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The Year That Was and the New Year Ahead Guest Beneblog by Betsy Beaumon, Benetech's VP and General Manager of the Literacy Program 2012 was a year of titanic shifts in the fields of consumer technology, education, and publishing, along with the requisite challenges brought about by such rapid change.
COVID-19 has caused libraries around the US to stay closed since mid-March. The Markup has written about the ways in which libraries are attempting to keep their patrons online. The library has left Wi-Fi on 24/7, and kids sit in the parking lot to use their phones. Photo by Paul Marotta/Getty Images. It’s well worth a read.
Note from Beth: As a supporter of the work that the Sharing Foundation does for children in Cambodia, I’ve seen first hand the value of literacy programs in developing countries. This week, nearly a year after first beginning to work with Room to Read, we’re proud to be taking part in promoting Literacy Day.
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'
Bookshare , our accessible online library, has reshaped the accessibility field and now serves over 250,000 members (the majority of whom are US students) with a collection of nearly 220,000 (and counting) accessible books—the world’s largest repository of its kind. Fast-forward six years.
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. It is the world’s largest online accessible library, adding books at nearly four times the rate of the next most prolific U.S. and James L.
The tools we develop for that purpose span a range of fields—from human rights , to global literacy , to the environment —but no matter what area we work in, we depend on an IP system that’s friendly to technological advances and to positive social impact. copyright law. In the U.S.,
The HathiTrust Digital Library (HDL) is a partnership of academic and research institutions that had created (with help from Google ) a collection of millions of titles digitized from libraries around the world. Consequently, it is reasonable for the Libraries to retain both the text and image copies. in addition to the text?only
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.
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!
There was also an associated effort called the Trusted Intermediary Global Accessible Resources (TIGAR) project, to ease the exchange of accessible book files between libraries for the blind and print disabled. My biggest argument was the “library with holes” problem. The view of the World Blind Union was that the rightsholders (i.e.,
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. For veterans with visual impairments, traumatic brain injuries or other disabilities, reading standard print is difficult, if not impossible.
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.
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.
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) (..)
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.
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!
public libraries and some nonprofits provide. 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. they track, and how this data will benefit their libraries beyond the grant. To bolster their efforts, the.
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. Defining Digital Literacy. But first, what exactly is digital literacy? " The Role of Libraries. The Role of Schools.
Bookshare.org, our on-line electronic book library for people with disabilities, is built by volunteers. Carrie has done an awesome job, and her contributions help thousands of people with disabilities attain truly independent literacy. We are especially blessed with incredible volunteers.
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.
Ellie Avis, a fellow in Josephine County, OR, launched a hotspot lending program that allows library patrons to bring their connectivity home. She also launched Tech Time, an opportunity for community members to ask tech questions, and developed a volunteer program that library patrons in navigating their devices.
Of course, accessibility is right up Benetech’s alley and the focus of our Literacy program. In my Fall 2011 President's Update , I mentioned some of our incredible recent achievements in this core program, including the amazing milestones of our Bookshare library.
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 is also the way to get your library listed as a consumer health library.
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.
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.
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 […].
They hail from a wide array of institutions, including a food bank, city government, a refugee resettlement agency, multiple libraries, an adult literacy organization, and an organization that works with formerly incarcerated individuals.
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.
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.
What about that literacy initiative, or the Jobs Program? Need to focus on Elder Care? Does your disaster relief team have the private space to plan and the public tools to get out important bulletins?
His new project is a social media literacy website to help homeless people learn how to use the Internet to tell their stories, build community and connect with support services. If you work with a homeless services agency, library, or other social service agency that provides services to this group, you need to connect to this work!
Amira Learning is helping young students improve their reading literacy with an AI-powered tutor, while CodeSignal has built a platform for tech workers to pick up new technical skills and practice soft skills through AI-powered simulations.
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. Notice that it is because of Carrie's work that almost 10 percent of Bookshare's library exists.
Grow the must-have, base-level skill: Data literacy. With that comes increased priority and urgency to provide resources and support that reduce the data literacy gap. Nearly everyone from HR and marketing to sales and customer support needs to have a solid foundation in data literacy to succeed in the modern workforce." (See
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.
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. Planning, Privacy, and Passion (Library Spotlight). Share with us in the comments.
Grow the must-have, base-level skill: Data literacy. With that comes increased priority and urgency to provide resources and support that reduce the data literacy gap. Nearly everyone from HR and marketing to sales and customer support needs to have a solid foundation in data literacy to succeed in the modern workforce." (See
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?"
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.
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.
The goal of this on-line library is to stop the scanning of textbooks for K-12 education - a job which is now done by parents, teachers and students. If this attorney and her company has their way, there will be a lot of people who will still be scanning textbooks instead of accessing them through this new wonderful digital library.
Those who envision what could be possible by having Benetech apply innovative technology to the areas of Literacy, Human Rights, and the Environment, and who enable us to explore new opportunities for creating social good. Department of Education that enables us to provide the Bookshare library services for free to all qualifying U.S.
Brenda loves the Pulaski County Public Library'sLiteracy Bell, a simple way to celebrate children's literacy. Stephanie announces a free webinar next week, Technology Grants for Libraries 101. From TechSoup Global's grant-funded projects: MaintainIT Project. Tools Using the Web and Internet.
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