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00:01 One of the tools that can help us 00:03 to actively search out reminders 00:06 is JW Library. 00:08 This amazing app has been installed 00:11 on over 15 million devices. 00:15 But do you know how much work it takes 00:17 to develop and maintain this app? 00:20 Well, we are now going to look behind the scenes 00:24 and meet some of the brothers who have either worked on this project 00:28 or helped to organize that work. 00:30 This really is an opportunity to visit 00:33 an area in Bethel that you don’t get to see on tour. 00:37 Of course, there are many brothers associated with the work. 00:41 But we would like you to get to know three 00:44 of these very hard-working brothers, 00:46 and let me introduce them to you. 00:49 First of all, Brother Per Christensen, the overseer of MEPS Programming. 00:53 Now, Per, you’ve been in this country 00:55 working in the U.S. Bethel for a number of years. 00:58 But where are you from originally? 01:00 I was born in Denmark 01:02 and served there in the branch for years. 01:05 So when did you and your wife, Berit, come to the United States? 01:10 In 1994. 01:11 And our first year was in Brooklyn. 01:14 And then we had 18 years in Patterson 01:16 and then back to Brooklyn again for three and a half years. 01:19 And now we’re in Warwick since November last year. 01:24 Well, I know you worked in Translation Services for a while 01:27 because, in fact, the two of us worked together 01:29 in the same department there for a while. 01:30 But what type of work have you been involved with 01:34 since you’ve come to the United States? 01:36 Lots of exciting and challenging jobs. 01:40 Working in Translation Services 01:42 —that was training and support for our translators worldwide. 01:47 Now in MEPS Programming 01:49 —that is all about distribution of spiritual food 01:52 to all our brothers and sisters. 01:54 So we have a ton of work and a lot of challenges. 01:59 But I’m also working with a lot 02:01 of very, very talented brothers and sisters. 02:04 So it’s a lot of fun, and it’s great going to work every day. 02:09 That’s great to hear, Per. 02:10 In fact, I’m even tempted to come back and work with you. 02:14 Oh, we would love that. 02:15 I think I’d love it too. 02:17 Well, let’s turn our attention to Brother Alfredo Serna. 02:20 Now, you are the assistant overseer of MEPS Programming. 02:23 In fact, you and I worked together in Mexico back in 2003. 02:28 Could you tell us a little bit about what you were doing at that time? 02:31 My last work assignment involved overseeing 02:34 the large Translation Department there. 02:36 It was an amazing privilege to work 02:38 with translators in sign language and the indigenous languages, 02:42 a true joy to contribute to preparing publications 02:46 for those in the minority groups. 02:48 So when did you and your wife, Gina, come to the United States to work here? 02:51 We arrived at Patterson in 2007. 02:55 We have fond memories of that time, 02:57 and it’s something we still treasure. 02:59 Very good. 03:00 And now, Brother Paul Willies, 03:03 where do you originally come from along with your wife, Su-lin, 03:06 and when did you come to the United States? 03:09 Well, we’re both originally from South Africa, 03:11 and we served there in Bethel for a number of years. 03:13 And then in 2010, we were transferred to work 03:17 along with MEPS Programming here in the U.S. 03:19 So, what type of work have you been involved with, 03:22 particularly recently? 03:24 Well, most of my time in Bethel 03:25 I’ve been working on the Watchtower Translation System, 03:28 or WTS. 03:29 Actually, I was working along with Per. 03:31 Per was in headquarters, and I was working 03:33 on the programming team that we had in South Africa. 03:36 WTS is the program that the translators use 03:38 to help organize and manage their translation work. 03:40 And then, of course, most recently I’ve been working on the mobile apps 03:44 —the JW Library app and the JW Library Sign Language app. 03:48 Very good. 03:49 Well, now all of you work in MEPS Programming. 03:52 Per, can you just tell us a little bit? 03:54 We’re familiar with the term MEPS, but what really is it? 03:57 Well, MEPS stands for 03:59 Multilanguage Electronic Publishing System. 04:03 That didn’t help me at all. 04:04 Sorry. 04:06 Can you make it a little bit more simple so we can understand? 04:08 We make the tools, or the programs, that the organization needs 04:12 to make publications 04:15 and have them translated into hundreds of languages. 04:20 So I can illustrate it this way: 04:22 that we are not making the spiritual food, 04:25 but we are building a conveyor belt for the spiritual food 04:29 from the faithful and discreet slave 04:31 down to the printing presses 04:34 or to our website or to Watchtower Library, 04:37 ONLINE LIBRARY or, like in this case, JW Library. 04:41 Thanks so much. 04:42 Now, at long last, I do understand a bit more 04:44 about what MEPS means. 04:46 Now, as I travel around, the brothers and sisters, 04:49 they tell me how much they love JW Library. 04:52 But there seems to be no end 04:55 to the suggestions for improvements and features 04:58 —and long lists of suggestions. 05:01 Can you give us a little bit of an idea of what’s involved 05:05 with trying to develop a new feature for JW Library? 05:09 Yes, the brothers and the sisters really love using the app, 05:12 and because of that, they’re keen to get many new features. 05:16 Of course, we wish we could just add all those new features into the app, 05:20 but the truth is we just can’t. 05:23 Yes, adding each new feature involves a lot of work. 05:27 And we also need to determine whether a feature 05:30 that’s requested is just a “nice to have” 05:32 or is it something that’s going to address a real need? 05:35 For example, will it really help an elder who is out on a shepherding call 05:39 or maybe a pioneer sister who is at the public witnessing carts 05:42 or at her Bible study or return visit? 05:45 Also, very important to us is trying to make 05:49 each new feature very simple to use . . . 05:52 Ah, thanks for doing that. 05:53 . . . especially for a first-time user, someone who’s never used the app before. 05:57 And then, of course, before we start working on anything, 06:00 we always get approval from the Governing Body. 06:01 Ah, that’s a good thing to do too. 06:03 Like one feature that many have been asking for 06:06 is the ability to add notes into the app. 06:10 And, of course, before we start programming it, 06:13 we have to make sure that it actually does what is wanted. 06:16 We made a video that shows how we go about that. 06:19 You have? 06:20 Would you like to see it? 06:20 Well, of course. I’d love to see it! 06:23 Hello. How are you? 06:25 Good, good, good. 06:26 Welcome! Thanks for coming. 06:27 How about yourself? 06:28 Fine, thank you. Have a seat. 06:29 All right, so glad you could be here! 06:31 Thank you so much. 06:32 Oh, so fancy. 06:33 Yeah! So we get to talk about JW Library today. 06:36 So, what are some ways that you use JW Library? 06:39 I mean, it’s revolutionized going to meetings. 06:42 Oh, my. 06:43 I go to meetings and sometimes I just carry my iPad. 06:45 So the fact that you can make the text larger. . . 06:47 It’s easy to listen to the readings right in the app now, 06:50 and so I—I find myself doing that. 06:52 So if we were to make a notes feature, 06:54 what are some things that you’d like to be able to do? 06:57 I mean, if you could see all your notes without tapping on 06:59 each one that would be great. 07:01 And even if you make a note in, maybe, your phone 07:05 and it can also be saved in your tablet, that would be really nice. 07:07 Yeah. 07:08 Well, what if I told you that in front of you 07:12 is an early version of JW Library? 07:15 Whoa! Cool! 07:15 Oh, fantastic! 07:16 This is it? 07:17 With notes—yeah. 07:18 Ooh. 07:20 So a few months ago, the Governing Body 07:22 gave us approval to start working on the notes feature. 07:25 We got together as a team, and we’ll do, like, these rough sketches, 07:28 and programmers write code. 07:29 But before we release an update, 07:31 we have a group of testers. 07:32 And, you know, they’ll find little glitches or bugs or things, 07:35 but they’ll try to work it out with the programmers. 07:36 After that, we have a pretty stable version of JW Library. 07:40 The goal is to show it to you, 07:42 and you can let us know what you think. 07:45 So now that you’ve seen the new notes feature 07:48 in JW Library, what do you think? 07:49 I love that I can tag the personal things that I need to work on 07:54 or a comment or a scripture that I can encourage someone with. 07:56 This is fantastic! 07:57 Yeah. It’s great. 07:58 I like that I can find my notes, especially using the search feature. 08:02 It’s great! 08:03 And it’s really neat how my comments— 08:05 I can place it right next to the paragraph for meetings, 08:07 and it doesn’t cover the actual text. 08:10 The ability to back it up so you can restore it to another device, 08:13 that’s going to be really helpful. 08:15 I love it! 08:16 Amazing! 08:17 OK. Go ahead. 08:19 Yeah. Go ahead! 08:20 So you’re telling us we can proceed. 08:23 That’s fantastic! 08:24 But, brothers, you can’t show us something like that 08:27 and not tell us when we’re going to get it. 08:30 Well, we said on the website that it was coming soon. 08:32 I know you said that on the website, but when? 08:35 Is it OK to be more specific than that? 08:37 I think that’s why they invited us here. 08:38 Paul, let’s hear it. 08:41 Well, we’re happy to tell you that the notes feature 08:42 in JW Library will be coming soon, 08:45 and by soon we mean during May of 2017—this month! 08:49 So we can go and check the app stores for an update. 08:53 Oh, that’s wonderful to hear. 08:55 So all of us will be happy to be able to put our own reminders 08:58 right there in the JW Library app. 09:01 Well, I’m looking forward to being able to do that as well. 09:05 But now, while I’ve got you here, 09:07 we’re not going to let you go until we ask this big question: 09:10 What are you working on now? 09:13 In other words, what can we expect to see soon with JW Library? 09:18 We have another brief video showing what the team is working on 09:21 to support the Study Bible on the JW Library app. 09:24 Would you like to see it? 09:25 That’s wonderful. Let’s have a look. 09:29 Later this year, 09:30 work will begin on adding the Study Edition 09:33 of the New World Translation to JW Library. 09:36 When this edition becomes available 09:37 in your language, 09:39 you will be able to discover 09:40 spiritual gems in the study notes. 09:42 And the new media gallery 09:44 will help you to visualize the people, places, 09:47 and things you read about. 09:49 You will also see the new overviews of each book, 09:52 play the introductory videos, 09:53 and study additional appendix material. 09:56 All of this and more 09:57 is coming soon to JW Library! 10:01 That sounds so exciting. 10:04 So we’ll all look forward to getting that feature. 10:06 You said, “coming soon,” didn’t you? 10:09 Anyway, we’d like to thank you very much 10:12 for the fact that you’ve come along and you’ve explained so much to us 10:15 about what goes on with MEPS Programming 10:18 and the JW Library app. 10:20 But before you go, 10:22 we’d like to ask you, when you go back to your department, 10:25 please, take an expression of our appreciation 10:28 back to the hard-working brothers and sisters 10:31 who are working behind the scenes in providing this tool for us. 10:35 Will do. 10:35 Happy to. 10:36 Thanks. 10:36 Thank you very much.
00:01 One of the tools that can help us 00:03 to actively search out reminders 00:06 is JW Library. 00:08 This amazing app has been installed 00:11 on over 15 million devices. 00:15 But do you know how much work it takes 00:17 to develop and maintain this app? 00:20 Well, we are now going to look behind the scenes 00:24 and meet some of the brothers who have either worked on this project 00:28 or helped to organize that work. 00:30 This really is an opportunity to visit 00:33 an area in Bethel that you don’t get to see on tour. 00:37 Of course, there are many brothers associated with the work. 00:41 But we would like you to get to know three 00:44 of these very hard-working brothers, 00:46 and let me introduce them to you. 00:49 First of all, Brother Per Christensen, the overseer of MEPS Programming. 00:53 Now, Per, you’ve been in this country 00:55 working in the U.S. Bethel for a number of years. 00:58 But where are you from originally? 01:00 I was born in Denmark 01:02 and served there in the branch for years. 01:05 So when did you and your wife, Berit, come to the United States? 01:10 In 1994. 01:11 And our first year was in Brooklyn. 01:14 And then we had 18 years in Patterson 01:16 and then back to Brooklyn again for three and a half years. 01:19 And now we’re in Warwick since November last year. 01:24 Well, I know you worked in Translation Services for a while 01:27 because, in fact, the two of us worked together 01:29 in the same department there for a while. 01:30 But what type of work have you been involved with 01:34 since you’ve come to the United States? 01:36 Lots of exciting and challenging jobs. 01:40 Working in Translation Services 01:42 —that was training and support for our translators worldwide. 01:47 Now in MEPS Programming 01:49 —that is all about distribution of spiritual food 01:52 to all our brothers and sisters. 01:54 So we have a ton of work and a lot of challenges. 01:59 But I’m also working with a lot 02:01 of very, very talented brothers and sisters. 02:04 So it’s a lot of fun, and it’s great going to work every day. 02:09 That’s great to hear, Per. 02:10 In fact, I’m even tempted to come back and work with you. 02:14 Oh, we would love that. 02:15 I think I’d love it too. 02:17 Well, let’s turn our attention to Brother Alfredo Serna. 02:20 Now, you are the assistant overseer of MEPS Programming. 02:23 In fact, you and I worked together in Mexico back in 2003. 02:28 Could you tell us a little bit about what you were doing at that time? 02:31 My last work assignment involved overseeing 02:34 the large Translation Department there. 02:36 It was an amazing privilege to work 02:38 with translators in sign language and the indigenous languages, 02:42 a true joy to contribute to preparing publications 02:46 for those in the minority groups. 02:48 So when did you and your wife, Gina, come to the United States to work here? 02:51 We arrived at Patterson in 2007. 02:55 We have fond memories of that time, 02:57 and it’s something we still treasure. 02:59 Very good. 03:00 And now, Brother Paul Willies, 03:03 where do you originally come from along with your wife, Su-lin, 03:06 and when did you come to the United States? 03:09 Well, we’re both originally from South Africa, 03:11 and we served there in Bethel for a number of years. 03:13 And then in 2010, we were transferred to work 03:17 along with MEPS Programming here in the U.S. 03:19 So, what type of work have you been involved with, 03:22 particularly recently? 03:24 Well, most of my time in Bethel 03:25 I’ve been working on the Watchtower Translation System, 03:28 or WTS. 03:29 Actually, I was working along with Per. 03:31 Per was in headquarters, and I was working 03:33 on the programming team that we had in South Africa. 03:36 WTS is the program that the translators use 03:38 to help organize and manage their translation work. 03:40 And then, of course, most recently I’ve been working on the mobile apps 03:44 —the JW Library app and the JW Library Sign Language app. 03:48 Very good. 03:49 Well, now all of you work in MEPS Programming. 03:52 Per, can you just tell us a little bit? 03:54 We’re familiar with the term MEPS, but what really is it? 03:57 Well, MEPS stands for 03:59 Multilanguage Electronic Publishing System. 04:03 That didn’t help me at all. 04:04 Sorry. 04:06 Can you make it a little bit more simple so we can understand? 04:08 We make the tools, or the programs, that the organization needs 04:12 to make publications 04:15 and have them translated into hundreds of languages. 04:20 So I can illustrate it this way: 04:22 that we are not making the spiritual food, 04:25 but we are building a conveyor belt for the spiritual food 04:29 from the faithful and discreet slave 04:31 down to the printing presses 04:34 or to our website or to Watchtower Library, 04:37 ONLINE LIBRARY or, like in this case, JW Library. 04:41 Thanks so much. 04:42 Now, at long last, I do understand a bit more 04:44 about what MEPS means. 04:46 Now, as I travel around, the brothers and sisters, 04:49 they tell me how much they love JW Library. 04:52 But there seems to be no end 04:55 to the suggestions for improvements and features 04:58 —and long lists of suggestions. 05:01 Can you give us a little bit of an idea of what’s involved 05:05 with trying to develop a new feature for JW Library? 05:09 Yes, the brothers and the sisters really love using the app, 05:12 and because of that, they’re keen to get many new features. 05:16 Of course, we wish we could just add all those new features into the app, 05:20 but the truth is we just can’t. 05:23 Yes, adding each new feature involves a lot of work. 05:27 And we also need to determine whether a feature 05:30 that’s requested is just a “nice to have” 05:32 or is it something that’s going to address a real need? 05:35 For example, will it really help an elder who is out on a shepherding call 05:39 or maybe a pioneer sister who is at the public witnessing carts 05:42 or at her Bible study or return visit? 05:45 Also, very important to us is trying to make 05:49 each new feature very simple to use . . . 05:52 Ah, thanks for doing that. 05:53 . . . especially for a first-time user, someone who’s never used the app before. 05:57 And then, of course, before we start working on anything, 06:00 we always get approval from the Governing Body. 06:01 Ah, that’s a good thing to do too. 06:03 Like one feature that many have been asking for 06:06 is the ability to add notes into the app. 06:10 And, of course, before we start programming it, 06:13 we have to make sure that it actually does what is wanted. 06:16 We made a video that shows how we go about that. 06:19 You have? 06:20 Would you like to see it? 06:20 Well, of course. I’d love to see it! 06:23 Hello. How are you? 06:25 Good, good, good. 06:26 Welcome! Thanks for coming. 06:27 How about yourself? 06:28 Fine, thank you. Have a seat. 06:29 All right, so glad you could be here! 06:31 Thank you so much. 06:32 Oh, so fancy. 06:33 Yeah! So we get to talk about JW Library today. 06:36 So, what are some ways that you use JW Library? 06:39 I mean, it’s revolutionized going to meetings. 06:42 Oh, my. 06:43 I go to meetings and sometimes I just carry my iPad. 06:45 So the fact that you can make the text larger. . . 06:47 It’s easy to listen to the readings right in the app now, 06:50 and so I—I find myself doing that. 06:52 So if we were to make a notes feature, 06:54 what are some things that you’d like to be able to do? 06:57 I mean, if you could see all your notes without tapping on 06:59 each one that would be great. 07:01 And even if you make a note in, maybe, your phone 07:05 and it can also be saved in your tablet, that would be really nice. 07:07 Yeah. 07:08 Well, what if I told you that in front of you 07:12 is an early version of JW Library? 07:15 Whoa! Cool! 07:15 Oh, fantastic! 07:16 This is it? 07:17 With notes—yeah. 07:18 Ooh. 07:20 So a few months ago, the Governing Body 07:22 gave us approval to start working on the notes feature. 07:25 We got together as a team, and we’ll do, like, these rough sketches, 07:28 and programmers write code. 07:29 But before we release an update, 07:31 we have a group of testers. 07:32 And, you know, they’ll find little glitches or bugs or things, 07:35 but they’ll try to work it out with the programmers. 07:36 After that, we have a pretty stable version of JW Library. 07:40 The goal is to show it to you, 07:42 and you can let us know what you think. 07:45 So now that you’ve seen the new notes feature 07:48 in JW Library, what do you think? 07:49 I love that I can tag the personal things that I need to work on 07:54 or a comment or a scripture that I can encourage someone with. 07:56 This is fantastic! 07:57 Yeah. It’s great. 07:58 I like that I can find my notes, especially using the search feature. 08:02 It’s great! 08:03 And it’s really neat how my comments— 08:05 I can place it right next to the paragraph for meetings, 08:07 and it doesn’t cover the actual text. 08:10 The ability to back it up so you can restore it to another device, 08:13 that’s going to be really helpful. 08:15 I love it! 08:16 Amazing! 08:17 OK. Go ahead. 08:19 Yeah. Go ahead! 08:20 So you’re telling us we can proceed. 08:23 That’s fantastic! 08:24 But, brothers, you can’t show us something like that 08:27 and not tell us when we’re going to get it. 08:30 Well, we said on the website that it was coming soon. 08:32 I know you said that on the website, but when? 08:35 Is it OK to be more specific than that? 08:37 I think that’s why they invited us here. 08:38 Paul, let’s hear it. 08:41 Well, we’re happy to tell you that the notes feature 08:42 in JW Library will be coming soon, 08:45 and by soon we mean during May of 2017—this month! 08:49 So we can go and check the app stores for an update. 08:53 Oh, that’s wonderful to hear. 08:55 So all of us will be happy to be able to put our own reminders 08:58 right there in the JW Library app. 09:01 Well, I’m looking forward to being able to do that as well. 09:05 But now, while I’ve got you here, 09:07 we’re not going to let you go until we ask this big question: 09:10 What are you working on now? 09:13 In other words, what can we expect to see soon with JW Library? 09:18 We have another brief video showing what the team is working on 09:21 to support the Study Bible on the JW Library app. 09:24 Would you like to see it? 09:25 That’s wonderful. Let’s have a look. 09:29 Later this year, 09:30 work will begin on adding the Study Edition 09:33 of the New World Translation to JW Library. 09:36 When this edition becomes available 09:37 in your language, 09:39 you will be able to discover 09:40 spiritual gems in the study notes. 09:42 And the new media gallery 09:44 will help you to visualize the people, places, 09:47 and things you read about. 09:49 You will also see the new overviews of each book, 09:52 play the introductory videos, 09:53 and study additional appendix material. 09:56 All of this and more 09:57 is coming soon to JW Library! 10:01 That sounds so exciting. 10:04 So we’ll all look forward to getting that feature. 10:06 You said, “coming soon,” didn’t you? 10:09 Anyway, we’d like to thank you very much 10:12 for the fact that you’ve come along and you’ve explained so much to us 10:15 about what goes on with MEPS Programming 10:18 and the JW Library app. 10:20 But before you go, 10:22 we’d like to ask you, when you go back to your department, 10:25 please, take an expression of our appreciation 10:28 back to the hard-working brothers and sisters 10:31 who are working behind the scenes in providing this tool for us. 10:35 Will do. 10:35 Happy to. 10:36 Thanks. 10:36 Thank you very much.
