[Blindmath] BANA still considering abolishing the Nemeth braille code

[Susan Jolly]

I have just recieved my copy of the Summer 2011 Bulletin of the National 
Braille Association (NBA) which is the professional organization providing 
continuing education to both paid and volunteer braille transcribers here in 
the United States. The President's Message states, "At some point in the 
near future, the braille powers-that-be will make a decision about a unified 
braille code for the English-speaking worlds--a code that will combine 
literary and technical transcriptions under one set of rules and 
constructions."

Elsewhere in this issue of the Bulletin, the NBA representive to the Braille 
Authority of North America (BANA) writes that the BANA "Education and 
Outreach committee is still reviewing the possibility of a universal code." 
Note that the next meeting of BANA will be held November 3-6, 2011 and will 
be hosted in the Baltimore area by the NFB.

If you believe as I do that the BAUK-like representation of maths in the 
current proposals for a unified code are significantly inferior to the 
Nemeth code's representation of mathematics, you might want to take action 
now.

Wouldn't it be ironic if the US were to abolish the use of the Nemeth code 
just as it is being widely adopted in countries such as India and Indonesia 
which have larger populations of braille users?

Sincerely,
SusanJ