Books being selected for grade 1 braille
A variety of fiction and nonfiction books in grade 1 braille have been added to the NLS collection, an action prompted by the National Advisory Group on Collection-Building Activities. The group recommended that NLS provide this format for adult readers who have a need for or prefer the more basic form of braille.
Approximately three to five books a year are selected for grade 1 braille with an anticipated limit of about fifty for the collection. A larger number is not considered necessary because most patrons advance from this level to grade 2 braille. More important than the number of books, the collection must represent the varied interests of people who are learning braille.
Criteria used for selection include high general interest, relatively short length, and low vocabulary. Such popular works of fiction include classics, westerns, and romances. Nonfiction titles are generally on subjects believed to be of interest to many patrons.
Grade 1 selections are listed and identified in Braille Book Review.
Braille Authority of North America elects new officers
Phyllis Campana, American Printing House for the Blind (APH), was elected chairperson of the Braille Authority of North America (BANA) in November 1998 for the 1999-2001 term.
Other officers are Bettye Niceley, National Federation of the Blind (NFB), vice-chairperson; Frances Mary D'Andrea, American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), secretary; Susan Reilly, California Transcribers and Educators of the Visually Handicapped (CTEVH), treasurer; and Dolores Ferrara-Godzieba, Associated Services for the Blind (ASB), past-chairperson.
The organization also formed a new technical committee to develop standards for tactile graphics and announced that an errata sheet correcting errors found in Braille Formats: Principles of Print to Braille Transcription 1997 will be available on the BANA web site at www.brailleauthority.org. In addition, the list will be in transcriber newsletters by the spring of 1999.
The meeting was hosted by the National Braille Press. The United States members of BANA will host the International Council on English Braille (ICEB) November 2-6, 1999, in Baltimore, Maryland.
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