Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

NOVEMBER 10, 2014

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. This reality changed when Frank found out about Benetech’s Bookshare accessible digital library for people with print disabilities.

Life 147

Life Gift eBook France 147

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

FEBRUARY 7, 2012

People with print disabilities around the world have a right to high-quality ebooks that they can read with assistive technology. Benetech’s Bookshare library continues to expand its international service providing accessible books and publications to members in more than 30 countries.

International 166

International Brazil Austria eBook 166

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JUNE 23, 2014

How can we use technology in a new way to improve people’s lives that is an order of magnitude better? Can we help stimulate the creation of far more technology-for-good ventures? Technology currently serves privileged groups through tools that provide access to education, literacy, health, and justice.

Literacy 158

Literacy eBook United Kingdom Accessibility 158

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

FEBRUARY 3, 2016

Libraries for people who are blind or dyslexic are the primary source of accessible books in audio, large print or braille. But, some companies want to empty the library shelves and insist that only books that can’t be purchased are allowed to be stocked in such libraries. Bookshare was created under the Section 121 U.S.

Copyright 100

Copyright United States Library eBook 100

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. government and states like Texas. government and states like Texas.

Fund 100

Fund India United States eBook 100

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JULY 3, 2013

Guest Beneblog by Betsy Beaumon, VP and General Manager, Benetech’s Global Literacy Program. Betsy Beaumon I recently had the honor to speak at the first-ever Braille Summit , hosted on June 19-21, 2013 by the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) and Perkins School for the Blind.

Literacy 208

Literacy eBook Images Accessibility 208

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

OCTOBER 15, 2012

With technology, you can do incredible things, but with a galvanized community of supporters who work together toward a greater good, we can do anything. Benetech’s Bookshare library is living proof that real, transformative change happens through partnerships and by helping people unleash their talents and energies. copyright law.

Library 164

Library Student eBook Accessibility 164

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

FEBRUARY 27, 2013

We see tremendous innovations in social enterprise, but these are merely part of larger, global changes in the ways in which society organizes itself to create public goods. In my contribution to Ron’s book, I discuss the framework that guides us at Benetech, the technology nonprofit I lead. copyright law.

Develop 144

Develop Social Library eBook 144

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JANUARY 17, 2014

It also underscores just how critical a balanced copyright law is for technology innovation. As a different kind of Silicon Valley tech company—a nonprofit with a pure focus on social good—our goal is to see that the best of technology gets applied to social needs left unaddressed by for-profit businesses. copyright law. In the U.S.,

Copyright 196

Copyright Law Accessibility Library 196

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

NOVEMBER 27, 2012

Everyone who is not disabled globally can directly access Amazon.com and order books. Since many of our organizations operate as libraries, we note that commercial availability of a book rarely impacts the availability of that book on the shelves of a library. We don’t think the commerciality issue belongs in the treaty.

eBook 193

eBook Library Alternative Authoring 193

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

FEBRUARY 19, 2014

This is totally the “how sausage and law are made” view, so don’t read this unless you want to know more about global accessibility in detail! Even though Benetech doesn’t have donor funding for this, our VP of Global Literacy, Betsy Beaumon, and I thought it would be worthwhile to attend this meeting.

Accessibility 247

Accessibility License Copyright Library 247

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

AUGUST 10, 2010

Footnote: NLS stands for the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, part of the U.S. Library of Congress and the nation's number one provider of books for blind people. They also operate Web Braille, an online Braille ebook service with roughly ten thousand titles.

Library 156

Library eBook Global National 156

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

However, the time has come when we need a really smart attorney to join Benetech and help us navigate the intersection of technology and social good. We’re operating at the forefront of copyright limitations and exceptions, both in the United States and globally. We serve human rights activists in more than 100 countries.

United States 134

United States Library Copyright License 134

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

AUGUST 7, 2013

However, as the founder of the Bookshare online library, we have a great deal at stake in how the Treaty gets implemented. Although it might seem like a complicated document , we’re really excited about it because we think it will greatly improve global access for people with bona fide print disabilities.

Copyright 158

Copyright Law United States Library 158

Tech Soup

NOVEMBER 14, 2013

As we hurtle toward the end of 2013, it’s time for an update of nonprofit technology trends and news! If you’re a nonprofit news junkie, have a look at all our Nonprofit Technology News pieces from this past year. TechSoup Technologies for Good. Hacker Helper is all about not reinventing the technology wheel.

News 52

News Technology Cancer Map 52

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

FEBRUARY 18, 2013

For example, one proposed change to the Treaty draft would make it the responsibility of an exporting library to need to know details about the publishing status of a book in another country before we could fill a request from a bona fide person with a print disability from that country. For what am I advocating?

Copyright 158

Copyright India Library United States 158

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

NOVEMBER 26, 2014

Accessible ebooks and Bookshare have helped sixth grader Kevin Leong overcome his reading challenges. The good news is that major changes in technology are reforming education. The Bookshare library is made possible by a copyright exception: Section 121 of the United States Copyright Act, also known as the Chafee Amendment.

eBook 203

eBook Accessibility United States Student 203

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JUNE 14, 2009

The Author’s Guild asserts that they control the audio rights and that delivering a text ebook to a device which could speak it aloud with synthetic text-to-speech and that their commercial market for audio books will someday be significantly affected by TTS. Of course, the Librarian of Congress has pronounced on this topic already!

Copyright 104

Copyright Proposal Audio eBook 104

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JANUARY 5, 2016

The common link among our projects is information technology, which can be applied to just about every aspect of the social sector. Yet, nonprofits frequently lag behind the for-profit world in applying technology to their work. Benetech has a unique opportunity to repeatedly use technology as a social change agent.

Change 100

Change eBook United States Conservancy 100

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JULY 11, 2013

One even dedicated an entire three-month sabbatical to making it easier to use Mifos X, software that is deployed by 45 global microfinance institutions to help lift more than one million people and their families out of poverty. And, in so doing, we can help amplify the real, global impact they have on the lives of real people every day.

Open Source 118

Open Source Lesson Tech Project 118

Tech Soup

APRIL 14, 2014

Chris Wagner, Senior Director of Global Marketing. Their team of journalists pull together a politics and technology news feed that condenses the essential information of the day and makes easy to look at on the small screen. I’m all about transportation. Uber – is an alternative taxi or ridesharing service.

Phone 50

Phone Map Aggregator eBook 50