Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

NOVEMBER 28, 2011

We’re against piracy, and have made commitments to authors and publishers to encourage compliance with copyright law. We provide accessible ebooks that can be spoken aloud, turned into Braille or large print. We write software for people with disabilities as well as human rights and environmental groups. And then they go away.

China 277

China eBook Copyright Library 277

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

SEPTEMBER 20, 2010

We take their files and convert them to the DAISY format which is a digital format designed specifically to create accessible materials for people with print disabilities. We're excited about this trend and the opportunities it creates for the commercial availability of mass market accessible books. Why is this a big deal?

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Accessibility Marketing eBook Files 133

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JUNE 14, 2009

Last Friday I spent almost two and a half hours in a wide-ranging conversation with Maria Pallante of the Copyright Office (and two other folks whose full names I didn't write down). copyright exemption for serving the print disabled is commonly called the Chafee Amendment: Section 121 of copyright law. copyright law.

Copyright 104

Copyright Audio eBook Proposal 104

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

NOVEMBER 15, 2009

Brief Comments on Accessibility Concerns on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) The disability community should be concerned about ACTA for two reasons: At its core it’s an anti-piracy agreement. The digital measures designed to defeat piracy usually end up equating accessibility with piracy.

Accessibility 100

Accessibility Adobe Copyright eBook 100

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

FEBRUARY 13, 2009

I think it’s time to write a series of short essays on the struggle for accessible books, starting with this brouhaha. In it, we pointed out the irony that the first generation of ebook readers being inaccessible to blind people. Ebooks on PCs have had text-to-speech capabilities for years (although not always enabled).

Accessibility 100

Accessibility eBook Amazon Audio 100

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

AUGUST 7, 2013

have been asking about the Treaty of Marrakesh (formal name: The Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works by Visually Impaired Persons and Persons with Print Disabilities. Ultimately, this community should have equal access to all of the books that are needed for education, employment and social inclusion.

Copyright 158

Copyright Law United States Library 158

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

NOVEMBER 27, 2012

The latest session of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) just concluded last week. The first issue is that the treaty would not permit direct access by consumers to international authorized entities.

eBook 193

eBook Library Alternative Authoring 193

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

MARCH 10, 2009

But, it's a dream that the commercial ebook vendors keep dashing. And that is setting back the cause of people with disabilities who need that kind of access. We have an action by Amazon that sets back years of work to make ebooks accessible. A recent example of this was web site accessibility.

Amazon 100

Amazon Accessibility eBook Problem 100

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

FEBRUARY 18, 2013

The goal of the Treaty is to make a copyright exception for the blind and other people with disabilities that stop them from reading print, and to make import and export of accessible content legal. My core point: Don’t put up bureaucratic barriers to access. The biggest challenge for access is that it’s expensive.

Copyright 158

Copyright India Library United States 158

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

SEPTEMBER 12, 2014

I’m thrilled to share with you some of the recent amazing impact of Bookshare , a Benetech Global Literacy initiative and the largest accessible online library of copyrighted content for people with print disabilities. a11y accessibility Bookshare Braille DAISY ebooks Global Literacy print disabilities Reading'

Literacy 129

Literacy eBook Global Audio 129

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

DECEMBER 3, 2011

One of these sub-themes is “Accessibility: removing barriers and promoting disability-inclusive development.” Of course, accessibility is right up Benetech’s alley and the focus of our Literacy program. Thousands of ebooks pour into the library from over 168 publishers and textbook requests are fulfilled every month.

Impact 140

Impact Technology eBook Student 140

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

OCTOBER 15, 2012

By partnering with all these stakeholders, we reinvented the traditional library for people with print disabilities and brought modern ebook technology to this underserved community. We blew up the old approaches to converting inaccessible books into accessible equivalents. copyright law.

Library 164

Library Student eBook Accessibility 164

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

MAY 2, 2012

Betsy Beaumon, Benetech VP and General Manager of Bookshare During the event, our Bookshare staff offered demos of our Bookshare library and our Go Read accessible ebook reader for Android. copyright law. Raman of Google Research, a long-time Bookshare member and advisor, was on hand to help us celebrate last night.

Celebrate 145

Celebrate Google Literacy Library 145

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

DECEMBER 17, 2015

Access to information and knowledge is a basic human right and a necessary first step towards personal, economic, and social development. The good news is that there are now unprecedented opportunities to transform the lives of these millions by removing barriers of access to information  —   and this is where you can help.

Copyright 100

Copyright Law Library eBook 100

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

We’re operating at the forefront of copyright limitations and exceptions, both in the United States and globally. The recent Indian copyright amendment that creates an exception similar to Section 121 in the United States, which makes it possible for us to set up a Bookshare-style crowd-sourced library in India with local partner NGOs.

United States 134

United States Library Copyright License 134

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JANUARY 5, 2015

Twelve years ago, the Fund made its first grant to Benetech, in support of the then newly launched Bookshare , our accessible online library for people with disabilities that get in the way of reading print, including visual impairments and dyslexia. This pilot paved the way for our work in the education field.

Fund 100

Fund India United States eBook 100

Beth's Blog: How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media

DECEMBER 8, 2011

We’re against piracy, and have made commitments to authors and publishers to encourage compliance with copyright law. We provide accessible ebooks that can be spoken aloud, turned into Braille or large print. We write software for people with disabilities as well as human rights and environmental groups. And then they go away.

Copyright 108

Copyright eBook China Law 108

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

FEBRUARY 27, 2013

To explain our approach, let’s look at Bookshare , our accessible online library for people with print disabilities. Converting and delivering these accessible books was expensive and time consuming. With the old approaches, only a tiny fraction of print materials were made available in accessible formats. copyright law.

Develop 144

Develop Social Library eBook 144

Museum 2.0

APRIL 1, 2010

Few people want to read a 388-page book online, and I've received several notes from people who checked out the online version and then decided to buy a physical or ebook copy. Do you know what the numbers on the copyright page mean? I figured the same system would work for the book, and so far, it seems to be bearing fruit.

Participatory 33

Participatory Museum Process Amazon 33

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JULY 9, 2018

Literacy and access to knowledge underpins just about every social good, from education, to economic development, to health, to women’s empowerment, democracy and respect for human rights. To bring the power of books to everybody on this planet, we must make books truly accessible. Third, the print book is not universally accessible.

Accessibility 135

Accessibility eBook People Copyright 135

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JANUARY 7, 2013

While we’re extremely proud of our achievements in the field of accessibility and disability rights, we know that we’ve just scratched the surface of what we could possibly do to bolster parity of access to information by people with disabilities. We’re making securing new funding for Bookshare’s international expansion a top priority!

India 225

India Literacy United Kingdom United States 225

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JUNE 23, 2014

Technology currently serves privileged groups through tools that provide access to education, literacy, health, and justice. With Bookshare, our student members can access and read the books they need—in the classroom, at home, and on the go—and have a fair opportunity to succeed at school just like their peers without disabilities.

Literacy 158

Literacy eBook United Kingdom India 158

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

FEBRUARY 3, 2016

That’s the lobbying position of some companies in the intellectual property field when implementing the new Marrakesh Copyright Treaty. Libraries for people who are blind or dyslexic are the primary source of accessible books in audio, large print or braille. We simply act to ensure the person who needs an accessible book can get it.

Copyright 100

Copyright United States Library eBook 100

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JANUARY 5, 2016

From Arkenstone to Bookshare The field of access to books by blind people is where Benetech has twice been the key engine of positive equilibrium change at scale, and we are already working on the third change. Blind people were dependent on sighted people for access to books. The first was the ebook.

Change 100

Change eBook United States Conservancy 100

Care2

AUGUST 7, 2007

I wish the Causes application allowed us to message our supporters, even if we didnt have access to their email addresses. March 4, 2008 | Leonard Sellem This can most definitely help fundraisers too [link] Its a free ebook on the 7 Secrets to Facebook Fundraising September 30, 2008 | Quality Article Writers Copyright © 2008, Care2.com

Causes 48

Causes Facebook Social Media Advocacy 48

Care2

JULY 24, 2007

I wish the Causes application allowed us to message our supporters, even if we didnt have access to their email addresses. March 4, 2008 | Leonard Sellem This can most definitely help fundraisers too [link] Its a free ebook on the 7 Secrets to Facebook Fundraising September 30, 2008 | Quality Article Writers Copyright © 2008, Care2.com

Causes 48

Causes Facebook Social Media Advocacy 48

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

MAY 13, 2011

Bookshare Hits 100,000 Members Boy reading at a computer with teacher in the background.Since the beginning of 2009, we’ve tripled the number of people with disabilities Bookshare is serving with our accessible library of ebooks. The amazing thing about serving 100,000 students right now is that our commitment to the U.S.

Conservancy 140

Conservancy Norway Congo Sweden 140