Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

NOVEMBER 15, 2013

For them, Bookshare —Benetech’s Global Literacy initiative and the world’s largest accessible digital library for people with print disabilities—opens up a lifeline to reading. SEChallenge a11y accessibility Bookshare crowdfunding CrowdRise Huffington Post print disabilities Reading Skoll Foundation veterans'

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Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

DECEMBER 8, 2011

I want to unveil several of these new initiatives, as well as sneaking in some of the incredible things happening in our core programs in literacy and human rights. Our members are now downloading accessible books at a rate of more than one million books per year! and James L. with the books they need for educational success.

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Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

MAY 14, 2011

Our work to date repeatedly demonstrates bridging this market failure gap: Our Literacy team has reinvented the traditional library for the blind, reducing the cost of producing an accessible book by a factor of 100 and ending the book famine that people who are blind or print disabled have faced for years.

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Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

MAY 2, 2012

Bookshare, Benetech’s pioneering digital library for people with print disabilities, celebrated its 10th birthday last night with a terrific party that was attended by many of our long-time friends and supporters. As a result, we quickly became the largest online library for people with print disabilities. said Stevie. Thanks Stevie!

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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. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP).

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Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

AUGUST 28, 2012

My organization, Benetech, alone has products and services touching on all of these areas: • We write the leading software package used for managing conservation projects: Miradi, a standalone software program usable on PCs and Macs, and our Read2Go software is the leading Special Education Literacy software for the iOS platform (for iPhones and iPads) (..)

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Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

MARCH 2, 2012

For the past ten years, Benetech’s Bookshare library has provided accessible books for people with print disabilities. Benetech’s Vice President and general manager of our literacy program, Betsy Beaumon, also purchased several works from Creativity Explored after our holiday gathering. You can too!

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Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JANUARY 16, 2005

We just hit 20,000 titles on our electronic book library for people with print disabilities. We are delivering more and more books that meet the literacy needs of our users, by providing the latest bestsellers, textbooks and daily newspapers into accessible form.

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Gyrus

OCTOBER 9, 2024

Empowering Public Libraries with GyrusAim LMS: A New Era in Learning Management GyrusAim LMS GyrusAim LMS - In the ever-evolving landscape of public libraries, staying relevant and effectively meeting community needs is paramount. The design is responsive, making it accessible across various devices—whether at home or in the library.

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NTEN

APRIL 29, 2021

Despite needing to access online services, almost a quarter of U.S. Ellie Avis, a fellow in Josephine County, OR, launched a hotspot lending program that allows library patrons to bring their connectivity home. Felicia Tillman, a fellow from Atlanta, formed partnerships to bring digital literacy training to uniquely sweet spaces.

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NTEN

JULY 22, 2021

It also helped us reframe what it means to have access to the tools that allow us to fully engage with the world around us. Some major victories were also won on both the local and federal levels in getting government recognition and support around digital access.

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Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

FEBRUARY 8, 2004

Bookshare.org, our on-line electronic book library for people with disabilities, is built by volunteers. These folks are dedicated to the concept that access to books should have no barriers. Carrie has done an awesome job, and her contributions help thousands of people with disabilities attain truly independent literacy.

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Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JUNE 8, 2015

Benetech is hiring new Vice Presidents for our Global Literacy and Human Rights programs. The Vice President of Global Literacy leads Benetech’s biggest program, standing at the confluence of some of the most active and rapidly evolving fields: digital content, EdTech, domestic and international education, and user-centered design.

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Tech Soup

JUNE 20, 2011

Access to the Internet and computer training are key services. public libraries and some nonprofits provide. billion to expand access to. How to Evaluate Your Digital Literacy Program Thursday, June 30, 11 a.m. Analyst at the Colorado State Library and a BTOP grant recipient, will discuss. their computer skills.

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Tech Soup

JULY 16, 2013

And what if a person, regardless of age, could learn anything from typing to HTML to using an iPad without any cost or accessibility barriers? Libraries, nonprofits, and schools are already working hard to teach digital skills and competency, but they need support of the entire community to help people thrive in the technology age.

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Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

But, I expect that 75% of the job will be about analyzing the legal issues from our programs, especially in our Global Literacy Program, which includes Bookshare, the largest digital library for the blind and dyslexic in the U.S., as well as our Human Rights Program, which supports activists fighting injustice around the world.

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Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

FEBRUARY 18, 2019

The nonprofit Benetech team built the revolutionary Bookshare library for this community, all online, and based on the powerfully flexible ebook. We named this library Bookshare because it was created with an army of crowdsourcing volunteers, many of them blind people themselves, who scan the books using optical character recognition.

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Tech Soup

JANUARY 10, 2012

Back in September, we posted a summary of App It Up's nonprofit and library apps survey. represent the full range of nonprofit and library app experiences. represent the full range of nonprofit and library app experiences. Nonprofits and libraries are interested in building their own apps, though they.

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Library Survey Sample Nonprofit 61

Tech Soup

AUGUST 20, 2013

At TechSoup, we support the efforts of nonprofits and public libraries working to build digitally inclusive and literate communities through donated technology from our corporate partners. project is focused on teaching digital literacy to young people so they can be prepared for 21 st. Microsoft's YouthSpark. century jobs.

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Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

FEBRUARY 4, 2007

Although the members of our board were impressed with all three nominees, they awarded Carrie Karnos of Palo Alto, CA, the 2006 Veale Award for her work with an accessible online library called Bookshare. She wrote, "Carrie Karnos is a Bookshare.org volunteer who has given blind readers access to more than 2,000 books.

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Tech Soup

MAY 3, 2013

Dana Abbey is the Health Information Literacy Coordinator for the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, MidContinental region. She has a background in public libraries, library consultation, and prescription drug monitoring. It includes access to training and training materials, and they have grants available.

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Tech Soup

JULY 24, 2014

Bringing mobile devices into adult library programs can be an excellent way to promote library e-media and teach digital literacy skills. Eastern) for Adult Library Programs Gone Mobile , where you can learn how libraries can help meet the need and demand for mobile-device assistance through creative programming.

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Tech Soup

JULY 25, 2012

Valerie Hill is an adjunct instructor at Texas Woman's University School of Library and Information Science and is also a librarian herself. She came to the Nonprofit Commons to share her areas of expertise in media literacy, human-computer interaction, and the impact of the digital revolution on education and libraries.

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Tech Soup

DECEMBER 7, 2010

With shrinking budgets, providing increased access to the Internet and training for computer literacy can be particularly challenging for libraries and public computing centers. read more.

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Charity Village

FEBRUARY 18, 2022

Their programs include high dosage tutoring through their reading app, access to their curated library of 2,000+ books, and in-depth impact evaluation. Nonprofits, charities, and grassroots organizations interested in using the literacy programs can apply for funding. The grant covers costs related to […].

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Tech Soup

OCTOBER 29, 2014

Privacy has always been an important topic in digital literacy. Scott Pinkelman, digital literacy innovation specialist at the Free Library of Philadelphia , recently presented on this important topic at the Digital Shift online conference. But with proper education, Internet users can fight back against these digital creeps.

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Beth's Blog: How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media

MAY 3, 2010

The first part of the problem is that India still has low literacy rates - the 2009 Annual Status of Education Report shows that between classes 1 to 8 only around 40% of children can read a class 2 level text in their own language and an even lower 23% of children can ready easy sentences in English - sentences of the kind "What is your name?"

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Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

DECEMBER 16, 2014

He reads accessible ebooks from Benetech’s Bookshare library in braille format, and learns as quickly as his peers without disabilities. For example, Martus can now be configured in less than 10 minutes by anyone with basic digital literacy skills. Martus Desktop 4.5 and Mobile Martus 1.2

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Beth's Blog: How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media

OCTOBER 16, 2009

For Twitter to be at its peak in utility, people who would have never had access to the world's information need to be able to not only receive it but engage with it, too. Room to Read , a San Francisco based non-profit, will help us make that happen by bringing libraries and literacy to the world's poorest regions.

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Beth's Blog: How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media

DECEMBER 8, 2011

Stopping fund raising and subscription revenue for Bookshare, the largest online library for people who have print disabilities. Bookshare is an online library for people who can’t read standard print books. We provide accessible ebooks that can be spoken aloud, turned into Braille or large print.

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Tech Soup

DECEMBER 22, 2014

On December 17, TechSoup hosted a SoupChat for nonprofits and libraries looking for more information on website design and hosting. A staffer from a small library listed a few popular services — WordPress, Wix, and Weebly — adding that she worried she might regret her decision six months down the road.

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Tech Soup

FEBRUARY 14, 2013

Basically, it allows one computer to serve several people in a lab or library at very low cost and with minimum maintenance. La Conner Regional Library was one of our test sites. It is a small, rural library that serves 5,000 people in the Skagit Valley in northern Washington State. She became the library tech person by default.

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Tech Soup

FEBRUARY 14, 2013

Basically, it allows one computer to serve several people in a lab or library at very low cost and with minimum maintenance. La Conner Regional Library was one of our test sites. It is a small, rural library that serves 5,000 people in the Skagit Valley in northern Washington State. She became the library tech person by default.

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Tech Soup

AUGUST 23, 2013

The idea is to engage these residents and wherever possible to teach them how to use digital devices, provide Internet access through computer labs or classes, and provide them with very low-cost home computers. The Kansas City Public Library System will also have a role in this work. Image: City of Kansas City.

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Tech Soup

SEPTEMBER 18, 2013

As more and more information moves online, Americans without Internet access are increasingly being left behind. provides a succinct visual summary of the issue and potential solutions, including: Why Internet access matters to individuals, communities, and the U.S. Picturing the Problem. The infographic. as a whole. What We Can Do.

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Tech Soup

AUGUST 26, 2011

TechSoup has partnered with goQ Software to make their writing assistance and speech recognition software, WordQ + SpeakQ , available to eligible nonprofits and libraries. According to Proliteracy , low literacy's effects cost the U.S. roundup on building a culture of accessibility.

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Tech Soup

JULY 17, 2015

adults still don't have broadband Internet access at home. The June 2015 FCC proposal calls for an expansion of Lifeline to provide low-income households with a choice of subsidized phone service or broadband Internet access. These smartphones are rudimentary, but do provide web and email access and also run Android apps.

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