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Ever wonder how new features come into being within Benetech’s suite of products? Let’s take a short, virtual trip into the world of software product development at Benetech. I’m Ginny Grant, one of the Product Managers in Benetech’s Global Literacy Program. I’d like to focus here on some of the critical final steps in our product development process. These include passing tests that our professional Quality Assurance (QA) team performs as well as passing our “alpha testing sessions,” which we sometimes refer to as “Bugfests”!

My name is Liz Halperin and I contract for Benetech, working as a Collection Development Associate with Bookshare. I also happen to be Deaf-Blind with added orthopedic disabilities and serve as the Deaf-Blind contact person for Bookshare. I was asked to contribute this post to kick off a blog mini-series marking Benetech’s observance of National Disability Employment Awareness Month. Each year, National Disability Employment Awareness Month has a theme, and the one this year is “Because We Are EQUAL to the Task.” This theme, I believe, doesn’t stretch far enough. That’s because, by being who we are, we add to the workforce much more than the sum of our individual tasks.

Wondering how you can make a real difference in the life of a veteran? Join us in week 2 of our Bookshare for Veterans crowdfunding campaign on CrowdRise! We’re on a mission to improve the quality of life for US veterans with print disabilities by giving them the gift of reading through Bookshare. In addition to one of the grand Challenge prizes worth up to $50,000, we’re also trying to win the weekly Bonus Challenge cash prizes. If you aren’t already a Challenge team member, just go to our campaign page, click “Fundraise for this Campaign” and follow the steps to get started.

My name is Anuruddha Hettiarachchi and I am a senior at the University of Moratuwa Sri Lanka majoring in Electronic and Telecommunication Engineering. My Google Summer of Code 2013 project was to integrate Benetech’s Go Read tool and “Tecla Access.” Making Go Read Tecla-accessible will greatly improve its usability for people who cannot read standard eBooks due to mobility impairments. This was my first experience with open source development and I had the opportunity to learn how much collaboration and teamwork are central to real world open source software projects. It was a pleasure to work with such a flexible and supportive team as Benetech’s Google Summer of Code crew.

Against the Grain, an online magazine focused on the issues, literature and people that impact the world of books and journals, quoted Betsy Beaumon, VP and General Manager of our Global Literacy Program, in an article titled The Challenge of Accessibility & New Media. In a section titled “Ending the Book Famine,” the article quotes Betsy on the future of reading and education for people with disabilities.