Education

A group of Benetech supporters recently came together to give the gift of reading in honor of our long-time board member Jim Kleckner. Jim recently lost his father, retired ophthalmologist James Franklin Kleckner. We decided to create the James Franklin In Memoriam collection, with a focus on science and technology books written for the lay audience. With a gift of just $50, we can add a new ebook to the Bookshare collection, making that book available to hundreds of thousands of Bookshare members with disabilities. You can now give the gift of reading by joining Benetech’s fundraiser campaign as part of the Skoll Foundation’s second annual Skoll Social Entrepreneurs Challenge.

Bookshare’s updated website is live, so please tell everyone you know who uses the library! What’s extra cool is that the updated website is now mobile-friendly, so members can enjoy an improved on-the-go reading experience on tablets and smartphones. And as always, our website continues to be fully accessible.

We are delighted to share that the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has awarded Benetech a 2014 Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program grant to explore new ways in which 3D printing technology in libraries and museums can be used to improve learning and accessibility in a range of educational contexts.

This summer, for the third consecutive year, we partnered with Google Summer of Code. We had the pleasure of working with computer science student Joe Maag, who helped create an iOS app that aids the transcription of (inaccessible) math images into readable and accessible math notations, to utilize Benetech’s MathML Cloud tool and advance math accessibility for all.

Across the U.S., thousands of students with print disabilities will start their school year without the textbooks they need for class. These students need their books converted to accessible formats. To meet that need, the Benetech Volunteer Program is launching a new project for the 2014-15 school year, Team-Up for Textbooks, to recruit volunteer teams to proofread student requested textbooks—and we’re inviting you to join us!