I just returned from a great trip. One of my stops was to the attend the Sixth Gathering of Social Entrepreneurs, organized by the Social Enterprise Alliance, and held in Milwaukee. It was great to have roughly 600 people all getting the energy of social enterprise. The biggest supporter of the conference was Steve Case's Foundation (the founder of AOL). I was able to introduce him, and it was great to hear from his presentation how he gets social enterprise. He encouraged us to found a new sector that isn't nonprofit and isn't for profit, but is somewhere in the middle. I've heard other people advocate for a "for-benefit" sector before. Here's an article from the Milwaukee press on the event: When non-profits cash in.
Bringing Millions of Books to Billions of People: Making the Book Truly Accessible
I believe in the power of books to change the world. That is not a particularly radical belief among librarians, but I hope to make you believe even more in the power of books. Literacy and access to knowledge underpins just about every social good, from education, to economic development, to health, to women’s empowerment, democracy and respect for human rights. Today, we are poised at a moment in time where we can transcend the limitations of past book technologies and bring the power of books to all humans. To bring the power of books to everybody on this planet, we must make books truly accessible. Love of the print book. It made me who I am. I’m a big fan of the printed book and always have been. However, as a technology, printed books come with serious challenges for some communities (like blind people) that technology can unlock. Consider the issues with printed books. First, they are place-based. In order to read a printed book, you must have physical access to it....
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