Katherine Swarts – BridgingApps

List Highlight: BridgingApps AAC App List

October is National AAC Month (also International AAC Awareness Month), with AAC standing for “augmentative and alternative communications.” Or in more everyday language, assistive technology for people with verbal-speech disabilities. If you’re looking for the right AAC, or are curious…

Community-Driven Digital Futures: A Note on Digital Inclusion Week 2025

Every October, the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) sponsors Digital Inclusion Week (DIW) to promote digital equity and to showcase projects that bridge the digital divide. This year, Easter Seals Greater Houston (ESGH) joins ten other organizations and individuals sharing…

More About Libraries in Your Pocket

Companion article to “A Library in Your Pocket,” which shares “the latest from Libby.” Libby, the best-known app for accessing public-library e-books, has recently added new features to improve app performance, simplify Libby book club programs, and otherwise make it…

Happy Anniversary, Disability Employment Month!

Traditionally, an 80th anniversary is called the “Oak Anniversary,” for symbolic strength and endurance. October 2025 marks the “Oak Anniversary” of the first official U.S. observance to promote disability employment—a principle that has endured and must continue to endure. How…

A Library in Your Pocket: The Latest on Libby and Other E-Borrowing Options

“What’s up with these ‘Suspend Holds’?” That was a question/complaint on many lips in the third week of September, when the popular Libby app changed its “Deliver Later” feature to “Suspend.” The purpose was to improve the library app’s efficiency…

Smiling group of 5 women, 3 of them wearing meta glasses

What Are Meta AI Glasses?

The latest in wearable assistive technology is Meta AI glasses. Today, Alejandra “Ale” Gonzalez, BridgingApps Digital Navigator, shares her experience training clients on this technology. The Meta AI glasses are smart glasses with a Meta AI assistant. They provide hands-free…

BringingApps Teams Up with Compudopt

It’s been years in the making. Under a grant from AT&T, BridgingApps has teamed with Compudopt, a device refurbisher and fellow nonprofit that shares our goal of closing the digital divide. For eighteen years, Compudopt has supplied digital devices and…

Rideshare Apps and Accessibility

Rideshare services are very practical—except when they’re confusing and frustrating. Because most drivers are independent contractors and many own the cars they drive, it’s hard to ensure a uniform, well-supervised experience every time. Common passenger complaints include: For passengers using…

young woman sitting in wheelchair looking at laptop

Accessible Homes Are High-Tech Homes

Whether you’re aging in place, recovering from an accident, or raising a child with special needs, accessible housing is in high demand these days. And while accessible homes still include traditional features such as ramps and shower benches, much of…

Technology for Mental Health: The Latest from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Remember our Partner Resource article on MindApps, the mental-health-app recommendations tool from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC)? Earlier this August, our BridgingApps team joined Dr. John Torous and his Digital Psychiatry team, the brains behind MindApps, for a virtual…