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Libraries pivot to survive pandemic

Candid

Libraries store the energy that fuels the Imagination. During COVID-19, libraries across the country have had to re-imagine themselves so they can continue fueling imaginations and serving communities. Libraries have helped fill the void by providing hot spot access and in some cases laptops computers to students.

Library 98
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Welcome to the 2021 Digital Inclusion Fellows

NTEN

While many in the digital inclusion sector have been pushing for digital equity for decades, there are others for whom the pandemic brought these issues to light. We saw more organizations and individuals becoming digital equity champions, affirming that we need government support in the sector.

Digital 123
professionals

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Making the Book Truly Accessible for All Students

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) selected our successful Bookshare library as the provider of accessible materials to every student in the U.S. Bookshare has grown into the largest online digital library of accessible books and periodicals in the U.S., million students (15% of the U.S.

Student 173
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Digital Divide Data: our Partner in Laos

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

For example, our Bookshare online library for the blind, uses several different social enterprises to do data entry and proofreading work on textbooks. Our first partner in this work was Digital Divide Data, an organization that has an outstanding training program in the area of data entry and outsourcing. We scan the books in the U.S.,

Laos 235
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Bookshare Creates Opportunities For Gifted Students

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

I talk a lot about how technology can help create tremendous educational opportunities for students with print disabilities. Steffon, who attends Gadsden Community College in Gadsden, Alabama is a straight-A student who has made his college deans list each semester. Because the Bookshare collection is free to qualified U.S.

Student 145
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Benetech’s New Image Description Tool Improves Accessibility of Graphical Content for Students with Print Disabilities

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

This week, Benetech’s DIAGRAM Center has announced the release of an open source web application for creating and editing crowdsourced image descriptions in books used by students with print disabilities. DIAGRAM stands for Digital Image and Graphics Resources for Accessible Materials.

Images 133
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Pottsboro Area Library: The Winner of TechSoup’s February Success Story Digital Connector Challenge

Tech Soup

section of TechSoup.org we launched a contest last month for great digital inclusion stories. We called it the TechSoup ‘Digital Connector’ Story Challenge. Pottsboro Area Library in Texas. We of course got lots of great stories, and our winner is the Pottsboro Area Library. She immediately got to work.

Library 54