Arts degree in Social Communications at Universidad de Buenos Aires, is the Executive Director. Mara Lis Vilar, special education teacher, with focus in blind and visually impaired; André Duré, blind, programmer and technical coordinator; and Marta Traina, blind, Communications student complete the founding team. Antonio Fernández Zaldívar represents Tiflolibros in Spain.
Tiflolibros offers an online catalog with more than 13,000 digital books that registered members can download using their personal password. Each member then, “reads” the books through synthetic-voice reading computers, Braille tapes or other electronic reading devices for people with disabilities. Registration to Tiflolibros is absolutely free, although there is a recommended donation of the equivalent to two print books every six months (e.g. $50 in the U.S.) to support the library's operation.
Contact Information:
Director: Pablo Lecuona
Address: Estados Unidos 3548 B. (1228)
Buenos Aires
Argentina
Phone/Fax: + (54-11) 4931-9002
E-mail:
pablol@tiflolibros.com.ar
Website:
www.tiflolibros.com.ar
