[bksvol-discuss] Re: who we are
- To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 13 Mar 2006 22:33:18 -0800
Thanks Pratik for sharing your observations about the challenges of
Bookshare.org and the information that is sometimes confidential to the running
of a business. However, a lot of the questions can be answered and will
hopefully give the list a sense of what everyone's accomplished over the past
four years.
The non metric answer to "who we are" is that we are an incredibly strong brand
in the blind community. Schools, Departments of Rehab, Schools for Blind, etc.
are finding out about us slowly (as they are also resource constrained).
Reason we go to so many conferences even though we are short staffed is because
that's the most efficient sales channel to reach DSS offices, teachers, and
parents who should know about a service that provides such a rich collection of
content.
The answers to some of the list's questions are:
1. We have close to 4,000 subscribers.
2. Over half are students. The student population has doubled over the last
year. The school program began two years ago.
3. Haven't kept records of how many members are vision impaired, mobility
impaired, or learning disabled (those folks who qualify to join Bookshare.org).
4. We have over 26,000 books.
5. We have 125 newspapers from 39 NFB funded states plus Washington DC.
6. Regarding retention, we began sending quarterly emails to those folks who
don't renew. The answers were varied - including "I forgot." The results of
these emails are guiding the redesign of our website, the quality of our
content, and the clarity of our messaging.
7. Top Ten downloads over the history of Bookshare.org included five Harry
Potters, The Da Vinci Code (Brown), My Life (Bill Clinton), The Broker
(Grisham), Holy Bible, New International Version International Bible Society
Editors, and The Last Juror (Grisham)
8. A not-statistically-valid observation was made a few weeks ago when I asked
the gentleman who runs our network why Bookshare.org was so slow (I was trying
to answer one of these posts). It was because it was the President's holiday
and for several hours, folks were downloading books at the rate of 1+ per
minute. That was a very cool metric.
9. For the past six months, we have had a group of long term members who have
a fairly deep understanding of technology, the internet, and the slow process
of writing software. This group was asked to help Bookshare.org staff know the
needs of the volunteer community. We can't answer every question and every
email. That is the purpose of the list. But we definitely needed a few voices
to listen to as well as guide the engineering and operations staff at
Bookshare.org as we grow. The group includes Pratik, Rui, Guido, Gerald, Jake,
Kellie, Gustavo, me, Dave Offen, and soon Jennifer Sutton. We've only had a
few conference calls as we couldn't get started without funding.
We haven't answered all of your questions because we don't have some of the
answers. And it's very hard for us to measure that tremendous feeling of
satisfaction when a parent or teacher or member approaches our booth to let us
know the impact Bookshare.org has had on a child or student, etc.
If you have suggestions for what you think could or should be measured for the
Bookshare.org of the future, please send to me at Janice.c@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Finally, as the great orator, Pratik Patel stated earlier..... It will continue
to take time.
Janice Carter
Director, Literacy Programs
Benetech
480 S. California Ave., Suite 201
Palo Alto, CA 94306-1609 USA
(650) 475-5440 x122
(650) 759-5828 cell
(650) 475-1066 fax
janice.c@xxxxxxxxxxxx
www.benetech.org
The Benetech Initiative - Technology Serving Humanity
A Nonprofit Organization
-----Original Message-----
From: bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Pratic Patel
Sent: Monday, March 13, 2006 6:41 AM
To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: who we are
Mike et al,
Because of the exponential pace of technology growth, we seem to have
different expectations from organizations such as Bookshare in terms of how
quickly it grows. Some informal economic analysis I have performed suggests
that the employment rate among the U.S. blind population has not radically
changed since he 1960's. It is difficult to attract blind users and
individuals who do not have the means to pay for the excellent service that
Bookshare provides. Unfortunately, Bookshare is also faced with the
attitudinal barriers among the blind population--at least a part of the
population that believes in receiving free services.
The fact that Bookshare is not willing to share their user base information
does not, by any means, suggest that the base is small and insignificant.
Perhaps the threshold of information that you consider sufficient for
Bookshare to divulge its subscription base is not the same as what the
Bookshare advisory Board considers sufficient. Let's also consider, RFB &
D, for instance. I have never heard anyone from RFB & D provide the type of
numbers and information that is being requested. As a governmental agency,
NLS does provide this type of information. But you will have to dig hard to
find the data.
Organizations such as RFB & D have certainly established their base
successfully simply because they have been in existence for a long period of
time. The comparison between Bookshare and RFB & D is not valid just for
that reason. RFB & D was established in 1950's if I am not mistaken.
Bookshare, on the other hand, was established--What, four years ago? While
it may seem like a long time to those of us who have been affiliated with
the organization from the beginning. Relatively speaking, however, that is
not very long time. We also have to consider the fact that, when RFB & D
was established, it had no competition. Bookshare has no such luxury. And,
there are some significant challenges for Bookshare when looking at various
populations. There are things on the horizon that will change some of that.
Your point about hundreds of hours of work and the effort to make books
accessible for individuals with disabilities is valid. As a volunteer, I
can quite understand why you might wish to know whether your efforts are
really going toward something worthwhile. Let me ask then, what number
would satisfy you? How many subscribers do you feel Bookshare should have
in order for the hundreds of hours to be worthwhile?
As I've said before on this list, IT ... WILL ... TAKE ... TIME!
Sincerely,
Pratik
Pratik Patel
Director, CUNY Assistive Technology Services (CATS)
The City University of New York
T: 718-997-3775
F: 718-997-5895
E: pratik.patel@xxxxxxxxxxx
-----Original Message-----
From: bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Mike Pietruk
Sent: Monday, March 13, 2006 6:24 AM
To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: who we are
Pratik
If Benetech is unwilling to supply some concrete answers, and I can
understand why they may be unwilling to do so given the reasons you have
outlined, this would suggest to me that the numbers may be so dismal that
it wouldn't serve them competitively.
If that is the case, then this calls to question the worth while of
spending, as some of us do, hundreds of hours a year in intentionally
scanning and validating material for BookShare.
If few people read the books, then time could be better spent elsewhere;
on the other hand, if many benefit from the books, then the effort is
definitely worth while and this would encourage others (both sighted and
handicappted) to offer their services.
Elizabeth's questions cut to the core of the value of Bookshare to end
users; and Benetech, if it expects donations both of dollars and time, has
to be able to address these especially now that the service has been
around for a number of years.
I'd suggest that organizations such as RFB&D have established such success
and longevity as they have successfully demonstrated the value of their
service to their target audience.
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