Benetech Global Literacy Archives

Bookshare Hits Big Milestones in 2017

8 people in a line hold hands stretched overhead

Published December 18, 2017

Bookshare Hits Big Milestones in 2017

As 2017 draws to a close, it’s time to look back and celebrate key milestones and accomplishments. But first, a message from a parent: “My son loved Huckleberry Finn! It was a joy to watch him laugh as he listened and read. Amazing. He has an A in English with the support of Bookshare.” Collection Passes Half a Million Mark Our goal is to make all books and print materials accessible. There was a time when people with disabilities could not find books in audio, braille, or other specialized formats they needed. Today, members have over 585,000 ebooks at the…

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Published November 24, 2015

A New Perspective on Literacy for Students with Low Vision

By guest author Allison Hilliker Imagine a reading solution where students with low vision could read for an extended period of time without eye fatigue. A solution where their ability to distinguish among letters was not dependent upon print size, contrast, lighting, color, or font style. Where skimming or rereading a paragraph or page wouldn’t be cause for frustration or eye strain. Where students could easily discern the subtleties of spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and paragraph layout. Imagine a reading option in which individuals didn’t have to hold the book close to their face or hunch over a tablet screen in…

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Published November 13, 2015

Top 100 Picture Books with Image Descriptions Now in Bookshare

Images and image descriptions provide a full multi-sensory reading experience for young readers. Where the Wild Things Are. Make Way for Ducklings. The Snowy Day. Corduroy. These classic books, and the rest of the Top 100 Picture Books, are well-loved tales that have been treasured and shared by grandparents, parents, and children alike. Their engaging stories and heartwarming illustrations bring characters and action to life in a rich, multi-sensory experience for young children. Educators and parents know how important books are for the earliest readers. Getting kids “hooked on books” through that classic bedtime picture book has profound…

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Published September 28, 2015

Bookshare’s Criteria for Adding Post-Secondary Education Ebooks to Its Collection

Bookshare expands its accessible ebook collection for higher education through partnerships with publishers and university presses During a recent discussion on AERNet (Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired), questions arose about Bookshare’s policies on converting books for higher education. Here is the explanation from Jim Fruchterman, CEO of Benetech, that we felt was important to share with the larger Bookshare community. Bookshare is a library focused on books that can be shared. Our dream is that once a book has been digitized, nobody else will have to do scanning work again. We need to do that within…

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Published August 14, 2015

Meet the Fab Four: Benetech Summer Interns

Benetech’s Summer Internship Program has been going strong for three years. Each summer, several college students work on Bookshare-related projects and learn about Benetech’s programs in the areas of global literacy, human rights, and Benetech Labs. Read on to learn about our four fabulous interns — Alyssa Aliotti, Paige Brown, Michelle McLaren, and Mitchell Mankin — as they describe the valuable work they accomplished. My name is Alyssa Aliotti and I am entering my second year at UCLA. I plan on double majoring in Economics and International Development Studies. When I was looking for summer internships I was very excited about Benetech’s…

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Published June 16, 2015

Bookshare Summer Reading Challenge Starts June 22 – Are You Ready?

Summer is knocking on the door, and excitement is building for the Bookshare Summer Reading Challenge starting next Monday, June 22. Are you ready to turn it up and tell the world? It’s fun and easy to participate – just search for books, read them, and share your favorites with the Bookshare community. You’ll help members like you discover new books and get lots of praise and kudos from other readers. If you don’t already have a list of books to brighten your summer, check out the staff picks. Each week of the challenge features a theme and suggested titles…

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Published February 7, 2015

Bookshare and Benetech Take Center Stage at LDA 2015!

We are very excited about the upcoming Learning Disabilities Association (LDA) 2015 Conference in Chicago. Why? Because we get to meet you, our members and supporters! Make sure that you attend these must-see events: Hear Betsy Beaumon, President of Benetech, Bookshare’s parent nonprofit, deliver the opening keynote titled Will the Current Tech Revolution Usher in a Golden Age for All Learners? on Wednesday, Feb. 18, at 8:30 AM. Learn how to increase collaboration by attending the Bookshare session, Parents and Schools Working Together for Accessible Content, on Wednesday, February 18, 4:45–5:45 PM, Room W39. Learn how you can help…

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Published January 28, 2015

Benetech Names New President, COO to Massively Grow Social Impact

Benetech, the parent organization of Bookshare just announced the appointments of Betsy Beaumon as president and Mark Roberts as chief operating officer. Founder Jim Fruchterman continues as Benetech’s chief executive officer, evangelizing Benetech and advancing the technology-for-good field. The goal of the senior appointments is to increase Benetech’s social impact at scale and its capacity to create new social enterprises that use technology to deliver social good. Through its recently launched technological innovation arm, Benetech Labs, Benetech has been increasingly focused on developing business models, partnerships, and technologies that deliver new solutions to unmet social needs while also implementing and…

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Published November 8, 2014

The Gift of Reading, a Circle of Life

This post by Jim Fruchterman was originally published on the Benetech site on November 4, 2014 to honor Jim Kleckner. “Frank” (who anonymously shared his story with us) has always been an avid reader, but the progression of his neuromuscular disease to his arms made reading difficult. Eventually he had to ask others to turn pages for him. It became a burden to his family and caregivers to constantly drop what they were doing to turn a page, so he began seeking out ebooks. Few were available, and he had trouble with the ones that were: they’d often be in…

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Tag: Benetech Global Literacy