US (Palo Alto)
Today there is more content out there than ever, but digital doesn’t necessarily equal accessible. Millions of people worldwide suffer from disabilities that mean they can’t simply read a book.
It took a rocket scientist to come up with a simple solution. In 2002, Jim Fruchterman exchanged making smart bombs at Caltech, one of the world’s top universities, for making people smarter by launching Bookshare. Now the world’s largest library of accessible books for people who find it difficult to read print, it works with character recognition to deliver content on braille readers, MP3 players, phones and tablets in languages from Afrikaans to Polish, with books scanned and then proofed by volunteers and remote workers worldwide.
Reinventing the library may not be rocket science, but by providing education, employment opportunities and inclusion in the developing world, the social entrepreneur is making a big bang in the digital book revolution.
Project leader
Jim Fruchterman, CEO, Benetech
Support the Atlas
We want the Atlas of the Future media platform and our event to be available to everybody, everywhere for free – always. Fancy helping us spread stories of hope and optimism to create a better tomorrow? For those able, we'd be grateful for any donation.
- Please support the Atlas here
- Thank you!
