NLS Press Release

NLS Participates in Siberian Exhibit

For Immediate Release:
June 28, 2002

Contact: Robert E. Fistick
(202) 707-9279 or rfis@loc.gov

The National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS), Library of Congress, was among nineteen countries participating in the International Exhibition and Book Fair of Siberia 2002 held April 23-26 in Novosibirsk, Russia.

NLS exhibited its braille book materials as part of an exposition within the international event. The exposition theme, "Editions in Alternative Formats in the Electronic Age," also included a conference, "Libraries Providing Services for People with Disabilities and Public Sector on the Way to Social Partnership." The exposition was coordinated by Yuri Y. Lesnevsky, director of the Novosibirsk Regional Special Library for the Blind and Visually Impaired.

The nineteen countries exhibiting, in addition to the United States, were Australia, the Baltic States, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Commonwealth of Independent States, Croatia, France, Japan, Mongolia, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. In all, there were 122 participants in the exposition and conference. In addition, there were 86 representatives from 24 Russian regions who also visited the exposition exhibit.

NLS assisted Lesnevsky with development of the international exhibit. The NLS Publications and Media Section provided exhibit and conference procedure suggestions based upon NLS's experience with national and international exhibit planning.

The exposition's gold medal -- Diploma and Grand Gold Medal -- "for the use of new, progressive technologies of social value and of modern design" was awarded to the Novosibirsk Regional Special Library for the Blind. "Grandfather Oscar's Stories," by Chilean writer Ernesto Lopez Arcos, was translated from Spanish into Russian and then published in three alternative formats, braille and tactile graphics, large print, and on cassette.

Organizations providing alternative format editions for display, in addition to NLS, included the National Information and Library Service, Australia; Canadian National Institute for the Blind, Canada; les Doigts qui Revent, France; Tsukuba College of Technology, Japan; Talboks-och Punktskriftsbiblioteket, Sweden; Bibliotheque Braille Romande et Livre Parle, Switzerland; National Library for the Blind, United Kingdom; Royal London Society for the Blind, United Kingdom; Royal National Institute for the Blind, United Kingdom; American Printing House for the Blind, United States; Hadley School for the Blind, United States; Lutheran Braille Workers, Inc., United States; Matilda Ziegler Magazine for the Blind, United States; Mobility International USA, United States; and the National Association for Visually Handicapped, United States.

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Posted on 2006-02-24